Johnny Goodman

{{short description|American amateur and professional golfer (1909–1970)}}

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Johnny Goodman

| fullname = John George Goodman

| image =

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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|12|28}}

| birth_place = South Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1970|8|8|1909|12|28}}

| death_place = South Gate, California, U.S.

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=9}}

| weight = {{convert|165|lb|kg st|abbr=on}}

| sporting_nationality = {{USA}}

| spouse = Josephine A. Kersigo{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M4UzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K_UDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2093%2C6044746 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Sports in brief |date=June 29, 1938 |page=1}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kbFQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FCIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2736%2C1645999 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |title=Amateur golf king weds |agency=Associated Press |date=June 28, 1938 |page=1, sports }} Goodman (1910–2002)
(m. 1938–1970)

| partner =

| children =

| college =

| yearpro = 1960

| extour =

| prowins = 1

| pgawins = 1

| otherwins =

| majorwins = 2

| masters = 43rd: 1936

| usopen = Won: 1933

| open = DNP

| pga = DNP

| usamateur = Won: 1937

| britamateur = T9: 1934

| wghofid =

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}}

John George Goodman (December 28, 1909 – August 8, 1970) was the last amateur golfer to win the U.S. Open, {{Years or months ago|1933}} in 1933,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oLpQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PiIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6268%2C4219723 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Sixty |first=Billy |title=Goodman wins golf title by one stroke with 287 |date=June 11, 1933 |page=1, sports}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w74iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZLYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3293%2C3871270 |newspaper=Palm Beach Post |location=Florida |agency=Associated Press |title=Johnny Goodman takes Open crown shooting near record golf in field of pro artists |date=June 11, 1933 |page=2 }} and also won the U.S. Amateur in 1937.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cHYcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VWQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3988%2C4219795|newspaper=Palm Beach Post |location=Florida |agency=Associated Press |title=Johnny Goodman wins national amateur golf crown |date=August 29, 1937 |page=6}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Cc4gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jmoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2987%2C6767735 |newspaper=Lewiston Daily Sun |location=Maine |title=Johnny Goodman worthy successor to Jones as leading amateur golfer |date=September 29, 1937 |page=8}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=n7pQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PiIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5374%2C4031314 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Rice |first=Grantland |author-link=Grantland Rice |title=A brave, bold finish and a stout heart explains Goodman's play |date=June 10, 1933 |page=8}}

Early life

Born to Lithuanian immigrants in South Omaha, Nebraska,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fpwLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=slQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1570%2C1359574 |newspaper=The Evening Independent |location=St. Petersburg, Florida |agency=NEA |title=Goodman, from poor boy to throne, finds fame as Open champ |date=June 30, 1933 |page=5A}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NggvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HUwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2819%2C5370682 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Press |last=Smith |first=Chester L. |title=Goodman close to being world's no. 1 amateur |date=September 8, 1938 |page=21}} Goodman was orphaned at the age of 14. His mother died when he was 11,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oLpQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PiIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3274%2C4219769 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=Associated Press |title=He used to caddy, play with borrowed sticks, ride the cattle cars, but now look at Johnny Goodman |date=June 11, 1933 |page=1, sports}} after giving birth to her 13th child, and his father later abandoned the family. Goodman became a caddie at the Field Club in Omaha, and while a student at Omaha South High School,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2PVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=n-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6692%2C1897597 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title="Hobo of Links" rises to fame |date=September 8, 1929 |page=4, sports}} he won the Omaha city championship in 1925.

Golf career

In 1929, he won the first of five consecutive Nebraska Amateur titles. {{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Cc4gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jmoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2987%2C6767735 |newspaper=Lewiston Daily Sun |location=Maine |title=Johnny Goodman worthy successor to Jones as leading amateur golfer |date=September 29, 1937 |page=8}} He won the Trans-Mississippi Amateur three times (1927, 1931, and 1935). He gained national notoriety at age 19 in 1929 when he defeated Bobby Jones in the first round of match play competition at the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vOIhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K2QEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1720%2C3895456 |newspaper=Sarasota Herald |location=Florida |agency=Associated Press |title=Bobby Jones is eliminated by smart play of young Omaha star, John Goodman |date=September 5, 1929 |page=6}}

Goodman served in the U.S. Army during World War II,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XJkWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DiMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2862%2C6944166 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=(final)|title=Golf pays dividends, says John Goodman |date=October 15, 1943 |page=2, part 2 }} and did not turn professional until 1960; he supported himself throughout his career by selling insurance.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fKpQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DyIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2777%2C328488 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Sixty |first=Billy |title=Golf has been good to Johnny Goodman |date=September 8, 1937 |page=3, part 2}} A municipal golf course in Omaha is named for him.{{cite web |url=http://www.golfingnebraska.com/course_description/omaha_johnnygoodman.shtml |publisher=Golfing Nebraska |title=Johnny Goodman Golf Course |access-date=June 29, 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://parks.cityofomaha.org/golf |publisher=City of Omaha Parks |title=Golf courses |access-date=June 29, 2015}}

Tournament wins (60)

:this list may be incomplete

1925 Omaha Caddie Championship, Omaha Metropolitan Golf Championship
1927 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
1929 Nebraska Amateur
1930 Nebraska Amateur
1931 Trans-Mississippi Amateur, Nebraska Amateur
1932 Nebraska Amateur {{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Cc4gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jmoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2987%2C6767735 |newspaper=Lewiston Daily Sun |location=Maine |title=Johnny Goodman worthy successor to Jones as leading amateur golfer |date=September 29, 1937 |page=8}}
1933 U.S. Open, Nebraska Amateur {{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Cc4gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jmoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2987%2C6767735 |newspaper=Lewiston Daily Sun |location=Maine |title=Johnny Goodman worthy successor to Jones as leading amateur golfer |date=September 29, 1937 |page=8}}
1935 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
1936 Mexican Amateur, Arcola Country Club Invitational
1937 U.S. Amateur, Mexican Amateur
1939 Arcola Country Club Invitational

Major championships are shown in bold.

Major championships

=Wins (1)=

class="wikitable"

!Year!!Championship!!54 holes!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runner-up

style="background:#FBCEB1;"

| 1933

U.S. Open

6 shot lead

−1 (75-66-70-76=287)

1 stroke

{{flagicon|USA}} Ralph Guldahl

=Amateur wins (1)=

class="wikitable"

!Year!!Championship!!Winning score!!Runner-up

1937

U.S. Amateur

align=center|2 up

{{flagicon|USA}} Ray Billows

=Results timeline=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1927

!1928

!1929

align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T45

align=left|U.S. Amateur

|DNQ

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|R16

British Amateur

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1930

!1931

!1932

!1933

!1934

!1935

!1936

!1937

!1938

!1939

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|43

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|T11

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T14 LA

|style="background:lime;"|1 LA

|T43

|T36

|T22

|style="background:yellow;"|8 LA

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

align=left|U.S. Amateur

|R32

|style="background:yellow;"|2

|R32

|R128

|style="background:yellow;"|SF

|style="background:lime;"|1

|style="background:yellow;"|QF

|R32

align=left|British Amateur

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|R16

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|R32

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1940

!1941

!1942

!1943

!1944

!1945

!1946

!1947

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Amateur

|DNQ

|R64

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|DNQ

|R32

align=left|British Amateur

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

Note: Goodman never played in The Open Championship or the PGA Championship.

LA = low amateur

NYF = tournament not yet founded

NT = no tournament

CUT = missed the half-way cut

DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion

R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in match play

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: [https://web.archive.org/web/20090622212453/http://63.240.106.229/ USGA Championship Database]

Source for 1934 British Amateur: [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_e4xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h-IFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2902,5313929&dq=british+amateur+golf&hl=en Reading Eagle, May 24, 1934, pg. 17.]

Source for 1936 Masters: [https://archive.today/20130128092200/http://www.masters.com/en_US/history/results/1936.html www.masters.com]

Source for 1938 British Amateur: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100826071500/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,771075,00.html Time Magazine, June 6, 1938]

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Walker Cup: 1934 (winners), 1936 (winners), 1938

References

External links

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060101553.html Washington Post review of The King of Swings: Johnny Goodman, the Last Amateur to Beat the Pros at Their Own Game]
[https://www.fcomaha.com/ Field Club of Omaha Golf and Country Club]

Category:American male golfers

Category:Amateur golfers

Category:Winners of men's major golf championships

Category:United States Army personnel of World War II

Category:Golfers from Omaha, Nebraska

Category:Sportspeople from South Gate, California

Category:1909 births

Category:1970 deaths

Category:20th-century American sportsmen