By JOHN STEINBREDER
Senior Writer
You’d think Eddie Papczun would have a hard time finding something exciting to do
after having his finger on the nuclear button.
After all, the retired Air Force major was a weapons launch officer during the Cold War, manning an ICBM missile silo. Later, he held a similar job on planes that were part of the military’s Nuclear Survivability Force. Set up as aerial command posts, they were designed to oversee the launch of ICBMs from the air if ground operation centers were taken out by a Soviet attack.
But the 46-year-old Ohioan gets plenty of kicks today from his job as president of Golf Links to the Past, one of the preeminent creators, acquirers and marketers of premium golf collectibles.
“I am a passionate person who loves history and golf,” he says. “And I have found something that allows me to deal extensively with both.”
These days Papczun’s adrenaline is stirred by acquisitions such as a collection of 53 personal letters from golf great Bobby Jones to writer Charles Price. Or a featherie golf ball played by Old Tom Morris on the Old Course in St. Andrews.
So forget about Papczun pining like Strangelove for the days in the bunker.
“Eddie has carved out a very nice niche,” says Tom Stewart, the noted collector and dealer who owns the Old Sport & Gallery in Pinehurst, N.C.
“He sets himself apart with a high level of taste and museum-quality goods.”
Adds Win Padgett, a former member of the U.S. Golf Association’s executive committee and also a Papczun client: “Eddie seeks out things of the highest quality and packages them in unique and attractive ways. The pieces and presentations are extraordinary.”
For example, Papczun took a scorecard signed by Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and Tommy Armour following a charity exhibition in the Bahamas and framed it with a photograph of the foursome. Casino magnate Steve Wynn bought that item. On another occasion, Papczun was enlisted by General Electric employees to assemble a replica set of Bobby Jones clubs as a retirement gift for uber-CEO Jack Welch.
Papczun never planned to make golf collectibles his life’s work. After graduating from Kent State, he wanted to become an Air Force pilot. Less than keen eyesight scuttled those plans, so he found other careers in the service.
He left the Air Force in 1996 after 11 years of active duty, using a $40,000 severance package as seed capital for Golf Links. Papczun initially dabbled in more than just golf, acquiring, for example, letters from George Patton and Abraham Lincoln.
“But I quickly learned that I needed to concentrate on one subject to be successful,” Papczun says.
So he zeroed in on golf and started acquiring Bobby Jones memorabilia. His big break came in 1997 when he secured Price’s 53 letters from Jones, all signed by the golf great. About the same time, he negotiated an agreement with the Jones family to become the exclusive licensee of Bobby Jones collectibles.
Initially, Papczun had to dig and haggle for works such as the Price letters. (In that case, he did not know the writer’s widow and had to rely on middlemen – as well as the highest bid – to seal the deal.) But as the business grew, so did the number of people who began bringing their antiquities to him. Often, items of considerable value fell in his lap. Like that scorecard from the Bahamian exhibition, which Papczun learned about in an unsolicited brochure he received in the mail.
Papczun is best known for his Bobby Jones artifacts. But he also owns licenses for Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan collectibles, among others.
In addition, he sells limited-edition Scotty Cameron putters in his only retail shop, located near the putting green at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Papczun also has an exclusive arrangement with Bob Ford, head professional at Oakmont and Seminole, to peddle items at those clubs. He has even moved into publishing, producing a history of golf art, “Golf Through the Ages,” which Stewart says may be as good a volume on the game as there is.
Papczun’s business is geared toward well-heeled buyers who will pay thousands for a piece whose value comes as much from its rarity and condition as its historical significance and appeal. About a third of his annual sales of $2.5 million are done via the Internet; a third out of his Pebble Beach shop, where he has sold individual items for more than $40,000; and the rest through other channels, such as private sales or items featured in Nieman Marcus catalogs.
Papczun says his goal is to be the purveyor of the finest historic pieces in the game. And the reasons are deeper than most may think.
“It’s not about money,” he says. “With my military background, I have gone through life not as a ‘me’ person. We, as people, are only here for a short time. We are caretakers, then, of the history. And my goal is to take things our forefathers created and present them in a way that people 100 years from now will be excited to own.”
• • •
John Steinbreder is a
Golfweek senior writer. To reach him email
jsteinbreder@golfweek.com.
Papczun’s top finds . . .
• “Not too long ago, I bought a very rare book, called ‘Goff.’ Published in 1744, it is a collection of poems and is considered the first book on the game. If it went on the market today, it would fetch $100,000.”
• “Another favorite is a featherie golf ball played on the Old Course in St. Andrews by Old Tom Morris. I used it to package an item with a photo of the former Keeper of the Greens, and it sold within four hours.”
• “Over the years, I sold some things to Ely Callaway, including three of the Bobby Jones letters to Charles Price. And I reacquired those after Ely’s death, from his estate. I liked that because Ely and I had become friends, and Ely was a distant relative of Jones’. So, those letters meant a lot to him.”
. . . and pointers• “To find truly undervalued items, the types of collectible not generally on someone’s radar, you have to do the estate sale thing. And you have to be a little lucky. Bobby Jones’ home was once part of an estate sale, and items that had been in his family for years went on the block. I got an engineering book of his from that, with his name signed inside, for $50. Today, an autograph of Bobby Jones sells for thousands.”
• “Dealers will occasionally run classified ads in certain areas, asking for golf stuff, and sometimes that will pan out. The idea is to turn over a lot of rocks.” Papczun says aspiring collectors might want to test the same approach.
• “Go to reputable dealers who might have good relationships with different pickers. Their prices will be higher than if you found something on your own. But they will have done all the legwork.”
Posted: 8/13/2007
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