The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-09-09

Dead Canyon road-three quarters
of a mile-in five shots, with plenty
of room to spare. George Won Elm,
a member of the club and former
national amateur champion, testi-
fed that he played with Montague
for month and Monty never was
over 68; such golf could win any
championship in the world!
At Palm Springs, Montague broke
the course record four times in four
consecutive days. The last day he
turned in the unbelievable card of
81! He wears out the exclamation
marks on reporters typewriter.
Still John Montague preferred OBJ
security. He refused to play in tour
naments. Only once, after much
pleading on the part of his friend
Hardy, did he consent to compete.
That was in the annual club cham
pionship play. He sprained his an
kle on the sixth hole, but finished 18
holes anyway-with "a! Then he
dropped out.
Turns Down $4,000 Offer.
He refused to talk to reporters.
He would never allow himself to
be photographed. Once when pho
tographer, concealing himself in
bushes, managed to expose few
plates before Montague discovered
him, Monty smashed the plates and
paid the man $500 for the damage.
Offered $4,000 to demonstrate his
ability in moving picture short"
he said: 81 won't permit one picture
to be taken of me; why should I
pose for whole reel?"
Despite Montague's reticence, a
light like that simply can't be hid
den under a bushel. Grantland
Rice, the eminent sports authority,
was reluctant to believe the stories
which came via the grapevine from
the Lakeside club. They couldn't be
true. For instance, the one about
the time Monty, calling his shot,
picked a bird off a telephone wire
ITO yards away with brassie shot.
Or the one about how he didn't get
a wink of sleep for five days and
five nights, then shot 70. Or the
one about how he could hit a dozen
balls from any distance within 200
yards, bet 500 on each one that
it would stop within 10 feet of the
flag, and win money. Or the one
but why go on?
He Couldn't Prevent Fame.
Rice determined to find out for
himself. He went to Hollywood and
played a round with Montague. He
decided all that had been said was
true. During the round, Monty
picked up on the eighteenth hole,
where he could have had a "a!
Impressed beyond measure, Rice
told of John Montague and his golf
feats in a syndicated sports col
umn. Westbrook Pegler wrote col
umn about him, describing him as
a combination of Paul Bunyan, Pop
eye the Sailor Man and Ivan Ska
whisky Skovar. Soon there were
other stories.
These found interested readers.
Some were even fascinated. One
such fascinated reader was John
Cosart, of Troop D, New York state
police, Oneida, N. Y. Somehow this
thirty-two-year-old Montague, with
his golf genius, his strength and
his huge 220-pound frame, seemed
familiar.
Cosart reflected. Wasn't this
Montague dead ringer for La
Verne Moore-"Bull' Moore, as
''the boys" called him-whom the
policeman had known seven years
ago? Moore, the son of a steel
worker, had been mighty youth.
He, too, had been able to lift one
end of an automobile with one hand,
could lick three men at once. He
used to smash dozens of cue balls
while breaking the rack" in pool
games. He had been prep school
football and baseball star-once he