Titanic Thompson

Titanic Thompson, born Alvin Clarence Thomas on 30 November 1893, was an American gambler, golfer, marksman, and confidence artist who achieved legendary status in early twentieth-century gambling circles. Celebrated for his skill, nerve, and ingenuity, he travelled across the United States engaging in cards, dice, golf, billiards, trapshooting, horseshoes, and a wide array of proposition bets. Over the course of his life he killed five men, though he was never convicted of a crime. His exploits inspired fictional figures, most notably Sky Masterson in Damon Runyon’s The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown, the basis for the musical Guys and Dolls.

Early Life and Formative Experiences

Thomas was born in Monett, Missouri, and spent much of his youth on a farm near Rogers, Arkansas, in the Ozark Mountains. His father, a gambler, deserted the family early in his life, and Thomas grew up unwelcome in his stepfather’s household. His sporadic schooling left him largely illiterate, prompting him to seek independence at the age of sixteen with scarcely a dollar to his name.
Travelling through rural communities of the south-central United States, he began developing the skills that would shape his career: calculating odds, handling cards, and practising marksmanship. His upbringing in an environment of poverty and uncertainty provided the foundation for his later reputation as a resilient and resourceful hustler.

Trapshooting and Marksmanship

Thomas displayed exceptional shooting abilities from an early age. Family accounts describe a youth capable of hitting birds with remarkable precision, feats that earned him a position in Captain Adam Henry Bogardus’s travelling Miracle Medicine Show. There he entertained audiences with trick shots, including demonstrations involving cabbages, pie tins, and sleight-of-hand illusions with silver dollars.
Decades later he continued to demonstrate formidable shooting skill, winning the Arizona State Trapshooting Championship each year from 1951 to 1954. These achievements highlighted his enduring eye-hand coordination and his capacity to perform under pressure.

Military Service in the First World War

Drafted in 1918, Thomas excelled during basic training and rose to the rank of sergeant. He remained in the United States throughout the war, training new draftees rather than deploying overseas. During his service he taught gambling techniques to fellow soldiers and profited substantially, accumulating more than $50,000 by the time of his discharge in November 1918. Much of this he used to purchase a house for his mother in his birthplace of Monett, Missouri.

Gambling Methods and Proposition Bets

Thompson cultivated an image as a travelling gambler capable of extraordinary feats. His proposition bets often involved careful preparation or subtle manipulation. Notable examples included betting he could throw a walnut over a building after weighting its hollow shell with lead, tossing a large room key directly into its lock, and secretly moving road mileage signs before wagering on the distance to a town.
One of his most famous stunts involved betting he could drive a golf ball 500 yards using a hickory-shafted club, at a time when top golfers struggled to exceed 200 yards. He accomplished this by driving the ball across a frozen lake in winter, allowing it to travel extraordinary distances over the ice.
Other gamblers, including the pool legend Rudolf Wanderone (Minnesota Fats), praised Thompson’s uncanny judgment of odds and flair for creating high-stakes situations. His main weakness was betting on horse racing, where he reportedly lost millions throughout his lifetime.

Accomplishments as a Golfer

Despite his impoverished upbringing far from golf courses, Thompson did not take up the sport seriously until his early thirties during a prolonged stay in San Francisco. After lessons with club professionals, he improved swiftly and played frequently for the next two decades. His natural athleticism, ambidexterity, and exceptional coordination made him a formidable opponent.
Thompson earned considerably more from private money matches than professional golfers could earn from tournaments in the same era. His hustling strategies included defeating opponents right-handed and then offering a double-or-nothing rematch left-handed—an apparent disadvantage that exploited his natural left-handedness.
Many future stars of the PGA Tour played with or against him, including Ben Hogan, Ky Laffoon, Herman Keiser, and Lee Elder. Hogan later referred to him as one of the finest shot-makers he had ever seen. Other prominent golfers, such as Harvey Penick, Paul Runyan, Byron Nelson, and Sam Snead, also encountered Thompson during their early careers.

Personal Life and Relationships

Thompson married five times and fathered three sons with different wives. His personal life was characterised by short relationships followed by long periods spent travelling and gambling. His charisma and notoriety contributed to numerous alleged romantic encounters, including associations with Hollywood actresses Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow.
His marriages typically followed a pattern: a brief domestic period followed by his departure for the road, leaving his former spouses financially supported but alone.

Violent Incidents and Killings

Thompson killed five men during his lifetime. The first incident occurred in 1910 in Arkansas when he struck Jim Johnson with a hammer during a confrontation over alleged cheating at dice. Johnson, thrown overboard after the attack, drowned. Local authorities offered Thomas a choice between trial and surrendering the deed to the boat he had recently won; he chose to relinquish the boat and leave town.
The remaining four killings were deemed acts of self-defence. Two known bank robbers were shot during a robbery attempt in St Louis in 1919. Another two assailants were killed during an attempted robbery of a poker game in St Joseph, Missouri. His final killing, in 1932 near a Texas country club, involved the shooting of a masked attacker who was later revealed to be a young caddie attempting to rob him. Witnesses supported Thompson’s claim of self-defence.

Role in the Arnold Rothstein Case

Thompson’s notoriety further increased following his involvement in the unsolved 1928 murder of Arnold Rothstein, a prominent New York crime figure. Thompson had participated in the poker game preceding the killing and was widely believed to have engineered the fixed game in conjunction with Nate Raymond, resulting in Rothstein’s enormous debts.
Although he was not present at the shooting, Thompson testified at the trial of George McManus, who had organised the game. McManus was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. Thompson later suggested privately that Rothstein’s own bodyguard had been responsible for the killing.

Origin of the Nickname “Titanic”

The nickname “Titanic” has been attributed to various anecdotes. One celebrated claim came from Minnesota Fats, who joked that Thompson had survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 disguised in women’s clothing. A misprint in a New York newspaper later led many to assume his surname was Thompson rather than Thomas, a change he allowed to persist.

Later Years and Continuing Influence

During the 1960s Thompson settled in Dallas, where he continued to hustle on golf courses despite advancing age. His notoriety, skill, and colourful life made him a figure of American folklore, blending elements of frontier cunning, sporting talent, and criminal intrigue.
One of his last notable episodes involved arranging a match between Lee Trevino and Raymond Floyd, reflecting his continued influence in golfing circles.