SN 140 Moments: No. 136 - Ben Hogan recovers from car crash, wins U.S. Open

On Feb. 2, 1949, Ben Hogan and his wife, Valerie, were involved in a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus in Texas. Lucky to be alive, Hogan sustained severe career-threatening injuries, including a broken collarbone, pelvis and ankle. Doctors weren’t sure he’d walk again, let alone play professional golf.

Sixteen months later, Hogan won the U.S. Open in the Miracle at Merion.

Reflecting back in the Jan. 3, 1951 edition of The Sporting News, Joe Williams wrote: “Last March, I sat in the locker room at the Seminole Golf Club in Palm Beach cutting up touches with Ben Hogan. It was the first time I had seen him since he won a 1,000-to-1 shot over death. Somehow he had managed to survive a frightful auto crack-up. It was a miracle he had lived. Between drinks, Hogan said casually, 'By June I'll be ready for the Open and I'll win it.' Just like that. This wasn't pretentious boasting or overweening self esteem. 'You know, something happens to you when you just miss getting killed,' he explained. 'Your confidence grows, you have no fear whatsoever, you feel you can do anything you want to.'”

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