Even on his day off every morning Kenny Robinson routinely makes his way over to the Northfield clubhouse of the Atlantic City Country Club to feed Bogie the cat, who has been a resident there for the past 19 years.
Kenny’s been coming to the ACCC every morning for a dozen years longer than Bogie, has worked there in a half dozen various capacities over the years, and has been left with the job of maintaining the history and traditions of the club.
The history is long and embroidered, while the traditions are few but steadfast, one of which includes feeding Bogie the cat, who can usually be found either napping or sitting sentry on the shelf next to the bag room door. From where he sits, if cats could talk, Boggy has seen it all, but so it seems, has Kenny Robinson. Sitting down with him to talk about his experiences in golf is a lesson in history, traditions and the growth of the game.
Born near Philadelphia, the son of a Vauderville entertainer and a Broadway showgirl, Kenny Robinson first became associated with the game of golf when still in school while caddying at his neighborhood Old York Road golf club.
Playing the harmonica was a family tradition, and Kennedy and his brothers played often, for both fun and profit, and broke their father’s marathon harmonica playing record at a charity event in the 1930s. Still proficient at the harp, once in awhile, like on St. Patrick’s Day, Kenny can be persuaded to play “Danny Boy” and a few other appropriate tunes.
After serving in the Army in Korea, from where he returned a decorated hero, Kenny continued to work in Vaudeville. He had left a job working at the historic Country Club at Brookline, Massachusetts when he came to Atlantic City to entertain at the old Globe and Capitol Burlesque Theaters when he met Leo Fraser at a boardwalk hotel event.
From one Army vet to another, Leo Fraser asked Robinson to come to work for him at the Atlantic City Country Club, and he’s never left. Taking on practically every job around the clubhouse, Kenny’s been a housekeeper, maintenance man, caddy, caddy master, starter and pro shop manager.
When the most distinguished and influential members of the community were also members of the elite, private club, Kenny knew them all and they knew Kenny, and depended on him for their tee times. His job also allowed him to meet many celebrities who played the course, including Bob Hope and Perry Como and others he knew from the old Vaudeville circuit who now came around as casino headliners.
Of all the championship tournaments and celebrated golf events he’s been associated with, Kenny says the 1980 PGA Senior Tournament was the most memorial. “Seeing all of those guys get together was something else. The champions of the game who hadn’t played together in awhile and were happy to just see each other again.” That was even before Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicholas were old enough to play as seniors. Among those who were there included Al Besselink, Sam Snead, Art Wall, Sr., Tony Pena, Tommy Bolt and the Herbert brothers.
As the third senior event of the year, just after the Senior Open, that tournament is considered the first and beginning of the PGA Senior Tour, now called the Champions Tour, one of the most prestigious golf tours in the world. That tournament also raised money for charity – Juvenile Diabetes, and was sponsored by Bally Casino, whose parent company now owns the club.
It was also the tournament, Kenny notes, that the longtime course single round record of 63 was set by Charlie Sifford, one of the first blacks to play on the PGA tour. It was a record that was only recently eclipsed during Duke Delcher’s tournament by Frank Dobbs, who shot a 62 while overcoming a boggy.
But Kenny doesn’t think the course records will be seriously threatened by any new, hot shot youngster, but rather, the seniors again, if they ever hold another senior tournament again.
Other than Boggie the cat, Kenny survived the casino take-over of the club, along with Denise Petrino, the clubhouse manager, who succeeded her mother at that position. Robinson credits casino executives Wally Barr and Ken Condon, who were club members before the sale, for their efforts to continue the historic legacy of the club.
Robinson also notes that Director of Golf Operations Billy Ziobro, along with architect Tom Doak, were primarily responsible for restoring the course along traditional links lines, and that Ziobro’s association with the club goes back to when he won the Sonny Fraser Cup, the New Jersey Amateur and New Jersey Open all in the same year, before turning pro.
While the Sonny Fraser tournament, which once rivaled the Crump Cup as the premier amateur invitational tournament in this area, has yet to be revived, other charity tournaments and traditions continue – the Northfield Mayor’s Cup, the Marine Corps tournament and scholastic events have been maintained, and new tournaments and new traditions are being inaugurated.
As the old players knew him, the new players will come to recognize the knowledge and wisdom Kenny Robinson has acquired over the years. Many people have benefited from and have appreciated knowing Kenny Robinson over the years, but today, on his day off, he is best appreciated by Bogie the cat, the bag room sentry, awaiting his meal.
Requiem for a Feline – Bogie the Clubhouse Cat
November 1982 – January 2001
We are sad to report that Bogie the cat who has called the Atlantic City Country Club his home for nearly twenty years has passed away.
Since he first arrived at the Northfield Links in November 1982, a kitten that could curl in the cup of your hand, Bogie was an ever-present if unobtrusive fixture around the venerable old clubhouse. Named by Drew Siok, the son of the golf pro Don Siok, Bogie could usually be found laying around the bag room door, unless there was a tournament.
When there was a tournament Bogie would usually perch himself on the corner by the registration table, ensuring that he would get a playful pet or pat on the head from passing players. Other times he would sit in an empty golf cart, looking for some attention and waiting for the action to begin. Among those who took a particular liking to Bogie were Perry Como, Sam Snead, Julius Boros, Joe Nameth and Frankie Avalon.
With his bright orange fur, white underbelly and blue eyes that begged to be petted, Bogie often mingled with the golfers on the practice green and accompanied them to the first tee before retreating for a nap back in the bag room.
When the casino first purchased the club, longtime employee Kenny Robinson obtained assurances from company executives that Bogie would always have a home. With his passing, Kenny buried Bogie on the course, where a small shrine recognized his friendly contribution to the kindred spirits of the club.
(This article originally appeared in Golfer's Tee Times)
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