William E. “Bill” Callan (1942– ) has made preserving the heritage of The Olympic Club his life’s work. Born in San Francisco, he joined the Club in 1950 — and since that time, he has watched Olympia grow and change… and documented it all.
As a boy and then young man, he participated in the junior/juvenile program. After university, he went into real estate, and, at the same time, became more involved in Club governance.
He has served on a dozen committees, including Admissions, Development & Special Projects, Finance, Green and Golf Tournament, as well as chaired Country Club, Nominating, Properties, Book and History & Archives. He served on the Board of Directors from 1989–1991, and was the Club’s Secretary, like his father, Emmett. His brother, Bob, served as the Club’s President in 1983. No one knows more about the Club than Bill.
He established the Club’s history and archives program in 1987, tirelessly working for thousands of hours to maintain our Club’s heritage, researching and collecting vital material about the Club’s history. Not only did he preserve pieces that would otherwise have been tossed away, he also formed the Club’s primary research files, digitized thousands of photos and documents and created the framed displays around the renovated City Clubhouse.
He has photographed the evolution of our golf courses for the last 30 years, and is constantly writing their history. He organized the Club’s communications and publicity efforts for the U.S. Opens. He served on the USGA’s Museum and Library Committee.
He long served as the Club’s “go-to” guy for all research needs — from master plans and course updates to lawsuits and cost analyses. He co-founded and acted as chief researcher for the very committee that now honors him, the Hall of Fame. He’s the Club’s Historian Emeritus and a recipient of the President’s Award. We thank Bill for all his contributions — without him and his work, nights like the Hall of Fame would not be possible.
