Maryland Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2023: Anthony J. "Perky" Cullinane

Anthony J. Cullinane, known as Perky, demonstrated his passion and natural talent for the game of golf by continuing to play, improve and compete well into his 80s. His golfing career began as a young boy playing with his father and brothers at Kenwood Golf and Country Club.

As his family grew, he maintained his level of play and continued to compete both individually, and as a team player. Probably no one played in as many Maryland State Team matches as Perky, who competed from the 1950s through the 1990s. He has been a member of Columbia Country Club since 1974.

As a junior golfer, Perky won the Washington District Junior Open in 1950, the Metropolitan Schoolboy in 1953, and the Worsham Memorial Tournament in 1954. While serving overseas in 1958 and 1959, he won the Austrian Amateur Championship and was runner-up in both the US Army European Championship and the Belgium Amateur Championship. In 1959, Perky was low amateur in the German Open, Ramstein Open, and Bad Kissingen Open in Germany.

After returning to the Washington area, Perky won the 1960 DC Amateur title and the 1960 Metropolitan Amateur Championship, which he also won in 1976. In 1986, he teamed with Marty West to win the MSGA Four-Ball Championship. He won the MSGA Senior Amateur in 1994 and was runner-up three times.

Perky qualified and played in many USGA Championships, including U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur, U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open, and U.S. Senior Amateur, each at least two times. He qualified for 13 U.S. Amateurs. In 1985, at the age of 50, he won the Columbia Club Championship and qualified for three USGA championships: the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur, and U.S. Senior Open.

Perky was inducted into the St Johns College High School Hall of Fame in 2000.