A corny old golf joke goes:
Q: Why did the golfer wear two pairs of pants?
A: In case he got a hole in one.
The joke has been cited in print since at least 1946.
21 June 1946, Bowie (TX) News, “Casting About” by Trout, pg. 1, col. 1:
H. M. Moore is a cautious golfer. He wears two pairs of pants — just in case he gets a hole in one.
10 September 1950, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Golf” by Everett Dane and Bitty Benedict, sec. 6, pg. 5, col. 2:
Did you ever hear the story about the golfer who brought two pairs of pants on the course with him? Why? Because he thought he might get a hole-in-one.
Google Books
March 1960, Boys’ Life, “Think and Grin,” pg. 78, col. 2:
Moe: Why did the golfer wear two pair of pants to the golf course?
Joe: 1 don’t know, why?
Moe: In case he got a hole in one. — Leonard Romeo, Canadensis, Pa.
31 January 1964, Lexington (KY) Herald, “Pressbox Pickups” by Billy Thompson, pg. 8, col. 5:
Ray (Hornback—ed.) is also a pretty fair golfer (he says!) and added that he always wears two pairs of pants when he plays golf. “Just in case I get a hole in one,” he explains.
11 August 1966, Boston (MA) Record American, “A Cookout Potpourri” by Bruce McCabe, pg. 21, col. 4:
A golfer I know always wears two pairs of pants—in case he gets a hole in one.
Google News Archive
11 November 1971, Ocala (FL) Star-Banner, “Today’s Chuckle,” pg. 1A, col. 5:
Once there was a chap who always wore two pairs of pants when he played golf—in case he got a hole-in-one.
Google News Archive
18 November 1983, The Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT), “Utah girls a big hit with Carson” by Lee Davidson, pg. 4W, col. 4:
Miss Weston asked, “Why did the golfer wear two pairs of pants? In case he got a hole in one.”
Google Books
The World’s Best Sports Riddles and Jokes
By Joseph Rosenbloom
New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company
1988
Pg. 27:
Why did the golfer wear two pairs of pants?
In case he got a hole in one.
Google Books
God Loves Golfers Best:
The Best Jokes, Quotes, and Cartoons for Golfers
By Ray Foley
Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc.
2009
Pg. 10:
Why did the golfer take an extra pair of pants when he went out on the golf course?
Just in case he got a hole in one.
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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