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Home , Francis Ouimet, Johnny Goodman

EXtr,CLJTIVtr,GOLtrtr,R . 2008 Complimentary take home copy courtesy of your club professional executivegolfermagazine.com ' February

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InThe Depths Of TheGreat t a Depressioh,Amateur Gotf Gtory g

Drovelohnny Goodman H

T Orphaned as a teenin the twenties,the Nebraskan rosefrom the T\ stocfoiardsand slaughterhousesof Omaha to win the 1933 US. Open, becomingthe last amateur to win a professionalmajor. G di, th SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS ago, amateur golfer Johnny obscurity, Goodman burned brightly during a dark chap- Gr Goodman's unlikely rise culminated with victory at the ter in our country's history. l5 U.S. Open. The 23-year-oldbecame only the fifth ama- teur to hoist the Open trophy, joining , Fno,raSrocxyenps ro Ctoorn Yeno te{ Jerry Ti"avers, and four-time champion On December 28, 1909, John George Goodman was toE .Since Goodman's 1933 triumph, no ama- born in South Omaha,Nebraska. Of the l3 childrenborn soc teur has won any of the four professionalmajors. to Lithuanian immigrants Wlliam and Rose Goodman, old Goodman'stale is a testamentto perseverance.Rising Johnny was the fifth of l0 to survive past childbirth. ma from dire personal circumstances,he sought to emulate William Goodman worked in one of the city's meat- wel the amateur ideal glorified by Jones,his hero. Despite packing plants. Though his backbreaking labor provided financial and social pressure to renounce his amateur for the family, he developed a taste for liquor after Zac status and cash in on his success,he steadfastlyrefused. hours. Drunken rages were common in the household, pafl "His commitment, both a virtue and a curse,made it and at times William would disappear for long stretches. senl impossible for him to capitalize on his fame," writes 'vVhenJohnny was I l, he and friend Matt Zadalh found tion Michael Blaine in The King of a ball between the railroad goir Swings,a 2006 Goodman biography. tracks that bordered the private nex A three-time playel, Omaha Field Club's course. Soon, I Goodman burst into prominence by the man who had hit it there offered mer upsetting Jones in a first-round the boys a nickel in return for the er's match at the 1929 U.S.Amateur. In f ball and told them they could earn men 1937 he won the Amateuq joining more money caddying at the club. I\ Ouimet, Tiavers, Evans and Jones Johnny and Matt becamecaddies sprir as winners of U.S. Amateur and and hunted golf balls on the side. Omr Open titles. When they had gathered 100 balls, son,.

But unlike Jones,who retired they took them to the club pro, who Lr Ly from amateur competition after gave them a left-handed, hickory- becar winning the Grand Slam in 1930 shafted mashie in return. At a near- G and profited handsomely from by farm, they beganpracticing. caddi endorsement deals and a Hollywood pete : movie contract, Goodman lived JohnnyGoodman holding the U.S. Open ofht trophyin 1933.He won by a singlestroke modestly out of the spotlight once overRaloh Guldahl from Texas. The finals his competitive days ended. championshipwas held at NorthShore mean Although he eventually faded into CountryClub, Glenview, lllinois. I transt

38 EXECUTIVEGOLFER FEBBUARY2oo8 JohnnyGoodman

In fall 1922, Johnny's caddying \tVhile supporting himself and prowessearned him a plum assign- honing his game, Goodman re- ment: toting for in enrolled in school. Taking night an Omaha exhibition. After the and summer classes,he earned his round, Blaine writes, Goodman high-school diploma in 1927. asked Hagen what it took to be a That summer Goodman advanced great golfer. to the semifinals of the Nebraska "Well, when you hit it in the Amateur and, with local support- cabbage,just keep on smiling," the ers paying his way, traveled to Haig replied. Colorado Springs for the Tians- Mississippi. In the final at the Tn tcnov AND E ARLY TW',wpns Broadmoor, he defeated James Two years lateq,Johnny was in deep Ward, a wealthy KansasCity player; cabbage.In December 1924, Rose for the title. Goodman and her infant daughter died following childbirth. And in A Srutsu ON Tsr the wake of the tragedy, Wlliam N.anox;r Srxcr Goodman deserted the family. At After the Tians-Mississippivictory 15, Johnny was an orphan. Goodman'ssupporters collected Johnny and his l6-year-old sis- money to help ffnancehis college teq, Anna, tried to keep the family education.He enrolled at the togetheq, but county authorities Universityof Nebraskabut left after soon intervened.Anna and lO-year- a year.Back in Omaha,he worked at old sister Mary worked as live-in a sportinggoods store and lived with maidg and three younger brothers the family of L.B.Webster. were sent to an orphanage. JohnnyGoodman (left) is congratulatedbyBobby Jones In June I929, I9-year-old afterhe defeated Jones in the first round of the 1929 Goodman moved in with Matt Goodman q'ralified U.S.Amateur Championship at , for the U.S. Zadalis' family and began working PebbleBeach, California. Open. His two-roundtotal of 140 oart-time as a Western Union mes- wasthe country'slowest qualilring senger. Soon, he dropped out of school. His golf aspira- score and earned him a trip to New York's Winged Foot tions, it appeared, had become pipe dreams."How was he Golf Club. Arriving via cattle train, Goodman tied for going to work on his brassiewhen he wasn't sure where his 45th place as Bobby Jones captured his ninth major title. next meal was coming from?" Blaine writes. In August, Goodman traveled on a mail train to Hearing of Goodman's situation, some Field Club California, where the U.S. Amateur would be staged on members arrangedfor him a better-paying job as a print- a lO-year-old seasidelayout called Pebble Beach. With er's apprentice. And come spring, Goodman supple- rounds of 80-78, he qualified for match play. Defending mented his income by caddying. champion Joneswas the medalist. Meanwhilg he found time to pursue his dream. In In addition to being the dominant golfer of the era, spring 1925, Goodman entered his first tournament-the Jones was Goodman's golf hero. The young Nebraskan Omaha championship-and won..Later in the sea- had scoured Jones' syndicated newspaper columns for son, he won the Metropolitan GolfTournament, Omaha's advice and was well-versed in the details of Jones' major city championship, at the Field Club. The l5-year-old victories. "Johnny was a walking, talking Bobby Jones became the youngest winner in Metropolitan history. encyclopedia,"Blaine writes. Goodman aimed high ln 1926. In June, he and two By virtue of his qualifying score, Goodman drew his caddie friends hopped a freight train to St. Louis to com- hero as his first-round opponent. To the seasonedcham- pete in the Tians-Mississippi Amateur. Goodman and one pion, the 125-pound teen appeared unimposing. of his traveling mateq Jack Pollard, advanced to the semi- "Goodman looked undernourished, virtually hungry, finals before losing in their respective matches. In the strangely out of place," Blaine writes. "Jones had never meantime, newspapers caught wind of the teens' mode of seen a lessprepossessing specimen." transport and dubbed them "the boxcar trio." Imagine Jones' surprise when he found himself 3 down

FEBRUAFY2oo8 EXECUTIVEGOLFER 39 afterthree holes.He fought backto I down at the tum and appearedprimed to even the match after his approachstopped l0 feet from the hole on the 380-yardI lth. From 40 feet, however, Goodman rolled in a double-breakingbirdie putt. Jonesholed his birdie to halve the hole, but his opponent'sbomb fueled his frus- tration. "There was no shame in losing oncein a while to the top dogs,who werg after all, also his friends," Blaine writes. "Losing to this grim characte4though, would surelybe an embarrassment." Jones drew even when Goodman bogeyed12, but he lost 14 with a bogey. Headingto PebbleBeach's famous l8th, Goodman clung to a l-up lead. When HectorThomson (left) of the Great Britain & lreland team, shakes hands with U.S. team Jonesleft his long birdie putt inchesshort, memberJohnny Goodman after Goodman defeated Thomson during the 1 936 Walker Cup Goodman lagged his downhill birdie Matchheld at Pine Valley Golf Club, Clementon, New . effort to within a foot. With a tap-in pa1, he defeated his idol. Though Goodman would lose his changed his thinking, however. In spring 1931, he found second-round match to that afternoon, his full-time work as an insurance agent.With a respectable I victory over Jones astonished the gallery according to a occupation and an opportunity to succeed Jones atop t San Francisco Chronicle account: "If an earthquake had the amateur game, Goodman pressedforward. l suddenly rocked the peninsula, the shock could hardly That summer in Minneapolis, he won his second ( have been greater.There was as much gloom around the Tians-Mississippititle. At the 1932 U.S. Open he was the I home green at the ffnish as there was enthusiastic appre- low amateur; closing with 68 to finish l4th at New ( ciation for the astonishing feat of Goodman." York's Fresh Meadow Country Club. t Despite Goodman's sterling competitive credentials, ( Rrsr Iv Tnt AutrcuR R4NKs the U.S. Golf Association bypassedhim for the 1932 U.S. p The 1929 stock marketcrash ushered in the Great Walker Cup squad. The snub highlighted the elitist sen- Depression.Goodman supported himself on part-time timent that ruled the amateur game and ignited a strong v work, relying on friends to help pay his tournament trav- media reaction. "ln the absence of any statement and \ el expenses. Though his reputation as an amateur com- regarded in the light of his performance in the national V petitor was growing, so was his awarenessof the social gap open...the ignoring of the Omaha youngster is shocking," ti between him and his opponents. "His cockiness,a mask for wrote George T. Hammond of The New Yorb Sun. u his insecuritieq put offsome of his competitorq but he was Goodman exacted revenge at the 1932 U.S. Amateur n also plagued by a sensethat he would never belong in the At Baltimore's Five Farms Country Club, he defeated u affluent precincts of the amateur game," Blaine writes. Walker Cnp players Charlie Seaver and Maurice At the 1930 U.S. Open in Minneapolis Goodman ftn- McCarthy and team captain Francis Ouimet, the defend- b ished l lth, and at the U.S.Amateur at Merion he lost his ing Amateur champion. Though he fell to Canadian C. tl first-round match. Jones won both championships en in the final, Goodman had proven hlmself al route to the Grand Slam. an amateur mainstay. "Any golfer who can beat Seaver, r Disappointed by his U.S. Amateur showing, McCarthy and Ouimet on successivedays needs no eulo- Goodman contemplated giving up amateur competi- gy," sports writing legend Grantland fuce wrote. fc tion. 'Amateur golf is a rich man's game, and I am far from rich." he told the Omaha WorW-HeralL "l am Ca,cMpro^/s H IP B REAKTH Ro u GH 1S forced to make a living, and find it impossible to com- Goodman's increasingly prominent proftle brought him ol bine competitive golf with business." opportunity. Like Jones-who had received a reported ta Jones' retirement and a stroke of good fortune $250.000 from Warner Brothers for an instructional film H

40 EXECUTIVEGOLFER FEBFUARY2oo8 series-Goodman fielded a Hollyr,vood offer, but he that you have a blg lead shot away, a sure, wide margin turned it down. He likewise eschewedprofessional golf's blown apart. Few can come back against such a hostile potential endorsement and exhibition earnings. turn of events.Panic usually sets in. But under this strain In June 1933, Goodman arrivedin suburbanChicago Goodman played the last four holes in par, and he got for the U.S. Open. In scorching heat, he took the lead his four where it counted most, on the final green." with a second-round 66 at North Shore Country Club. The round tied 's1S-hole Open scoring AN Avnnun AT HEART record and drew praise from Jones,who in his syndicat- After his greatesttriumph, Goodman spurned Hollywood ed newspaper column called Goodman's performance offers and professionalgolfl "] have absolutelyno intention "one of the most sensationaluprisings in the history of of turning pro," he told the ChicagoAmerican. "l am going ." back home to make a living in my old job in the insurance A third-round 70 gave Goodman a six-stroke cushion business.Golf is a game for me, not a business." over Texas pro and brought the 7Z-hole Goodman remained a top amateur competitor for Open scoringrecord into view Needing a 74 to better the the next five years.He was selectedto compete on three mark, Goodman birdied two of his ffrst three holes in the U.S.Walker Cup teams (1934, '36 and '38J, compiling a final round. A double bogey at No. 6 sent him into a tail- record of 4-2. "He may go down in history as the only spin, howevel, and he made the turn in 39' "Johnny acted player who had to win the U.S. Open to get on the asthough he had been hit with a left hook when he was in Walker Cup team," writes Walter J. Curtis Sr., another front on points," The Chicago Tribune's Charlie Bartlett Goodman biographer. wrote. Guldahl shot 35 and closedto within two. After losing in the U.S.Amateur semifinalsin 1935 According to Blaine's account, Goodman's playing and '36, Goodman won the coveted crown in 1937 at partner, MacDonald Smith, Portland, Oregon. His accom- tried to calm the leader on the plishments earned him a lOth tee. A perennial major standing berth in Jones' fledg- championship bridesmaid who ling invitational tournament in had blown the 1925 British Augusta, Georgia, starting in Open with a disastrous final 1935;he competed once in the round, the Scot offered tournament that would Goodman a cigarette. "Let's become the Masters, finishing play some golf Johnny." 43rd in 1936. Goodman steadied himself In 1938, Goodman married with four consecutive pars. JosephineKersigg his longtirne With a par at 18, he finished sweetheart.He left insuranceto with 76 and aZBT total. He was become a salesrep for Hamm's tied with Guldahl, who was 2 beer and later managed an under on his final round. After Omaha social club. During RayBillows and hold the 1937 U.S. Amateur missing a 4-foot birdie putt to WorldWar II he servedin India, trophy(the Havemeyer Cup). Goodman was the Championship and at 38 an auto accident take the lead at 15, Guldahl championand Billows was the runner-up. The championship in severalplaces. came to 18 needing par to tie, washeld at Aldennrood Country Club, Portland, Oregon. broke his arm birdie to win. After splittlng Though he resumed playing the fairway with his drive, the Texan dumped his 2-iron golf after ht inlury his game was never the same. approach into a bunker. After blasting to 4 feet, he In 1950, the Goodmans and their young son left missed the par putt. Omaha for suburban Los Angeles.After working in sales Johnny Goodman was the U.S. Open champion. For for Canada Dry and surviving a near-deathbout with cir- forestalling collapse,Grantland Rice paid him tribute: rhosis of the liver; 5O-year-oldGoodman surrenderedhis 'Any golfer who sets a smoking pace for thirty holes amateur status at last, becoming a teaching pro. is usually due for a turn. The keen edge wears away. So In 1970, after decade of teaching the game he loved, outstanding credit is due Johnny Goodman for the brave Goodman suffered a heart attack and died at 60. rally that followed his sinking spell. He was skidding fast. An amateur for the ages, Goodman should be His game was breaking up. It is a terrific burden to know remembered for followins his heart. X

FEBRUARYzooe EXECUTIVEGOLFER 41