The Links is a private club in New York City. It is located at 36 East 62nd Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Charles B. Macdonald, a golf champion and founder of the United States Golf Association, started the Links in 1917 as a place where powerful members of the golf world could keep the true spirit of the game alive.
The club has status under 501(c)(7) Social and Recreation Clubs; in 2024 it claimed $6,297,303 in total revenue and total assets of $7,769,211.
History The club was established in 1916–1917 by Charles B. Macdonald, in a building designed in the Georgian Revival architectural style by Cross & Cross. In the 1960s, it was "a preferred social gathering spot for America's most powerful chief executives." By 2010, it was still a "preserve of the old banking elite", but not all members were WASPs.
Notable members in 1955 Source:
A sampling of members in 1955 is listed below:
Government and diplomacy Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States Winthrop W. Aldrich, ambassador to Great Britain Arthur A. Ballantine, Undersecretary of the Treasury and lawyer Prescott S. Bush, U.S. Senator and father of President Bush (41) Charles E. Daniel, U.S. Senator from South Carolina Thomas E. Dewey, governor of New York C. Douglas Dillon, U.S. ambassador to France, Future Secretary of the Treasury Joseph E. Davies, U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union Thomas S. Gates, Jr., future U.S. Secretary of Defense Walter S. Gifford, former chairman of A T & T, former Ambassador to the U.K. Stanton Griffis, U.S. ambassador to Poland, Egypt, Spain and Argentina Amory Houghton, CEO, Corning Glass Works, future U.S. Congressman George M. Humphrey, Secretary of the Treasury Herbert C. Hoover Jr., son of the 31st President, Undersecretary of State and a member of the President's cabinet John A. McCone, future director of the C.I.A. Jean Monnet, diplomat and founding father of the European Union Winthrop Rockefeller, son of John D. Rockefeller and Governor of Arkansas Sir William Wiseman, British intelligence agent and banker Cyrus R. Vance, future U.S. Secretary of State John Hay Whitney, future U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain
Military Oscar C. Badger, a four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy Ralph A. Bard, undersecretary of the U.S. Navy Dunbar W. Bostwick, lt. colonel, U.S. Army, helped organize Normandy invasion Lucius D. Clay, U.S. general, Eisenhower deputy and "father" of the Berlin airlift Robert A. Lovett, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Paul Nitze, future Secretary of the Navy Elwood R. Quesada, lieutenant general, U.S.A.F. Stanley R. Resor, future U.S. Secretary of the Army Kenneth Royall, Army brigadier general, last person to serve as Secretary of War James Hopkins Smith Jr., U.S. Secretary of the Navy William Bedell Smith, Eisenhower's chief of staff in WWII, four-star general, former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union and former C.I.A director Harold E. Talbott, Secretary of the Air Force James H. Doolittle, U.S. general and famed aviator
Industry Sewell L. Avery, chairman of Montgomery Ward Stephen D. Bechtel of the engineering and construction company Sosthenes Behn, founder of ITT Corporation Roger M. Blough, president of U.S. Steel Corporation Harold Boeschenstein, chairman of Owens-Corning Richard L. Bowditch, chairman U.S. Chamber of Commerce H.S.M. Burns, British president of Shell Oil Company Louis S. Cates, Chairman of Phelps Dodge Owen R. Cheatham, chairman of Georgia Pacific Corporation Colby M. Chester, chairman of General Foods Corporation Hugh J. Chisholm, president of International Paper George H. Coppers, chairman of Nabisco Cleo F. Craig, president of AT&T Walter F. Dillingham, “the Baron of Hawaiian Industry” Richard R. Depree, president of Procter & Gamble Benjamin F. Fairless, CEO of U.S. Steel Henry Ford II, president of the Ford Motor Company J. Peter Grace Jr., Grace Chemical CEO Augustus C. Long, CEO of Texaco Henry R. Luce, publisher of Time Magazine Joseph H. McConnell, former president of NBC George W. Merck, president of Merck pharmaceuticals Roger Milliken, CEO of Milliken textiles Morehead Patterson, chairman of AMF G. Willing Pepper, president of the Scott Paper Company Gwilym A. Price, president of Westinghouse Edgar Monsanto Queeny, chairman of Monsanto Corporation Donald J. Russell, future CEO of Southern Pacific Railroad Sidney A. Swensrud, chairman Gulf Oil Walter C. Teagle, retired chairman of Standard Oil Thomas J. Watson Jr., president of IBM Charles E. Wilson, former president of General Electric
Finance Norborne Berkeley, president of Chemical Bank Edward Eagle Brown, chairman of the First National Bank of Chicago Paul C. Cabot, founded State Street Corporation and started the first mutual fund Asa V. Call, president of Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company Jean Cattier, Partner at White Weld & Co, and Chairman of the European American Bank George Champion, chairman, Chase Manhattan Bank J. Luther Cleveland, chairman of the Guaranty Trust Company S. Sloan Colt, president of the Bankers Trust Company Isaac B. Grainger, president of Chemical Bank and future president U.S.G.A. Benjamin H. Griswold III, chairman of Alex, Brown E. Roland Harriman, co-founder of Brown Brothers Harriman Devereux C. Josephs, chairman of the Board New York Life Insurance John J. McCloy, future chairman, Chase Manhattan Bank, President World Bank Henry S. Morgan, grandson of J.P. Morgan and co-founder of Morgan Stanley Ralph Owen, chairman of American Express Elmore C. Patterson, future CEO of J.P. Morgan Ralph T. Reed, future CEO of American Express David Rockefeller, future chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank J. Stillman Rockefeller, president National City Bank Howard C. Sheperd, chairman of National City Bank Harold Stanley, co-founder of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, founder of Dean Witter investment firm
Aircraft and aviation William E. Boeing, founder of the Boeing Airplane Company F. Trubee Davison, WWI Naval Aviator Robert E. Gross, president of Lockheed Aircraft Frederick B. Rentschler, chairman of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Edward V. Rickenbacker, World War I ace pilot Leon A. Swirbul, founder of Grumman Aircraft
Inheritance Marshall Field, heir to the department store fortune James H. McGraw Jr., heir to the book publishing company Paul Mellon, heir to the Mellon banking fortune and philanthropist Howard Phipps, heir to the Carnegie Steel partner Henry Phipps Jr. Joseph N. Pew, heir to Sun Oil fortune, co-founder of the Pew Charitable Trusts J. Watson Webb, film maker and heir to the Vanderbilt fortune
Golf and other pursuits Morton G. Bogue, former president of the U.S.G.A. C. Suydam Cutting, explorer Donald K. David, dean of the Harvard Business School Arthur H. Dean, chairman of the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell Childs Frick, paleontologist and son of Steel magnate Henry Clay Frick Totton P. Heffelfinger, president of the U.S.G.A. Eugene V. Homans. Bobby Jones defeated Homans at Merion to win the grand slam in 1930 Roger D. Lapham, Mayor of San Francisco and co-founder of Cypress Point Club Robert Montgomery, actor Alfred Easton Poor, architect Roland L. Redmond, president Metropolitan Museum of Art Archie M. Reid, secretary of the U.S.G.A. Clifford Roberts, co-founder of Augusta National Golf Club
Other Jack C. Massey
1955 members featured on the cover of Time Magazine Source: Charles Wilson Colby Chester Cyrus Vance David Rockefeller Dwight Eisenhower Douglas Dillon Eddie Rickenbacker George Merck Gwilym Price Henry Ford II Herbert Hoover Jr. James Doolittle John McCloy Joseph Davies Joseph Pew Lucius Clay Roger Blough Roger Lapham Stillman Rockefeller Thomas Dewey Thomas Watson Trubee Davison Walter Teagle Winthrop Rockefeller
Other References List of traditional gentlemen's clubs in the United States Article on the clubhouse and its architecture. External links Official website
References