J. Frederick Byers
Western Pennsylvania Golf Hall of Fame
Class of 2025
J. Frederick Byers
Inducted Thursday, October 16, 2025 at Fox Chapel Golf Club
For J. Frederick Byers, the contributions made to the game of golf outside of his playing career far exceeded the days in which he competed.
A preeminent golf administrator, Byers’ meaningfulness to golf was landed in the regional, state and national levels, as he was regarded as an utmost steward of the game during his life.
Byers was the founder of the Pennsylvania State Golf Association and the first Western Pennsylvanian to serve as the President of the USGA.
He was the President of the Pennsylvania State Golf Association in 1914, President of the WPGA in 1919 and spent two years as the USGA’s President from 1922-1923, overseeing the implementation and playing of the inaugural Walker Cup matches in 1922.
“J.F. Byers is truly one of the most influential individuals in golf in our region, more so for what he did off the golf course than on,” said Moore. “He was a founding member of Augusta National and helped them financially during their early years.
“While his brother gets more of the headlines, golf as we know it today, with events like the Masters and the Walker Cup, do not happen without the work and support of J.F. Byers. I am thrilled he is getting his rightful recognition as a member of the Western Pennsylvania Golf Hall of Fame.”
Byers came from one of the region’s leading golf families. His brother, Eben, was champion of the 1906 U.S. Amateur and was one of the founders of Allegheny Country Club. Eben Byers was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.
As an amateur player, J.F. Byers won two Western Pennsylvania Team Championships with Allegheny Country Club in 1908 and 1916, captaining the second victorious team.
A Yale graduate, Byers was also a successful industrialist who served as vice-president of the A.M. Byers Company. He was a noted horse racing enthusiast later in his life, a trustee of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and Carnegie Library.
He died in 1949 at the age of 67 following a short illness.
About the WPGA
Founded in 1899, the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association is the steward of amateur golf in the region. Started by five Member Clubs, the association now has nearly 200 Member Clubs and over 43,000 members. The WPGA conducts 14 individual competitions and 10 team events, and administers the WPGA Scholarship Fund.