2014 Exclusive British Open Week Auction Featuring Stranahan Medals
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/20/2014
1953 Pan American Open Golf Tournament 1st Place Amateur Sterling Dish - Stranahan
At the 1953 Pan American Open which completed play on May 3 at the Club de Golf Mexico in Mexico City the results were the same as that which played out two weeks earlier at the Masters. Ben Hogan was the champion and Frank Stranahan was the 1st place amateur. This was a most frequent combo on the trophy presentation stand during the 1940's and 50's. The Pan American was a very rich tournament for the day paying Hogan an appearance fee of $5,000 that ruffled the feathers of other top pros including defending champ Lloyd Mangrum who received nothing. The wealth of this event is further displayed in the rich Mexican sterling silver award Stranahan received as low amateur. It is engraved:
Torneo Abierto Panamericano De Golf (Pan American Open Golf Tournament)
1953
1er Lugar De Aficionados (1st Place of Amateurs)
Categoria Campeonato (Championship Category)
Frank Stranahan
Bottom Stamping:
92 OTADUY and 925
26" length x 12" max width x 5 1/2" max height
For nearly 20 years Frank Stranahan dominated the landscapes of golf, weightlifting, women, and even the heads of the Masters Tournament. Winning over 70 amateur tournaments wasn’t enough for this ‘Toledo Strongman’; on regular basis he would compete against and beat the day’s professionals including Hogan, Nelson and Snead. As a finalist in over a dozen national championships he won an astounding seven! Frankie was runner-up in five other major championships, including the British Amateur, the Masters Tournament, The Open Championship, and the U.S. Amateur. He won two major championships in the 1948 and 1950 British Amateurs. Throw in 3 Walker Cup Team Victories and this man was untouchable, the greatest amateur anyone had seen since Bobby Jones made his way around the fairways. This world traveling playboy and son of the founder of Champion Sparkplugs competed in over 200 tournaments across multiple continents, leaving his mark wherever he went.
The Golf Auction's Exclusive July Auction will end on July 20th, 2014 at 7:00pm EST with extended bidding to follow.
Please note: The British Open Week Auction Extended Bidding rules have changed. In this auction, extended bidding will continue after 7:00pm EST on July 20th until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period. All lots are free to be bid on until extended bidding has ended.
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