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Leonard Dodson and Horton Smith |
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Leonard Dodson is the best golfer that no one remembers from Ozarks. Due to the crowd he ran with and his storied wagering exploits, the historians in the conservative area he called home tend to have forgotten everything he did right at his craft. Leonard’s life both on and off the course is most similar to that of the film character “Tin Cup.” Surely some of the ideas for the story had to come from stories told about Dodson, Ky Laffoon, and old running mate Titanic Thompson.
Leonard was born in Mumford Missouri in 1914, one of four boys. It didn’t take the 150-pound self-confident golf pro, slash hustler, long to make a name for himself nationwide. When growing up in the Springfield area he learned golf from Horton Smith. Growing up in Springfield is where he learned the art of golf and more importantly the hustle. According to Dodson “ridge-runners around Springfield didn’t believe in the ethics of golf. There was no such thing as a conceded putt. If your opponent had a 5-footer for the match and you didn’t try to talk him out of it, you were either crazy or you weren’t a ridge-runner.”
During his time in Springfield he set the course record at Hickory Hills Country Club with a score of 64. At the time the course was a par 73. During the round he had an eagle and seven birdies. The day after Leonard shot the course record a few famous golfers in their own right gave the course a try. The players were Horton Smith, Lawson Little, Harry Cooper, and Jimmy Thompson. The low score was a 67 posted by Little. Leonard won 3 Springfield City Championships; two of which were back to back with a win over Herman Keiser in extra holes.
Horton Smith got Dodson his first pro job in Pembina, Wisconsin. He went on to later move back closer to home to be the pro at the Old Mission Club in Kansas City and eventually at the Kansas City County Club. In 1941 Leonard was voted Kansas City’s King of Sports. Leonard quickly became known in the golf community as quite the storyteller and quite the gambler.
An example of Dodson’s gambling exploits was when he made a bet with two well-known Jacksonville, Florida amateurs John Fletcher and Sam Hooper. One day during a winter pro-am he told them “I will bet you $500 I can beat both of you, and I will play on one foot.” Fletcher and Hooper jumped at the chance. Both golfers regularly shot in the 70’s. The Jacksonville team had a best ball of 73 due to high winds that day. Dodson beat them 3 up with 2 to go. He shot 70.
What they didn’t know was Dodson’s ability to hit the ball from his knees, one leg, and even blindfolded. According to Dodson, hitting off his knees was the hardest. These were just the beginning of the crazy wagers Leonard would make. One of the craziest bets he ever made was in San Antonio, Texas. Dodson wagered a wealthy oil man fifty bucks that he could play 3 holes of the local course in eighteen strokes using a six-iron and a tennis ball. Of course the businessman took the bet. Leonard finished in 16 strokes.
Leonard gambling exploits were not exclusive to the golf course. One of Dodson’s running mates was Titanic Thompson. Thompson was in the Arnold Rothstein clique. Rothstein was the gambler behind the famous “Black Sox scandal”, where members of the White Sox were paid to throw the World Series in 1919. One day he and Titanic were at the Busy Bee, a Tallahassee Café. Leonard was bragging to Thompson about how he was good at guessing peoples weight. He bet Thompson $1,000 he could guess closer to the weight of all the waitresses in the dinner together than Titanic could. He had the manager weight the waitresses. When they made their guesses Thompson was within 3 pounds. Dodson guessed the weight right on the nose. What Titanic didn’t realize was that the night before Leonard had paid the manager $50 to weight all of the waitresses. According to Leonard “I didn’t plan to come that close, but I had to because Titanic just missed it and I had to do my best to win.”
Dodson was equally impressive with his actual golf game as his gambling successes. In 1937 he won the Philadelphia Open, the Iowa Open, and the Western Missouri-Eastern Kansas tournament for entry into the national PGA Championship. But the most important win took place at the Hollywood Florida Open in 1939. Horton Smith and Dodson finished in a tie for first place. As the 18-hole playoff was about to begin Dodson approached Smith and said, “Lets play for both first and second place money, all the dough to the winner. You know you can’t beat me.” Horton refused, and later was glad he did. Dodson won.
In 1938 while playing in the Bing Crosby Tournament in Rancho Santa Fe, California Leonard found himself in a unique position. The PGA had just implemented a new rule that the golfer was only able to carry 14 clubs in his bag. After a good first round Dodson discovered a trick collapsible putter an admirer had given to him years ago folded up in the pocket of his bag. Leonard became the first professional disqualified for carrying more than 14 clubs in his bag.
One of Leonard’s biggest victories came in 1941. While playing in the Oakland Open at Sequoia Country Club Leonard was particularly boisterous that week. One member of the gallery asked Leonard knowing he was from the Ozarks, if it was true he hadn’t worn shoes until he was 18. Leonard responded “Shucks man, I had to put rocks in my first pair of shoes to get the feel of it.”
At the end of the tournament Dodson found himself in a tie for the lead with Ben Hogan. This would cause a playoff with Hogan. During the playoffs there was standing water on most of the greens due to the day long rain. At one point Hogan was able to move his ball on the green because it had landed in casual water. Leonard asked an official to measure the distance from the cup after Hogan had moved his ball. It was discovered Hogan had gained several inches in the move. The resulting fuss unnerved Hogan. He two putted the hole and Dodson went on to win the $1,200 first place prize money with a score of 71.
Later the same year Leonard went back to the Crosby Pro-Am in California to redeem himself after the disqualification in 1938. He and his playing partner, an amateur from Kansas City went on to win the Pro-Amateur portion of the tournament by 6 strokes. The amateur ended up being Ray Watson, father of golf great Tome Watson.
According to Dodson “A lot of my tournament victories may not be listed such as St. Petersburg Open, Michigan Open, Cedar Rapids Open, and the Iowa Open 4 times.” Leonard played in the masters 3 times with his highest finish 10th in 1937, and played in the U.S. Open 6 times.
Leonard died at Woodland Manor in at the age of 83 in 1997. Like others golf legends from the area Leonard was awarded a lifetime honorary membership to Hickory Hills Country Club in Springfield, Missouri. He was entered into the Ozarks Golf Hall of Fame in 2004. Jimmy Demaret, legendary golfer, always said the most entertaining foursome he could imagine would by Ky Lafoon, Leonard Dodson, Dutch Harrison, and Bob Hamilton, because they would all secretly bet against one another.
Career Victories
1936 St. Petersburg Open
1937 Philadelphia Open
1937 Iowa Open
1939 Hollywood Open
1941 Oakland Open
1941 Bing Crosby Pro-Am with Ray Watson
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