Hogan
When the folks at Rutledge Hill Press first published Curt Sampson’s biography of Ben Hogan in 1996, the book caused quite a stir.
For one thing, it is a fine piece of work. Hogan was enigmatic at best, and therefore a good subject for the kind of detailed, balanced portrayal Simpson created.
When famous athletes routinely open up their lives for the public’s consumption, I for one am less inclined to read a sports biography that simply rehashes what I already believe I know. On the other hand, Hogan worked very hard at keeping the public out of his life as much as possible. Sampson therefore had the advantage of delving into the circumstances of a man known far better for what he had done than for what made him the way he was.
For another thing, Sampson’s book benefited from the kind of unexpected publicity that any author usually can only dream about. When PGA Tour player Steve Jones won the 1996 U.S. Open, he credited Sampson’s description of Hogan’s dedication to practice with inspiring his own stirring victory over Tom Lehman.
With that kind of unexpected endorsement, many golfers flocked to the bookstores. It became a New York Times bestseller.
At the time, Hogan himself was in relative seclusion, with a variety of ailments troubling his old age. He appeared at his usual haunt, Colonial Country Club, less and less frequently. On July 27, 1997, just over a year after Jones’ U.S. Open win, Hogan died of complications from pneumonia. Valerie, his wife of sixty-two years, re-joined him in 1999.
Some time thereafter, the folks at Rutledge decided that Sampson’s biography of Hogan could use a new ending—one that took into account all that happened since the first edition. Sampson wrote a new introduction for this updated edition, and an epilogue.
The two new pieces fit the rest of his prior work, in the same way a pair of well-matched bookends completes a shelf of favorite volumes.
I especially liked the epilogue. It carries forward the kinds of insight that Sampson gives the reader in the main volume, with a few interesting new wrinkles.
For example, several readers of the original edition felt compelled to send Sampson some of their own recollections. Their additions to the Hogan puzzle were similar to the kinds of shared memories one often hears at funerals.
A second nice feature of the epilogue relates to Tiger Woods, whose three major wins in one year tied Hogan’s similar accomplishment nearly fifty years ago. Sampson uses a few deft strokes to show how Tiger Woods’ approach to succeeding at golf is so similar to Hogan’s.
Like most biographies of the living, the first edition of Hogan never really seemed fully finished. This new edition is complete, and should be a vital part of any golfing reader’s collection.
Review date: September 2, 2001