Page 17 - Summer2020GTP
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GENERAL SECTION HEADER
THE ODDS
THE ODDS
WERE ALWAYS
WERE ALWAYS
IN HIS FAVOR
IN HIS FAVOR
By Mike Stevens
USGTF Teaching Professional
Tampa, Florida
arly golf in the United States was a gambler’s horseshoes. He spent hours on end honing his skills
Eparadise, from legitimate wagers to more seedy and could deal off the bottom of a deck of cards
pots controlled by mobsters. On the professional with both hands.
side, it was common for players to barnstorm the His card throwing skills were legendary, but
country, challenging locals to a money game many of his bets were set up skillfully to dupe the
backed by wealthy businessmen or scoundrels poor rube he suckered into a wager. He took
with several side bets among the gallery. It special pleasure in swindling the rich and famous.
was pretty much a necessity, as professional One time he bet Al Capone he could throw a
tournament winnings barely covered expenses. lemon over a five-story building. Capone picked a
Despite the so-called purity of amateur golf, some lemon from a nearby fruit vendor, but little did he
of the largest transfers of cash occurred at private know that Thompson’s sleight of hand changed
clubs in Calcutta pools. It was just the way of out the lemon for one he had filled with buckshot.
the times, and one person was adept at taking Capone handed over $500 as the lemon flew over
advantage of gullible blue bloods around the the building.
country. Golf offered Titanic everything he loved:
Alvin Clarence Thomas, aka Titanic Thompson, wagers of every kind and incessant hours of solitary
born on November 30, 1893, in southwest Missouri, practice. His relentless repetition with right- and
became the most storied gambler in American left-handed clubs made him equally proficient
history. Abandoned by his father, Alvin grew up from both sides of the ball. He spent a year just
on a farm in Rogers, Arkansas, with his mother honing his skills before he set about challenging his
and stepfather. An unruly child who distained marks at exclusive clubs of the rich and famous.
education, he left at age 16 with no money and All the while, he continued raking in cash from
entered the school of hard knocks. His street his flair with cards and pool cues. One day in the
smarts would see him through a life of hustling company of Capone and his entourage, Thomson
and wagering on just about everything involving declared that he could hit a 500-yard drive with a
a gamble from cards to dice to pool, and even Continued on page 15
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SUMMER 2020 Golf Teaching Pro
