by Ferreira Moreno
Champagne Tony Lema
On July 24, 1966 a twin-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, trying to make an emergency landing with four people aboard, crashed and burned on the 17th green of a golf course, partially skidding into a lake on the state line of Munster, Indiana and Lansing, Illinois. The plane was the property of Mainline Aviation Inc., owned by Wylie and Doris Mullen and George Bard. There were no survivors. The crew membes were Doris Mullen and George Bard, and the passengers were the popular professional golfer of international fame, Tony Lema, and his wife, Betty.
At the time of their deaths, commercial airlines were on strike. Tony Lema, who disliked private planes, was forced to charter one immediately after participating in a tournament in Akron, Ohio, so he could be on time to play at another tournament in Illinois. He was in such a hurry that he had left his golf shoes in the locker room. For full article, please purchase a copy of The Paper.