On Thursday, June 13, Superintendent Al Bangoura, Martha Arradondo, and Shauntel Manderville gathered at the Eddie Manderville Chalet in Theodore Wirth Park with Manderville family and friends to dedicate new building signage and highlight Manderville’s legacy as an accomplished golfer and a champion of desegregation and teaching the sport to people of color.
Manderville's legacy and achievements
For more than 60 years Eddie was affiliated with the Theodore Wirth Golf Club. He was instrumental in desegregating the Men’s Association at Theodore Wirth Golf Club after being denied access to the clubhouse and was credited with integrating the Theodore Wirth Golf Club at a time when Black golfers were precluded from membership at Twin Cities golf clubs.
One of the new interpretive pieces describes Edward “Fast Eddie” Manderville as a golf enthusiast and trailblazer who believed in the potential for golf to serve as a unifying force, transcending racial and societal barriers. He dedicated six decades to the game, became a golf legend in Minnesota and was recognized nationally. His legacy continues to inspire and guide efforts toward a more inclusive sporting world.
Manderville’s golf achievements included the 1983 MPGA Senior Public Links Championship, the 1986 U.S. Senior Open, and 1998 MGA Senior Tour. He had 11 holes-in-one, including back-to-back Aces at the 7th and 8th holes at the Wirth Par 3 Course in 2013. In May, Manderville was inducted into the Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame.
Renaming the Chalet, honoring a legacy
At the event, MPRB Superintendent Bangoura thanked Arradondo, the Manderville family and park board commissioners and acknowledged the importance of the building name.
“It is important to recognize the significance of renaming this building the Eddie Manderville Chalet in Theodore Wirth Park, to know who he is and who he inspired. He proved things were possible and he opened doors for black and brown golfers,” said Bangoura.
Above: Photo of Manderville featured on
interpretive display at the Chalet
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