Mason Phelps

From a wealthy Chicago family Mason Phelps went to Yale where he played golf for three years and captained the team in his senior year. He first became known as a golfer in 1904 when he finished 43rd in the U.S. Open, and later in the year, played for the Western GA team which won the Olympic gold medal. In addition, Phelps went to the quarterfinals individually at the Olympic golf tournament.

Phelps went on to have a fine golf career. He was a prominent player in the U.S. Amateur from 1907 until 1912. In 1909 he lost in the semi-finals to Robert Gardner (three-time champion as well as a future world record holder in the pole vault) and in 1912 he lost in the quarter-finals to Jerry Travers. Phelps also lost in the first round in 1911 to Fred Kammer, whose son, Fred, Jr., played on the 1936 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team. Phelps did not always lose, however. His biggest victories came in 1908 and 1910 when he won the Western Amateur crown.

After his 1906 graduation from Yale, Mason Phelps traveled a bit and then became interested in an invention useful in manufacturing electrical supplies. The invention was successful and he formed the Pheoll Manufacturing Co., of which he served as president from 1908 until his death.