2019 November Golf Memorabilia Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/24/2019
Ben Hogan Original Pictures and Postcard From 1948 Country Club of York Exhibition
This offering is for a 1948 Ben Hogan exhibition match that he played with Rod Munday at his home club of the Country Club of York, in Pennsylvania. Three original pictures of Ben Hogan "World's Greatest Golfer" capture the event, with two of Hogan on the course and another at the Spring Golf Dinner that followed.
Rod Munday had a close 4 1/2"x3 1/4" the dinner picture with Ben Hogan, Rod Munday and Dave Anderson is 5 1/4" x 4." Each photo is properly identified with pencil on its reverse. The postcard was displayed in a scrapbook for many years and has paper remnants of that on its reverse.
Rod Munday Collection
A contemporary of Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, and Paul Runyan, Rod Munday traveled the same proving ground as many of the touring and club professionals in a career that spanned over 50 years. His friendship with those individuals and fellow teaching professionals lasted throughout his life as a pro golfer that started in Northern California and ended in Pennsylvania. Rod competed in many pro tournaments including both the 1940 and 1946 Masters Tournaments. He frequently qualified for and played in the PGA Championship from the 1930’s through the early 1960’s, and competed in the 1934, 1935, 1946, and 1947 US Open. If a putt would have fallen one way or another, Munday could have been a golfer that was mentioned in the same sentence as the legendary golfers of his day.
Munday, a World War II army vet who received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, was the preferred teaching professional for many celebrities and dignitaries, none larger than President and General Dwight D Eisenhower. Eisenhower became Rod’s #1 pupil at the Gettysburg Country Club in Pennsylvania. Munday was just as much a personal friend to these larger than life figures as a golf instructor. Many of the leading tour players such as 1941 Masters champion Craig Wood, considered Rod Munday one of the top putting minds of the 1950’s. Horton Smith, Byron Nelson, Henry Cotton, Jack Grout, and Gene Sarazen all kept in contact with Munday over the years. The allure to play exhibitions at Munday’s clubs at Highland Meadows in Toledo, Ohio and the Country Club of York in Pennsylvania was there for many, including visits and fundraisers attended by one of his closest friends, Ben Hogan.
The Golf Auction is proud to offer the Rod Munday Collection, helping to tell the story of the man himself.
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