DUBLIN, TX — William Benjamin (Ben) Hogan was born on August 13, 1912 in Dublin, Texas. Hogan worked hard to reach the top of the professional ranks. He learned to play golf by caddying as a teenager and he turned pro at 19. But it was nine years before he won a pro tournament and 15 years before he won his first major, the 1946 PGA. In 1948, he scored a second PGA victory and captured the U.S. Open for the first time. He was golf’s top money earner before a near-fatal accident.
In 1949 Ben Hogan was nearly killed in an automobile accident. Doctors didn’t think he would ever walk again, much less return to his career as a professional golfer. But the next year, Hogan was back competing in the 1950 U.S. Open. Still limping from the accident, he played the tournament to a three-way tie, and then came on strong to win the playoff. The courage and perseverance he showed that day made him a golf legend.
After his remarkable comeback, Hogan won a third U.S. Open in 1951 and then added that year’s Masters tournament to his list of victories. In 1953, he won three of golf’s four “grand-slam” events — The U.S. Open, the Masters, and the British Open. New York City honored him with a ticker-tape parade. Although he didn’t win any of those major tournaments again, he remained a force to be reckoned with on the golf course. Twice, in 1955 and 1956, he came in second in the U.S. Open, just missing the chance to be the only player to win that tournament five times.
The champ who was nicknamed “Bantam Ben” because of his short stature died July 25, 1997.
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues.
So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
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