The 'Redcoats': Players Championship past chairs have made lasting contributions

Players Championship fans have often taken notice over the years of the men and women wearing bright red sportscoats at The Players and other golf- and charity-related functions on the First Coast during the rest of the year.

It's simple: they're "The Redcoats."

But their contribution to The Players is lasting.

The Redcoats, or the Honourable Company of Past Chairmen, have served one-year terms as the head of the volunteer force that in recent years has numbered 2,000 or more.

Without the volunteers, The Players and the PGA Tour would have to pay outside contractors to do jobs such as monitoring the parking lots, pounding the stakes and stringing miles of rope on the golf course, handling small construction jobs, manning the practice facilities, checking players in, scorekeeping, standard-bearing and any number of tasks.

The money saved is then plowed into charity — more than $100 million on the First Coast since the Players came here in 1977.

A committee of past chairman also reviews charity request applications, decides on the final list and then, usually in the fall, delivers the checks personally to a handful of recipients.

Chairmen have already served for years

Becoming a Players chairman is a lengthy process.

Chairs have served for years as volunteers, sometimes beginning with the most menial or tedious jobs, such as parking lot detail. They then become committee chairmen.

Eventually, they are elevated to one of four major committees: Volunteer Services, Facilities, Player Services and Spectator Services. A first vice-chairman is selected from those four, who then succeeds the chairman the following year.

One and done? Not quite

The concept of chairing The Players volunteer committee goes back to the days of the Greater Jacksonville Open (1965-1976).

The first five GJO chairs, John Tucker, Wes Paxson Sr., John Montgomery, Lester Varn Jr., Eugene Cowan and Karl Ambrose were among the area business leaders who convinced the PGA Tour to return to the First Coast.

Their efforts in selling tickets and corporate hospitality, resulting in huge crowds at the GJO, eventually convinced Tour commissioner Deane Beman that the area would be an ideal landing spot for the PGA Tour headquarters, construction of its signature golf course (the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course) and the home of its marquee tournament, The Players.

Tucker, who was the first GJO chairman in 1965 and later hired by the PGA Tour to manage The Players, had the idea for chairs to serve one-year terms. He said each new chairman, almost always drawn from the First Coast business community, brought a whole new list of clients, customers, employees, contacts and family members who may buy tickets or corporate hospitality. Yea

Year after year, chairman after chairman, the constituencies grew to the point where The Players has grown to its status today.

For a time, the GJO also had a volunteer chairman and a president, which also was an unpaid position. But whether they were a chairman or president of the GJO or a chairman of The Players, they are all considered Redcoats.

Hardly any of them stop serving after their one year as chairman. In addition to assisting with The Players charitable efforts, many Redcoats still pitch in during the run-up to The Players and during the week.

Family and football ties

The Nimnicht family has produced three Players chairmen: Ed Nimnicht (1978), his sister-in-law Anne Nimnicht (1997) and his nephew and Anne's son Lee Nimnicht this year.

Rufus Dowell (1991) is Tucker's son-in-law.

Father-son GJO/Players chairmen are Fred Robbins (1976) and Kevin Robbins (2004); and Fuller Tresca Jr. (1983) and Tim Tresca (2007).

Nine past GJO or Players chairmen have also served as the volunteer chairs for the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Tucker, Paxson, L.C. Ringhaver, Dick Stratton, Gordon Thompson, Peter Kirill, Tommy Gay, Don Davis and Mike Hartley. In addition, Brian Goin, who was The Players executive director, was a Gator Bowl chairman.

Here are the men and women who have served as volunteer chairs for the Greater Jacksonville Open and The Players Championship:

Greater Jacksonville Open

Past chairmen

1965: John Tucker

1966: Wes Paxson Sr.

1967: John Montgomery

1968: Lester Varn Jr.

1969: Eugene Cowan

1970: Karl Ambrose III

1971: Richard Martin

1972: George Utsey Jr.

1973: Henry Tuten Jr.

1974: J.D. Beckwith

1975: Fred Robbins

1976: Hamp Walker

Past GJO Presidents

Peter Kirill

L.C. Ringhaver

Dick Stratton

Bob Feagin

Gordon Thompson Jr.

William Drennon

The Players Championship

1977: Tommy Gay

1978: Ed Nimnicht

1979: Donald Zell

1980: James Addington Jr.

1981: Campbell Smith

1982: Charles Renfroe

1983: Fuller Tresca Jr.

1984: James Wilkerson Jr.

1985: Donald Rose

1986: Bob Martin

1987: Bob Olson

1988: Don Davis

1989: Buster Browning

1990: Lad Daniels

1991: Rufus Dowell

1992: Tom Perry

1993: Hank Haynes

1994: Hugh Dunn

1995: Tom Healy

1996: Gerry Hurst

1997: Anne Nimnicht

1998: Mike Hartley

1999: Therese Greene Hazel

2000: Murray Beard

2001: Lynn Stoner

2002: Jack Garnett

2003: Marc Smith

2004: Kevin Robbins

2005: Tommy Lee

2006: Rusty Pritchett

2007: Tim Tresca

2008: Ron Natherson

2009: Tommy Douglas

2010: Harold Tool

2011: Jim Fuller

2012: Curtis Hazel

2013: Robert Davis

2014: Andy Baggs

2015: Brian Franco

2016: Michele McManamon

2017: Kevin English

2018: Damon Olinto

2019: Adam Campbell

2020: Andy Carroll

2021: Troy Smith

2022: Matt Welch

2023: Houston Bowles

2024: Lee Nimnicht

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Past Players Championship chairs have been key component of tournament