Six-time major champion and 29-time PGA Tour winner Lee Trevino will be the special guest and keynote speaker at the 29th annual American Red Cross Evening of Stars.
The event will take place on Thursday, Oct. 24 in the Brown Ballroom on the campus of Illinois State University. Tickets are on sale now here.
Funds raised during this annual event help the Red Cross provide critical services throughout the Central Illinois region.
More about World Golf Hall of Fame member Lee Trevino:
One of golf’s most engaging and successful players of the modern era, Lee Buck Trevino was born into poverty in Dallas, Texas, and was raised by his mother and grandfather, a gravedigger. Trevino began picking cotton when he was 5, and advanced to picking up golf balls before he joined the caddie yard. He left school at age 14, helping raise money for his family.
Before he would become a major force in golf, Trevino spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Turning professional in 1960, Trevino’s golf talent was spotted by PGA Life Member Bill Eschenbrenner of El Paso, Texas, who was among a group playing Mondays at the former Horizon Hills Country Club. It was there that Trevino stayed in a small motel on the property, worked behind the golf shop counter and managed the practice range. Eschenbrenner, the 2005 PGA Golf Professional of the Year, ultimately signed the documents verifying that Trevino was eligibly employed, allowing his entry to the PGA Tour.
In 1968, at age 27, Trevino captured the first of his two U.S. Open Championships at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. This would also mark the first of four occasions when the legendary Jack Nicklaus finished second to him in a major. Trevino went on to win 29 times, including six majors – the 1968 and 1971 U.S. Open; 1974 and ’84 PGA Championship; and the 1971 and ’72 Open Championship. He competed on six U.S. Ryder Cup Teams in three separate decades (1969, ’71, ’73, ’75, ’79, ’81), posting a 17-7-6 record, and went on to serve as U.S. Captain in 1985. He was the 1971 PGA of America Player of the Year, won five Vardon Trophies for scoring excellence; and was the 2013 PGA Distinguished Service Award recipient. In a remarkable four-week period in 1971, Trevino won in succession – the U.S. Open, Canadian Open and Open Championship.
At the height of his career, he was one of three players struck by lightning on June 27, 1975, at the Western Open. Though it severely hindered his game, he battled back through a series of operations and won 29 more titles on the Champions Tour, a run that included the 1992 and 1994 Senior PGA Championships.
Behind the scenes, Trevino maintained a passionate philanthropic life. Leading his charitable efforts was the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, sparked through donations from winning three former Danny Thomas Memphis Classic (now St. Jude Classic) titles. For nearly three decades, Trevino has been call for countless charities, agreeing to be “auctioned” to a donor, then playing golf with groups throughout the country. Trevino is also an avid supporter of the military and has appeared in recruiting announcements for the U.S. Marines.
