The year was 1974 and 174 golfers were about to tee off in the inaugural Little Peoples Golf Championship.  Little did Nan Ryan , the Executive Director and Founder of the event think that the event would still be going strong some 40 years later.

Back in 1974, forty-five of the field of 174 golfers were from Quincy, the rest traveled from all over the country and Canada to come play in Quincy which enhanced the city's economy through the hotels and restaurant usage of those players and their families.  The tournament is now called the Pepsi-Titan Little Peoples Golf Championship thanks to their sponsorship of the event.

In 2000 the tourney reached a pinnacle with 922 golfers and has seen a slow decline ever since.  The reason being there are now more junior tournaments all over the country scattering those junior golfers to other locales. Despite, the decline, the Little Peoples Golf Championship is still considered one of the best in the country and is certainly a vital part of this city's economy.

Hat's off to Nan Ryan for having the vision 40 years ago to start a wonderful event. For a great article on the Pepsi-Titan Little Peoples Golf Championship check out the Sunday sports section of the Quincy Herald Whig.

More From 100.9 The Eagle, The Tri-States' Classic Rock Station