Marvin Leonard was a “quiet giver,” his daughter Marty says, and that included helping his friend Ben Hogan in his early days on the PGA Tour. A pianist from Fort Worth would also receive the honor in 1958. Who else except American heroes receive ticker-tape parades in New York City? Hogan, coming back from near death in 1949, took his place among the greats by being feted in 1953 with New York’s high honor, joining the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Pershing, Lindberg, Ike, Truman, Nimitz, Churchill, and MacArthur. Use of the term “American hero” for him is not mere embellishment or fancy embroidery on words. The story of Hogan, nine times a golf majors’ winner, is the story of possibilities and imagination. To commemorate his dominance there, as well as his association with the place, a statue of Hogan overlooks the 18th green with notes of his feats adorning the base. The Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club plays its 76th tournament later this month on Marvin Leonard’s fabled links along the Trinity River, a layout best known by its more common alias, “Hogan’s Alley.”īen Hogan, one of Fort Worth’s most distinguished citizens, won five times at Colonial, more than anyone else has ever dreamed of. Five times Leonard handed the Colonial championship trophy - today called the “Leonard Trophy” - to Hogan.
Marvin Leonard, left, and Ben Hogan are synonymous with Colonial Country Club and the Charles Schwab Challenge.
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