The collecting world is quite familiar with the MacGregor Chieftain woods introduced in 1930 with ivory backweights, crown inlays and face inserts.  But few are familiar with MacGregor's Chieftain irons, in part because not nearly as many were made. While the woods were introduced in 1927 and remained in MacGregor's catalogs until 1930, the first catalog to present the Cheiftain iron was MacGregor's 1930 catalog. And the last catalog they were offered in was issued just 1 year later - 1931. 

According to a 1930 Macgregor "Sales Help" manual, the Chieftain were "the head of the clan in irons....Just as the Chieftain is the head of the clan in wood clubs. The head of the clubs is of stainless steel, no plating, no coating, no lacquering, but proof against tarnish and rust through and through. It is offered with a high degree of polish, wich seems to be the preference of the majority of players."

The back of each iron head is marked with the typical model and makers name, etc.  But Chieftains also included the weight and length of each iron.

According to MacGregor's 1921 catalog, Cheiftain irons were sold in sets of 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, or 4 clubs.  The golfer could order however many clubs he or she desired, and could pick the clubs to be included in the set. .  The set offered here consists of a 2, 4, 5, 5x, 6, and 8. A 9-iron from another set is also included in this lot.  The 5x in this set (spade mashie) along with the 8 (jigger) were specialty clubs.

The irons offered here all have their original Bristol Torsion Steel shafts covered in Black Mac-oid. The metal is doubled over along the length of the shaft to create the steel tube. A clear crease runs down the side of each shaft.  All clubs have their original brown leather-wrap grips with the exception of the patched-in 9 iron. It has a black leather grip.