Lanfield has directed “Follow the Sun,” the film about Hogan’s life, crash and recovery which came out in 1951 starring Glenn Ford. Various reports say Hogan was offered a five-year deal for $95,000 plus another $25,000 to be put toward a home to spend a few months each winter in the desert. Other reports say Hogan was offered just $10,000 a year.
Full Answer
How did Ben Hogan come back from a car accident?
Nearly 75 years ago, Hall of Famer Ben Hogan came back from a life threatening car accident on his way home from the Phoenix Open to defy the odds and become a champion again.
What happened to Ben Hogan's wife?
2017 – Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company reemerges as golf's first & only direct-to-consumer-only golf equipment company. Hogan died at age 84 in Fort Worth on July 25, 1997; his wife Valerie died two years later, and they are interred at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth. Major championships are shown in bold .
What happened to Ben Hogan after the Carnoustie win?
After the win at Carnoustie, Hogan and his wife Valerie were passengers on the SS United States westbound to New York City, where he received a ticker tape parade down Broadway on July 21. Ben Hogan is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest ball strikers who ever played golf.
How many miles did Ben Hogan Drive in 1949?
By February 1949, Hogan had driven more than 3,000 miles since the start of the golf season, and he’d won two of his first four tournaments. He was leading the tour on the money list in what promised to be another remarkable year–but he told Time, “It’s the traveling. I want to die an old man, not a young one.”
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Why did Hogan not play in the PGA?
There were two reasons for this. First, the PGA Championship was, until 1958, a match play event, and Hogan's particular skill was "shooting a number" —meticulously planning and executing a strategy to achieve a score for a round on a particular course (even to the point of leaving out the 7-iron in the U.S. Open at Merion, saying "there are no 7-iron shots at Merion"). Second, the PGA required several days of 36 holes per day competition, and after his 1949 auto accident, Hogan struggled to manage more than 18 holes a day.
What did Hogan think of golf swings?
Hogan thought that an individual's golf swing was "in the dirt" and that mastering it required plenty of practice and repetition. He is also known to have spent years contemplating the golf swing, trying a range of theories and methods before arriving at the finished method which brought him his greatest period of success.
Why did Hogan not win the 1953 PGA Championship?
Hogan, 40, was unable to enter—and possibly win—the 1953 PGA Championship (to complete the Grand Slam) because its play (July 1–7) overlapped the play of The Open at Carnoustie (July 6–10), which he won.
What golf courses did Hogan play in 1928?
Club rules did not allow caddies age 16 and older, so after August 1928, Hogan took his game to three scrubby daily-fee courses: Katy Lake, Worth Hills, and Z-Boaz.
Which side of the backswing did Hogan use?
Hogan revealed later in life that the "secret" involved cupping the left wrist at the top of the backswing and using a weaker left-hand grip (thumb more on top of the grip as opposed to on the right side).
How many majors has Hogan won?
He is one of only five players to have won all four majors: the Masters Tournament, The Open Championship (despite only playing once), the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. The other four are Nicklaus, Woods, Player, and Gene Sarazen; Hogan's first major win came at age 34.
How many major championships did Hogan win?
He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and his legendary ball-striking ability. Hogan's nine career professional major championships tie him with Gary Player for fourth all-time, trailing only Jack Nicklaus (18), Tiger Woods (15) and Walter Hagen (11).
What did Hogan say to rescuers?
Hogan reportedly told would-be rescuers: “I’m not hurt. Help my wife. I’ll be OK.”
How many majors did Hogan win?
Hogan went on to win six more Majors to take his tally to nine after his accident. 15. And one of his successors as world No 1, Jon Rahm, said it was not just his latest injuries that would be a cause for concern.
How many back operations did Tiger Woods have?
That sounds ominous, especially as golfers place so much strain on their ankles through impact – and Woods has already had to overcome five back operations, the same number of knee ops, and a torn Achilles tendon.
Why did Hogan parade through New York?
Instead, he settled for a ticker-tape parade through New York, to celebrate his ‘Triple Crown’.
What happened to the golf legend?
The golf legend was cut from the wreckage of his car and hauled out of the windscreen by firefighters Credit: The Mega Agency. 15. The 15-time Major champion underwent surgery on his lower right leg and ankle Credit: The Mega Agency. But he came back from a shattered pelvis, busted ribs, a broken collarbone and near-fatal blood clots ...
Why did the golfer throw himself in front of Valerie?
The golfer instinctively threw himself in front of wife Valerie, in the front passenger seat, to try to protect her from injury.
Who was the boyhood idol that was hit head on by a bus?
GOLF LOVERS will be hoping Tiger Woods can add to his ‘Iron Man’ status, and match the incredible recovery achieved by one of his boyhood idols, Ben Hogan. Hogan was almost killed when his car was hit head-on by a Greyhounds bus in February 1949. 15.
What happened to Ben Hogan?
Ben Hogan and his wife were involved in a near-fatal accident in February 1949. Ben Hogan picked up two PGA Tour victories in 1949, first the Bing Crosby Pro-Am at Pebble Beach and then the Long Beach Open at Lakewood Country Club.
How did Ben Hogan lose his wife?
But driving home from that third event, Hogan and his wife nearly lost their lives in a car accident, an accident that also nearly cost him the ability to walk. But Ben Hogan fought through all of it and made his return to the PGA Tour in less than a year and then went on to win the U.S. Open in 1950.
What hole did Hogan hit the iron in?
Tied for the lead on the 72nd hole, Hogan hit a 1-iron into the green at the difficult 18th, which produced one of the most iconic photographs in sports history, and two-putted his way into an 18-hole playoff with Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio.
How many wins did Ben Hogan have?
His 64 wins are good for fourth on the PGA Tour’s all-time victory list and his nine major championships also rank fourth (tied with Player). After nearly losing his life at age 36, Ben Hogan lived to be 84 years old before passing away on July 25, 1997. Valerie passed two years later.
How old was Ben Hogan when he died?
After nearly losing his life at age 36, Ben Hogan lived to be 84 years old before passing away on July 25, 1997. Valerie passed two years later.
How long did Ben Hogan stay in El Paso?
He spent 59 days in an El Paso hospital, during which his weight dropped to 95 pounds, and was told at one point that not only might he never play golf again, but he also might actually never walk again. But as it was on the golf course back in those days, you just don’t bet against Ben Hogan.
Why did Ben throw himself in the passenger seat?
In an extremely heroic and romantic move, Ben threw himself across the passenger seat to protect his wife and saved her from major injury while also actually saving his own life as the steering column of the Cadillac sedan was thrust into the back of the driver’s seat.
What changes did Hogan make to his golf swing?
The changes Hogan made in early 1946 came to be known as The Secret . Hogan told fellow pro Gardner Dickinson that while thinking about how to rid himself of a persistent hook, he was perusing an old golf book with pictures of a player who favored a fade. Hogan noticed that the player's left wrist was wrinkled at the top of his swing. Struck with an idea, Hogan weakened his left-hand grip, shortened the extension of his left thumb on the shaft and allowed his arms to rotate the clubface well open on the backswing. It gave him the "cupped" wrist position.
Where was the Hogan bus smashed?
It has been 60 years since the Cadillac sedan carrying Hogan and his wife, Valerie, along a foggy two-lane road outside Van Horn, Tex., was smashed by a Greyhound bus that had crossed the center line. With so much scrutiny being paid to Woods' return, it's a fitting time to take a fresh look at Hogan -- the ultimate U.S. Open player -- and how his comeback defines and distorts the way he is remembered.
Why did Hogan put on 20 pounds?
Hogan also put on 20 or so pounds after the accident, some as a result of having to be less active and some because of a new regimen of strength training that Snead thought helped . In any case, the extra bulk might have allowed Hogan to maintain his length with less effort. Also, for what it's worth, at the beginning of 1953 Hogan stopped playing the MacGregor golf ball, widely considered by players of the time to be inferior, and won his Triple Crown playing Titleist.
What was Hogan's real joy?
Hogan always maintained that his real joy came not from winning, but from improving. "Most of the enjoyment in life is in improving," he told Seitz in 1970. "If I didn't think I could improve right now, why . . . " and his voice trailed off. It was a noble idea, but Hogan knew his most fulfilling improvement had ended with his comeback.
How tall was Hogan in 1940?
Although only 135 pounds in the 1940s, at 5-feet-8 Hogan was built like a boxer, wasp-waisted and broad-shouldered, with the sinewy arms of the blacksmith's son he was. Add fast-twitch fibers, and it was no wonder Hogan's action captured so many awestruck eyes.
What was the cause of Hogan's problems on the greens?
A Hogan biographer, Curt Sampson, posits that the damage to Hogan's left-eye vision in the accident was the source of his increasing struggles on the greens during the '50s and '60s -- most notably a tendency to freeze over putts before managing a jerky stroke.
When did Hogan three putt the 72nd hole?
It's what he'd done after getting rolled down the hill in a barrel while being hazed as a new caddie at Glen Garden. When in 1946 he three-putted the 72nd hole from inside 20 feet to lose both the Masters and the U.S. Open, he responded by winning the PGA for his first major.
Where did Ben Hogan live when he was 9?
Hogan biographer James Dodson says some reports place Ben in the room of their home in Fort Worth, Texas, at the time. The loss of the family breadwinner meant the Hogan children had to contribute financially.
What did Hogan do to the ball?
Hogan steadied himself over the ball, slowly began his backswing, unleashed his power and sent the ball flying. The crowd around him gasped at the sound of his shot and the sight of the ball heading toward the flag. Hogan went on to par the hole and force a three-way playoff.
What car did Hogan drive in?
The Greyhound plowed head-on into Hogan’s Cadillac . At the last second, the golfer hurled himself across his wife. “That was the first break I got in all this trouble,” Hogan later said. The steering wheel and part of his car’s engine was “hammered thru the cushion on my side of the seat.”.
What year did Ben Hogan win the British Open?
Ben Hogan received a tickertape parade down Broadway in New York after winning the 1953 British Open and the "Hogan Slam.". (Dick DeMarsico, courtesy the Library of Congress) On the damp and chilly morning of Wednesday, February 2, 1949, Ben Hogan got up before the sun and hit the El Capitan Motel coffee shop in Van Horn, Texas.
How fast did Ben Hogan drive?
They hadn’t gone ten miles when they ran into a dense fog and a slick, icy film on the road. Hogan cut his speed to 25 miles per hour; then he saw “four lights winking at me.”.
How many miles did Hogan drive in 1949?
By February 1949, Hogan had driven more than 3,000 miles since the start of the golf season, and he’d won two of his first four tournaments.
How many major tournaments did Ben Hogan win?
Ben Hogan had reached the pinnacle of his career. For the first time, the diminutive golfer had captured two major tournaments in the same year—the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
What happened to Ben Hogan?
Golf. Ben Hogan, golf’s original comeback story, roared back from his devastating car crash. Ben Hogan at the 1950 U.S. Open, which he won in a playoff just 16 months after a car accident that nearly killed him. (Bettmann Archive) .
Why didn't Hogan win the PGA?
Hogan didn’t win the PGA Championship simply because he didn’t play in it: It overlapped with the British Open at the time, he disliked its match-play format and the tournament required 36 holes of golf on some days (because of his injuries, 18 was Hogan’s limit). Advertisement.
How many majors did Hogan win?
Hogan was 36 years old at the time and had won three majors, two of them the year before, and had been the PGA Tour’s leading money winner five times already that decade, even though his career had been interrupted for more than two years while serving in World War II. Now it was being interrupted again, at its peak.
Who was the golfer who crashed in 1949?
Ben Hogan, golf’s original comeback story, roared back from his devastating car crash - The Washington Post. There are some parallels between Ben Hogan, who won six major tournaments after a nearly fatal car accident in 1949, and Tiger Woods. Skip to main content. Search Input. Search.
Overview
William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and his ball-striking ability.
Hogan's nine career professional major championships tie him with Gary Player f…
Early life and character
Hogan was born in Stephenville, Texas, the third and youngest child of Chester and Clara (Williams) Hogan. His father was a blacksmith and the family lived ten miles (16 km) southwest in Dublin until 1921, when they moved seventy miles (110 km) northeast to Fort Worth. When Hogan was nine years old in 1922, his father Chester committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot at the family home. By some accounts, Chester committed suicide in front of him, which some (inc…
Turns professional
Hogan dropped out of Central High School during the final semester of his senior year. He turned pro in the golf industry six months shy of his 18th birthday at the Texas Open in San Antonio, in late January 1930. Hogan met Valerie Fox in Sunday school in Fort Worth in the mid-1920s, and they reacquainted in 1932 when he landed a low-paying club pro job in Cleburne, where her family had moved. They married in April 1935 at her parents' home.
Career-threatening accident
During Hogan's prime years of 1938 through 1959, he won 63 professional golf tournaments despite the interruption of his career by World War II and a near-fatal car accident. Hogan served in the U.S. Army Air Forces from March 1943 to June 1945; he was stationed locally at Fort Worth and became a utility pilot with the rank of lieutenant.
Driving home to Fort Worth after a Monday playoff loss at the 1949 Phoenix Open, Hogan and hi…
The "Triple Crown" season
The win at Carnoustie was only a part of Hogan's watershed 1953 season, a year in which he won five of the six tournaments he entered, including three major championships (a feat known as the Triple Crown of Golf).
It still stands among the greatest single seasons in the history of professional golf. Hogan, 40, was unable to enter—and possibly win—the 1953 PGA Championship (to complete the Grand Slam) …
Hogan's golf swing
Ben Hogan is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest ball strikers who ever played golf. Although he had a formidable record with 64 PGA tour victories, it is Hogan's ball-striking ability that mostly underpins his modern reputation.
Hogan was known to practice more than any of his contemporary golfers and is said to have "invented practice". On this matter, Hogan himself said, "You hear stories about me beating my b…
"Five Lessons" and golf instruction
Hogan believed that a solid, repeatable golf swing involved only a few essential elements, which, when performed correctly and in sequence, were the essence of the swing. His book Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf (written with Herbert Warren Wind) is perhaps the most widely read golf tutorial ever written, although Harvey Penick's Little Red Book would also have a claim to th…
Playing style
Hogan is widely acknowledged to have been one of the finest ball strikers that ever played the game.
Hogan's ball striking has also been described as being of near miraculous caliber by other very knowledgeable observers such as Jack Nicklaus, who only saw him play some years after his prime. Nicklaus once responded to the question, "Is Tiger Woods the best ball striker you have ev…