As a Black women’s golfer in the Civil Rights era, Ann Gregory never quite received the fanfare she deserved. That all may change now, thanks to a new movie about her life’s trials and triumphs, “Playing Through.”
Born Ann Moore in Aberdeen, Mississippi, on July 25, 1912, she eventually married Percy Gregory and moved north to Gary, Indiana. When Percy headed off to serve overseas in World War II, Ann passed the time by taking up golf, joining the nearby Chicago Women’s Golf Association, an all-Black organization that played at several regional public courses. It turns out she was a natural, and became a true pioneer along the way.
Gregory became the first Black woman to compete in a USGA event, and quickly racked up an impressive trophy collection.
By 1947, she won the Chicago Women’s Golf Association Championship, the Joe Louis Invitational and the United Golf Association Championship!
Despite her successes, Gregory wasn’t quite a household name, which surprised Curtis Jordan, whose mother once competed against Gregory. So he sought to fix that, and began writing the script to “Playing Through.”
“When I found out about Ann Gregory, I thought, why don’t I know more about this woman? Why isn’t she more celebrated for her courage and bravery and the things that she did?” Jordan said in one interview. “That was the driving factor for me to write this.”
Jordan, who is also producing and starring in the film, is in currently in negotiations for distribution of the film.
Stay tuned.
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