2017 September President's Cup Memorabilia Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/1/2017
Ben Hogan Personal Signature White Linen Hat - Made Expressly for Ben Hogan Tag & Original Shipping Package
Examine photos of Ben Hogan in his 20's during his first individual professional win at the 1940 North and South Championship, and Hogan in his 80's as an elderly business man in the 1990's and you will find very few constants over the ages with the exception of his signature white ivy cap. It was there on his head in competition over almost all of his professional wins (one exception was a switch to a tartan pattern for his '53 British Open triumph), and it was there in later life as he traveled in suit to his business office post career. The playing days photo of Ben, in cap, is well captured on the cover of James Dodson's work "Ben Hogan An American Life", and an image of Hogan later life in sports coat and traditional flat cap appears in tribute to the man on his approved artwork and corresponding lithograph print series. This lot offers the winning bidder the chance to own that component of the "Hogan Fashion Look". It of course features the timeless style which was always apparent in the haberdashery of Bantam Ben. In regal fashion an inside hat band displays gold lettered tagging proclaiming MADE EXPRESSLY for BEN HOGAN himself. Along with labeling of the intended owner, additional tagging notates that this head ware was constructed of imported Irish linen in a 7 1/8 size, and the manufacturer. With a nod to our rightfully providence sensitive environment it gives us great pleasure to offer the original priority mail envelope which was used to ship this collecting treasure to the Ben Hogan Company on December 13, 1978 with addressee Claribel Kelly (personal secretary to Mr. Hogan 1953-until her retirement in 1984). Additional timeline of this items travels to a prominent position in The Golf Auction can be found in paragraph below. We can not imagine a high end golf collection that would not be enhanced by this stunning piece of Hogan personal memorabilia which served as the utmost constant to the "Hogan Look" throughout his inspiring life.
THE BOB COFFIN COLLECTION SOURCED FROM BEN HOGAN'S PERSONAL SECRETARY SHARON RAE
Bob Coffin is a man of action, as seen by a career of public service which began 35 years ago with his election to the Nevada Assembly. From that office Coffin was the people's choice for a seat in the Nevada State Senate. After serving in that position for the length that Nevada term limitations would allow, Coffin returned to his hometown of Las Vegas where he continues to serve his constituents as a city councilman to this day. For Coffin this passion for service to his country began with a stint in the United States Army, the same branch of service that his lifelong hero Ben Hogan had served in during World War II. Coffin a student of the Hogan approach to golf, learned his lessons well, so well, that he won the 1969 Nevada Amateur Golf Championship. Following that triumph it was only natural in 1979 that the hometown Las Vegas newspaper, the Review Journal, called on Bob to write a golf column for the paper. To this day accolades continue to pour in for this highly respected man in so many arenas be it golf, military, or politics. Most recently, he was named Person of the Year by the Southern Nevada Chapter of the Professional Golfers Association and received the Charles Dick Medal of Honor Award from the United States National Guard.
This career of public service over the lifetime of Bob Coffin offers much for us to respect. We owe him gratitude, but an even larger thank you as golf collectors is due him for his action in preserving the personal ephemera which belonged to Ben and Valerie Hogan. These mementos covering various stages of their storied lives had been gifted by both Ben and Valerie to their trusted personal secretary Sharon Rae (Please see photo that accompanies this lot of Mr. Hogan and Sharon Rae). Mrs. Rae following Ben's passing in 1997 became such a vital part of Mrs. Hogan's life that she accompanied her to both Ben Hogan's tribute at the 1999 Memorial Tournament and to the dedication of the United States Golf Association's Ben Hogan room that same year. Her prominence in the lives of the Hogan's was evident when she was remembered in both Ben's will with a cash bequest and a much larger bequest in Valerie's will. As a studious collector of Hogan material Bob Coffin stayed in contact with the Rae family, and following Sharon's passing was contacted by son Andy Rae. He informed Coffin that in his garage there is "still a bunch of stuff". Coffin, the man of action, caught a plane to Texas and completed a transaction that saved the Hogan collection as sourced through Sharon Rae for the golf collecting community. The Golf Auction is pleased with so much of the prized material of the Hogan's lifetime already placed in permanent homes to be able to make this offering. We recognize that it may be the last opportunity available to offer fresh Hogan material, which contains rock solid provenance, to the collectors of arguably the greatest golfer of the 20th century but certainly one of America's most idolized and interesting people of that century.
Please note: This auction will end at 7:00pm EST on Sunday, October 1st, with EXTENDED BIDDING to follow. All items in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period. All lots are free to be bid on until extended bidding has ended
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