Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-07-14
Southpaw Go|fing Ace
Banks on Trickery
To Collect Bets
Posed as q Riehthonder
Until He Cooked Up
Match for $4,000 '''
BY WALTER McCALLIlM.

BY WALTER McCALLUM.
Probably not one golfer In 10000
has heard of Titanic" Thompson.
But the fellow happens to be one of
the finest players in the world, and
probably the best left-handed links
man in the United States. But it
Is as the brain trust. behind some of
the biggest coups in and out of golf
that Titanic" born Fred Thomas,
is best known among the men who
follow golf.
Tony Penna of Dayton, Ohio, was
talking about this almost legendary
figure in sport, shadowy gent who
stalks around the fringes of golf,
picking up the dough wherever it
may fall. But, according to Tony,
strictly sure-thing better.
This Thompson" said Penna,
won't go into a bet of any size
unless he has the odds around Is to
In his favor. A lot of people have
heard about how he bet Thousand
bucks he could toss baseball over
the top of the Empire State Build
ing. He won that one, but he tossed
the ball from the 102d story.
mot so many have heard about
the time he ribbed the Times Square
peanut vendor into betting all the
dough he had in the world that he
(Thompson) couldn't throw pea
nut across Broadway. A peanut, you
know, Is light It's hard to throw
1t anywhere. Thompson, so the yarn
goes, would walk by this peanut
stand every couple of days. Bet you
I can toss this one across the street
for five bucks he'd say to the
peanut man. OF course, he wouldn't
do 1t.
Works Gag With Peanut.
"But one day he came by the
peanut stand and said: Hey, Mike, I
feel strong today. Betcha hundred
bucks can toss peanut over there
in that lunchroom.' Mike scrambled
around and came up with the CEN
fury. Thompson wound up and
heaved a peanut into the second
story of an Office building across
Broadway. They found the peanut
later. 1t had been stuffed full Of
lead shot and he could toss 1t
hundred yards.
Thompson used to have quite a
golf stable. Some of the topnotch-
ers Of the pro game today have
worked for him. Some of them were
Dick Metz, Benny Hogan, Leonard
Dodson and a fellow named Kaiser.
But Titanic himself was good
player. He hung around the Grassy
Sprein Club for a while. That's the
one where George Mclean was the
pro. In those days they rolled 'em
high for plenty of cash. A hundred
Nassau was the usual bet. Totanic
got IA strokes from George and
dropped a few hundred to him.
Then he came around one day and
asked George If he'd play with him,
with Thompson playing left-handed,
for 10 G's, which in American is
$4,000. 1t looked to be soft spot
for George, and George gave him
two strokes hole, seeing as how
Thompson was being licked right
handed and would play left-handed
for the heavy dough. Well, Thomp-
son just happens to be a truly left
handler. But he made it look
good. He only beat George l up
and collected the 10 grand.
Titanic's Pistol Gives Him Shock.
when I was at Pensacola 10
years back Erie Ball, then at Mo-
bile, and I had quite reputation
as best-ball pair. Thompson came
down, fooled around few days, los
ing few bets, and then came to me
with a proposition that he would
match Dodson and some other guy
against us for 10000 bucks Naturally
I snapped 1t up. My members and
those Of Errie's club covered 1t in
an hour. Thompson was to have
the cash or a certified check at the
club at noon the day of the match.
THAT morning Thompson called
me on the phone to come down to
his hotel. I went into his room
where he was sitting in bed eating
breakfast. On the breakfast tray
was the biggest gun I've ever seen.
''You know, Tony" he said, we've
gotta be reasonable about this
thing. You boys aren't going to win
this match. I'll take care of it
I'll give you and Erie cut of three
or four thousand"
IT ran out of that room, expect
ing every minute to have that can
non 60 of. We played the match
that afternoon for SO bucks. We
won, and s."
What is Thompson's appear
ance?" asked Tony. Hes around
30 years DID," said Tony. Hard as
. rock, In great condition and
tough baby. If you ever run across
q fellow who makes freak bet you
think you can win hands down, take
1t easy, pal. Take it easy"
So far Thompson hasn't at
tempted any coups around the big
championships. where is he
now?" Tony was asked. Last I
heard of him he was playing in a
no-limit poker game in Houston"
Tony said.