Iconic Moment IV: The Comebacks


April 28, 2008

On June 3, 2008, the USGA Museum and Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History will open to the public following a three-year renovation and expansion project. The new exhibitions in the Palmer Center will present the game’s history in a unique and original way, viewing golf within the context of American social, cultural and political history. USGA champions and memorable moments in championship history will be placed at the forefront of the visitor experience. Central to each gallery is a main story – an iconic moment – pivotal for understanding the game’s development. Our national identity is inextricably linked to these defining championships. 

This is the fourth in a six-part series highlighting each iconic moment. Click here to go back to the main page.

By Doug Stark, USGA

Far Hills, N.J. - America in the 1950s was a country on the move, exhaling after a hard-fought struggle in World War II. It was finding ways to win the peace. The nation was entering its greatest period of prosperity as Americans purchased new houses and cars, received their education on the G.I. Bill, and resumed the lives that had been temporarily postponed. As President Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the White House, the country was poised to embark on a new era. 

Sports in the postwar decade were on the cusp of exploding. For years, sports were largely regional, but the war, with an active sports program building troop morale, excited everyone about returning to the playing field. The time was right for professional leagues to start. In golf, the Women’s Professional Golfers Association began, and the USGA and PGA resumed a full schedule of championships and tournament play. 

More so than at any other time, Americans could identify with their sports heroes. After a decade and a half of sacrifice and coping with loss, Americans understood what it was like to face a setback and overcome it. For five years, sons and daughters - young, optimistic, and patriotic - left home and fought overseas. Some never returned. Some returned injured and forever changed. But everyone continued to forge ahead. They weren’t feeling sorry for themselves but were looking to make the best of their lives.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Ben Hogan. Texas natives born before World War I. The two epitomized the generation emerging from the Depression and World War II.  Their careers started in the dark days of the worst economic crisis the country had ever known. 

After reaching the culmination of athletic achievement with her gold-medal performances at the 1932 Olympics, Zaharias took up golf and barnstormed the country earning a living. She tried other sports and even resorted to vaudeville. 

Hogan, meanwhile, left school at an early age and sold newspapers to help support his family. He became a caddie and turned professional in 1930 as stocks plunged. He struggled to support himself, but soon found his game and collected 15 victories before being drafted. 

Sometimes, though, an athlete is remembered not for their athletic feats, but for their courage and resilience off the field. Stars like Lance Armstrong and Mario Lemieux overcame illness and continued to perform at the highest of levels. Today, public battles are part of our news culture, but in the 1950s, overcoming such a serious setback publicly took great courage. Long after their wins fade into the record books, the legacies of Hogan and Zaharias reside in how they confronted their personal battles. Their return to the golf course inspired a new generation looking for heroes.   

On Feb. 2, 1949, Hogan, the reigning U.S. Open champion, and his wife, Valerie, were severely injured in an automobile accident. Shattered left collarbone, a double ring fracture of the pelvis, broken left ankle and rib, and blood clots cast grave doubts on whether he would survive. Within months, Hogan began walking, and at the 1950 U.S. Open, his recovery was complete as he won the championship in a playoff.

Four years later, Zaharias walked onto the opening tee at the 1954 U.S. Women’s Open, seeking her third Open championship. She was a little more than 14 months removed from surgery for colon cancer.  Fatigued, but undaunted, Zaharias played her best golf, posting a then-record 12-stroke victory. That year, Zaharias became the first recipient of the Ben Hogan Award, given annually to an individual who continues to be active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness. 

Hogan and Zaharias transitioned the game from the barnstorming, small purses of the 1930s through the war years to the boom of the 1950s. Between Bob Jones’ Grand Slam feat and Arnold Palmer’s come-from-behind win at the 1960 U.S. Open, Hogan and Zaharias carried the game from adolescence to adulthood. 

After all those years of sacrifice and struggle, Hogan and Zaharias were not going to let sickness or injury stand in their way. They had worked too hard. They did not know the meaning of the word quit. The country was prospering, people were coming out in droves to see them play, and they were the sport’s two biggest stars. Their comebacks were like the nation’s comeback - heroic, determined and inspirational. 

Doug Stark is the USGA’s Curator of Education and Outreach. E-mail him with questions or comments at dstark@usga.org.