Naugatuck’s most famous golfer – Billy Burke!

Mr. Burke was born William Burkowski in Union City on December 14th, 1902. In 1918, Burke was at the Hop Brook Summer Recreation program when a caddie master from the neighboring Naugatuck Golf Club randomly choose him to fill a caddie vacancy. This started Burke’s love affair with golf.

Burke initially played with clubs given to him by other members of the Club, balls found in the woods and (because he couldn’t afford a golf bag) carried everything by hand. Throughout Burke's golf career he used an unorthodox grip due to the loss of two fingers on his left hand that happened at his job at the Eastern Malleable Iron Co.

Burke’s greatest season was 1931, when he won the U.S. Open, reached the semi-finals of the PGA Championship, and won four events on the professional circuit, plus appeared on the Ryder Cup team where he was undefeated in two matches.