Walt Disney World Golf Classic Travel Clock 1973 Mickey Mouse Elgin PGA Tour. Historic Walt Disney World Golf Auctions by Saturday’s Toys presents.. An original treasure from the first Walt Disney World Golf Classic (1973) as held at the Magnolia and Palm golf courses at Walt Disney World. The vintage travel alarm clock with golfer Mickey Mouse is in like-new condition with no noticeable wear. The clock’s case measures 3″ wide x 3.75″ long x 1.5 deep. Includes the original gold cardboard box. The clock has luminous (visible at night) hands and references at each 5-minute mark on the dial. The Disney golf tournament had been created in 1971 in association with the PGA Tour to celebrate Walt Disney World’s grand opening year and was initially named as the “Walt Disney World Open Invitational”… With the personal involvement of golf’s greatest ambassador of that era, Arnold Palmer. Though the WDW resort had planned all along on establishing a world-class golf facility, it wasn’t until a few weeks prior to the first event Nov. 5, 1971 that Arnold Palmer agreed to invite several of his friends to support the new course and to work with the PGA to add this tournament to the PGA Tour. As such, it was tagged as the final event of the PGA Tour season. Florida’s friendly climate worked well for this event happening so late in the year; and it was an immediate hit with the families of these golf pros. In 1971 and 1972 both events were presented as the “Walt Disney World Open” and were won by Jack Nicklaus, only adding to the event’s nationwide recognition as golf’s newest prestige event. The following year (1973), an agreement was made between Walt Disney World (in association with Walt Disney Productions in Burbank) and the PGA to establish the WDW golf event as a permanent part of the PGA Tour. As such, the name was changed to “Walt Disney World Golf Classic” and it continued to be scheduled as the final event of the annual PGA Tour season. Having already played in the 1971 “Open” at WDW… At that time, he was presented with this alarm clock in recognition of his participation in the event. Again that year, Jack Nicklaus won the tournament, becoming the only player in history to win the Disney event on three separate occasions. Notably, after winning the WDW event in 1972, only weeks later Nicklaus faced off with Rod Funseth at the Glen Campbell Los Angeles Open Jan. Funseth won the event with a 278 score (8 under par). Nicklaus finished 4 shots behind Funseth to place 6th in that event. The 1970’s proved to be a decade of significant transition for Disney watches and timepieces. After several decades of relationship to Disney as Ingersoll, US Time and Timex, the company’s contract with Disney was allowed to expire and long-time Timex national spokesperson John Cameron Swayze opted to retire. As such, there were no authorized Disney watches produced between 1969 and 1971. Finally, the Los Angeles Times reported on July 21, 1971 that Disney had signed a new five-year contract with Elgin National Industries (including their Bradley Time Division) and the contract took effect on January 1, 1972. As such, Elgin would create and distribute Disney watches worldwide and the Elgin / Bradley brand also became the official timepieces of both Walt Disney World (Florida) and Disneyland (Anaheim, California). This 1973 alarm clock for the Walt Disney World Golf Classic then became the first Mickey Mouse Alarm Clock in history to be issued under that “Golf Classic” name; a distinction whose rarity is only now being understood because of the extremely limited supply issued at that 1973 event; particularly with the original gold Elgin box. (noted as Item #: 8328DGC; for Disney Golf Classic). Also, the instruction sheet inside the case notes the “Bradley” logo at the center of the dial; particularly interesting as the clock’s brand reference was completely eliminated from the face of Mickey Mouse dial. It should be understood that while the clock is in pristine condition and runs just as it did in 1973, there are specific direction on how to properly reset the Month / Day / Date dials on the piece. The instruction sheet spells out those directions and care should be taken when resetting the dial. In essence, the clock has never been used and following the 1973 tournament was placed in dark storage at family’s Napa, California home adjacent to Silverado Country Club. Saturdays Toys and Disneyana Auctions. Was founded in 1994 by Southern California author and Disney historian, Dave Mason. Having delivered over 10,000 coveted Disney treasures since then, Saturday’s Toys is pleased to partner with researchers, collectors and friends throughout the world with a shared interest in the preservation of authentic and accurate Disney history. Today, online offerings of archival Disneyana keepsakes are presented in celebration of the extended times that allow for family, friends and neighbors to join in memorable gatherings that nurture the strong connections that bind a community together. These treasures are affectionately known as Saturday’s Toys. In that light we present our adopted motto (with a tip of the cap to the Sherman Brothers). Oh, let’s go fly a kite! This usually works most effectively when combining flat paper items postcards, newsletters, ephemera, etc. Let us know if you have questions! The item “Walt Disney World Golf Classic Travel Clock 1973 Mickey Mouse Elgin PGA Tour” is in sale since Tuesday, January 5, 2021. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Disneyana\Contemporary (1968-Now)\Theme Park Souvenirs”. The seller is “saturdaystoys” and is located in Bakersfield, California. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South africa, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Antigua and barbuda, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Montserrat, Turks and caicos islands, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman islands, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Uruguay.
- Brand: Disney
- Character/Story/Theme: Mickey Mouse
- Convention/Event: Walt Disney World Golf Classic – 1973
- Year: 1973
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
- Time Period Manufactured: Contemporary (1968-Now)
- Attraction: Walt Disney World Golf Classic
- Original/Reproduction: Original
- Sport: Golf