Ed Haggerty
Wake Forest, North Carolina
2001 Inductee, Player Category

Born: October 22, 1959

Birthplace: Paterson, New Jersey

Residence: Wake Forest, North Carolina

Education: N.C. State University, B.A. in Speech Communication, 1982

Occupation: Partner/General Manager - Boyd Olds-Pontiac-Buick-GMC-Honda-Ford automobile dealership, Oxford, North Carolina

Joined PPA: 1977

PPA Lifetime Stroke Average: 27.82

PPA Career Money Winnings: $81.350

PPA Major Championships: 1980 PPA National Match-Play Championship; 1980 Super Putters TV Series; 1980 Southern Open; 1981 Southern Open; 1981 Southeastern Open; 1981 Carolinas' Open

Other PPA National Tour Victories: 1982 Burlington Open; 1982 High Point Open; 1982 Charlotte Open; 1982 Greensboro Open; 1982 Gastonia Open; 1981 Winston-Salem Open; 1980 Burlington Open; 1980 Norfolk Open; 1980 Virginia Beach Open; 1980 Greensboro Open; 1978 High Point Open; 1978 Fayetteville Open. PPA N.C. State Tour Highlights: 1981 North Carolina State Champion; 1979 North Carolina State Champion; 1977 North Carolina State Champion; 1982 Elton Davis Memorial Classic; 1982 Greensboro Open; 1982 Burlington Open; 1982 High Point Open; 1982 Charlotte Open; 1982 Charlotte Open; 1982 Greensboro Open; 1982 Fayetteville Open; 1981 Charlotte Open;1981 Winston-Salem Open; 1980 High Point Open; 20 other triumphs. Other PPA Achievements: 2001 PPA Hall of Fame, Player Category; 1981 PPA National Player of the Year; 1980 PPA National Player of the Year; 1982, 1981, 1980 Tracy Moore National Low Stroke Average 1978 PPA Rookie of the Year; PPA Television Appearances 1992, 1983, 1982, 1980, 1978. (Record 6-4)

PPA Television Prize Money Winnings: $20,500

Other PPA Achievements: 1981, Toured the United States as ambassador for Putt-Putt Golf Courses of America and the Professional Putters Association; Member, N.C. PPA Players Committee, 1980-1984; first PPA member to win 3 consecutive PPA National Tour major titles; Only PPA member to retire the Tracy Moore Low-Stroke Average Trophy as winner three consecutive years.

520 Northgate Avenue was only blocks away from the Putt-Putt Golf Course at 306 Woodlawn Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, where 12-year-old Ed Haggerty spent his summer vacations playing "Dollar Day" at Don Wujciak's 54-hole facility in 1971.

"Don Wujciak would let me pick up trash for greens fees, and he later gave me my first job," Haggerty says.

It was the beginning of what would become one of the most distinguished careers in Professional Putters Association history, as Ed Haggerty developed into one of the game's greatest players from 1977 to 1982. He made his PPA debut by capturing the $1,000 PPA Fayetteville Open and parlayed the season into PPA Rookie of the Year honors. He dominated the PPA North Carolina State Tour for three seasons before gaining "Superstar" status in 1980 when he won the PPA Super Putters Television Series in Hurst, Texas, the PPA National Match-Play Championship in Forest Park, Ga. and the $10,000 PPA Southern Open in Charlotte, N.C. Those victories earned him 1980 PPA National Player of the Year honors and the PPA Tracy Moore Low Stroke Average. For an encore, he won the 1981 $10,000 PPA Southern Open, the $10,000 PPA Southeastern Open and the $10,000 PPA Carolinas' Open, his sixth major PPA victory and again earned PPA National Player of the Year honors and the PPA Tracy Moore Low Stroke Average award.

"The most dominant player in the sport," Frank Glieber, the late CBS-TV sportscaster and host of the PPA syndicated television series, said in 1981 of Haggerty, who with his 1981 triumphs, became the first player in PPA history to win three consecutive major titles and in 1982 became the only player to retire the Tracy Moore Low Stroke average trophy when he won it for a third consecutive season. He recorded 21 PPA National Tour victories and 43 PPA North Carolina Tour triumphs, including state titles in 1977, 1979 and 1981. He appeared on the PPA television series in 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1992, winning six of 10 matches and earning more than $81,000 in PPA prize money. Only the PPA National Championship eluded Ed Haggerty, who is remembered as one of the sport's fiercest competitors.

"I never thought it would come to this," said Haggerty, who at age 41 was enshrined as the 31st member of the PPA Hall of Fame on Aug. 9, 2001 in ceremonies at Lynchburg, Va. "The game has meant more to me than just titles or money. It allowed me to grow as a person. It helped prepare me for life. I'm grateful to the late Don Wujciak, who gave me that first job at the Putt-Putt on Woodlawn Road. I am grateful to Wilbur Hildebrand, David Gies and Darryl Hayden, all who taught me the Putt-Putt business; to Bill Kirby, Jr., who taught me to play for the love of the game; to John Connor, who constantly encouraged me and always told me I had the talent to be the best; to Gary English and Dan Anders, who taught me that nice guys do finish first; and to all my traveling and playing companions over the years - Steve Lyon, the late Randy Stone, Duke Wellman, Ken Roberts, Kevin Coulter, Dean Dwiggins, Rick Baird, Randy Reeves and countless others. And last, but certainly not least, I thank Don Clayton, the founder of Putt-Putt Golf, whose game changed my life forever."