--- title: Tough Enough: Rare Photos of Ben Hogan's Return to Golf, January 1950 description: LIFE.com pays tribute to Ben Hogan's return to professional golf in 1950 after a car accident almost killed him less than a year earlier. canonical: https://time.com/3877442/tough-enough-rare-photos-of-ben-hogans-return-to-golf-january-1950/ author: Liz Ronk article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-06-13T18:33:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:51.778Z og:title: Tough Enough: Rare Photos of Ben Hogan's Return to Golf, January 1950 og:description: LIFE.com pays tribute to Ben Hogan's return to professional golf in 1950 after a car accident almost killed him less than a year earlier. og:url: https://time.com/3877442/tough-enough-rare-photos-of-ben-hogans-return-to-golf-january-1950/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb64080a4509ce68f/69884a480b72e3ee2b6e35f1/06_00718541.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Ben Hogan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Tough Enough: Rare Photos of Ben Hogan's Return to Golf, January 1950 twitter:description: LIFE.com pays tribute to Ben Hogan's return to professional golf in 1950 after a car accident almost killed him less than a year earlier. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb64080a4509ce68f/69884a480b72e3ee2b6e35f1/06_00718541.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Tough Enough: Rare Photos of Ben Hogan's Return to Golf, January 1950 > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) ## Liz Ronk Jun 13, 2013 6:33 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. Hogan supporters in large gallery included his wife (left), who nursed him back to health after the crash, and songwriter Hoagy Carmichael (right). Caption from LIFE. Hogan supporters in large gallery included his wife (left), who nursed him back to health after the crash, and songwriter Hoagy Carmichael (right). Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) ## Liz Ronk Jun 13, 2013 6:33 PM UTC A common misconception among people who know very little about golf is that golfers are, by and large, kind of soft. They don’t run around at high speeds, they don’t tackle one another, they don’t dive for line drives, they don’t drive to the hoop. They walk around in the sunshine — and occasionally in the rain — and smack a little white ball for a few hours. Right? In light of that fairly significant misapprehension, it’s worth recalling that one of the sport’s genuine legends, Ben “The Hawk” Hogan, is remembered not only for the jaw-dropping beauty of his game, but for a toughness that would have done Chuck Bednarik proud. In early 1949, when he was 36 years old and already firmly established as one of the true greats, Hogan and his wife, Valerie, were involved in a hellish head-on collision with a Greyhound bus in Texas. Hogan reportedly hurled himself sideways before impact in order to protect his wife — and likely saved his own life, as well: the steering column was driven through the driver’s seat. The damage Hogan suffered was awful: a fractured pelvis, collar bone and ankle; a chipped rib; life-threatening blood clots. He was in the hospital for months, and doctors feared he might never walk again. A return to competitive golf, meanwhile, was not even an option. Or rather, it wouldn’t have been an option for most people. But less than a year later, Hogan not only returned to golf, playing the Los Angeles Open to start the PGA Tour in January 1950, but tied fellow legend San Snead over 72 holes, finally losing in a playoff. Six months later, Hogan won the U.S. Open at Merion in Pennsylvania, marking one of the most extraordinary, inspiring and _downright tough_ comebacks in the history of American sport. Here, as the 2013 U.S. Open gets underway — once again at Merion in Ardmore, Pa. — LIFE.com pays tribute to Hogan’s astonishing return to the links with a series of photos, most of which never ran in LIFE, made by Peter Stackpole at the Riviera Country Club in January 1950. Below: Exhausted but unbowed, Ben Hogan faces reporters during his return to the PGA Tour in the Los Angeles Open, January 1950.  Caption from LIFE. On the third hole at Los Angeles' Riviera Country Club, Ben Hogan rests on a shooting stick while waiting for competitor to make a shot. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan (center, in cap), Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan lines up a putt, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Hogan supporters in large gallery included his wife (left), who nursed him back to health after the crash, and songwriter Hoagy Carmichael (right). Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. On rainy Sunday aide shelters Hogan and carries his shooting stick. The round was postponed to Monday. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan watches a rival putt, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan surrounded by fans, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan putting, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan putting, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Spectators on the move at the Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan hits from the rough, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan putting, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Ben Hogan signs his scorecard, Los Angeles Open, Riviera Country Club, January 1950. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images   LIFE magazine, January 23, 1950. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine, January 23, 1950. LIFE Magazine  NOTE: This spread is from the June 19, 1950, issue of LIFE, showing the action during the U.S. Open that Ben Hogan eventually won. 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