Announced at Celebration 120 · October 3, 2026
Announced from the stage at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the closing night of Celebration 120. They will be inducted on September 17 and 18, 2027, in Atlanta, the first class to enter the Hall in its own building.
East Canton, Ohio · est. 1946
Official portraits and citations follow as each inductee confirms them.
Celebrating Golf’s Black History · Since 1986
In 1946 William Powell came home from the war, was refused play on every public course in Ohio, and cleared the land himself. Clearview is still the only golf course in America designed, built and owned by a Black man.
The Record
Harold Dunovant founded this Hall in 1986 because the contributions of Black golfers were going unrecorded. Not disputed. Unrecorded. Forty years later the record is still being kept, and it is still growing.
The Archive
The Founders
Neither waited for the game to make room. One built a golf course by hand. The other built the record of everyone the game overlooked. Both are run by their children today.
A World War II Army veteran, home from serving his country and unwelcome at Ohio’s public courses. He built Clearview Golf Club by hand out of a dairy farm, and the Powell family has run “America’s Course” for eighty years. Clearview is on the National Register of Historic Places. He and his daughter Renee are the only Black father and daughter with PGA membership, and he and his son Larry the only Black father and son with GCSAA membership.
The first Black graduate of the PGA Business School. He founded this Hall because nobody else was keeping the record. His son Jeff leads it now. They remain the only Black father and son who are both Class A PGA members.
Coming 2027 · Atlanta
The Hall has never had a permanent home. Its record has lived in boxes, in programs, and in the memories of the people who kept it. That ends at John A. White Golf Course in Atlanta, where a $30 million clubhouse is under construction and where Jeff Dunovant, the founder’s son, is General Manager.
Everything raised at Celebration 120 goes toward the record that will live inside it.
Inside: a pro shop, a halfway-house café, two classrooms with golf simulators, a sports-themed restaurant and bar, a private conference room, and a digital interactive golf hall of fame. Alongside it a senior community wing with wellness programs, a fitness center and a teaching kitchen. The event space divides into four. See the course’s own renovation page.
Celebration 120 · October 2 & 3, 2026
Friday evening in conversation with Renee Powell and Jeff Dunovant at Clearview. Saturday golf on the course William Powell built by hand. The Closing Reception and Dinner at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with messages from Gary Player and Pete McDaniel, the silent auction, and the announcement of the Class of 2027. Thank you to every sponsor, player, bidder and volunteer who made it happen.
Take Part
The 2027 Induction Weekend is September 17 and 18 in Atlanta, at the Hall’s new home. Every level is for that weekend, and the two principal sponsorships carry the founders’ names.
NBGHF & LPGA Members
Members of the Hall and of the LPGA take 50 percent off a souvenir journal ad for the 2027 Induction. Verify once and the member rate follows you through checkout.
Only one offered. Commissions a TV documentary with negotiated rights. Presenting name across the 2027 Induction Weekend, eight players and VIP entry, and a two-page spread in the souvenir journal.
Request the DeckSix players and VIP entry, two tee signs, a full page in the souvenir journal, and six months of recognition across the NBGHF platforms.
Request the DeckEight players and VIP entry, two tee signs, and a full page in the souvenir journal.
Request the DeckFour players and VIP entry, two tee signs, and a full page color ad in the souvenir journal.
Request the DeckSupport
Sponsoring puts your name on the 2027 Induction in Atlanta. Donating sustains the Hall and the record whether or not you can be there.
Presenting, William Powell, Harold Dunovant and Supporting levels, each with a place at the induction and a page in the souvenir journal.
See the LevelsGive any amount to preserve Clearview and sustain the Hall. Card or PayPal, no account needed, and you can make it recurring. A registered 501(c)(3), Tax ID 26-2420132, so it is tax deductible.
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