Ellen Port didn't start playing competitive golf until she was in her early 20s. Four USGA titles and numerous local and national accomplishments later, she will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday in Springfield, Mo.
Port is part of a class that includes former Cardinals outfielder Jim Edmonds and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive standout Emmitt Thomas.
"It's such a special honor," said Port, who won a record fourth U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur championship last year. Port also has won a Women's Trans National title (1994), competed in two Curtis Cups (1994, 1996), qualified for the U.S. Women's Amateur 10 times and the U.S. Women's Open three times.
"To be included with the people who are in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame … it's something that would have never crossed my mind. There's so many people I am indebted to, so many people that helped me achieve things in golf," she said.
A mother of two and a physical education teacher at John Burroughs, Ellen Fuson Port grew up in the Kansas City area, where she was a high school star in basketball and tennis. She didn't embrace golf until dates with her future husband, Andy Port, occasionally included a trip to a golf range. Before long, she was competing, with Andy as her caddy.
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame festivities will he held at the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in Springfield, beginning with a reception at 1 p.m. and induction ceremonies at 4 p.m.
Other Class of 2012 inductees include Mickey Owen, catcher, Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers; Dr. Richard Lehman, sports medicine, St. Louis; Rex Sinquefield, chess, St. Louis; Lawrence Walls, Sumner football coach, St. Louis; Jim Pearson, football coach, Kickapoo; Richard Hantak, NFL official, St. Louis; Clyde Lear, sports media, Jefferson City; and Gene Ruble, basketball, Southwest Missouri State.
Cochran honored
Port is not the only St. Louis golfer gaining Hall of Fame recognition. Nine years after his death, Bob Cochran recently was inducted into the Quail Ridge Country Club Sports Hall of Fame in Boynton Beach, Fla. Attending the ceremony were his sons Bob Cochran Jr. and Bill Cochran and granddaughter Jenni Bence.
Cochran, born in the same year as Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson, dominated St. Louis amateur golf for decades. He won his first significant title in 1931 and continued winning tournaments until 1982, a remarkable stretch of 51 years.
Cochran played in three Masters, 14 U.S. Amateurs and six U.S. Senior Amateurs. He finished second to Freddie Haas when Haas won the 1945 Memphis Invitational, ending Nelson's streak of 11 consecutive PGA wins. Legendary amateur Bobby Jones once called Cochran "the best amateur in the world."
Cochran won the St. Louis District Golf Association Championship eight times and the Missouri State Amateur four times. He was a member of the victorious 1961 U.S. Walker Cup team and was runner-up to Joe Carr in the 1960 British Amateur.
Later in his life, Cochran became a resident at Quail Ridge Country Club. He joined former Masters champs Claude Harmon and Snead as members of the club's Sports Hall of Fame.
