9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Links Braggart Laid Low, June 25, 2008
LaVerne Moore was one of the more colorful figures in the world of golf in the 1930's and Leigh Montville tells his tale in all its boisterous glory in The Mysterious Montague, A True Tale of Hollywood, Golf, and Armed Robbery.
John Montague, as Moore was better known, was a trick shot artist who could chip a ball into a highball glass or under the sash of a partially-opened window across the room. He reputedly knocked a bird off a power line from 170 yards and consistently drove the ball over 300 yards with a specially-made oversized driver the weighed twice as much as the standard club of its time. Most famously, he once beat Bing Crosby while playing only with a rake, a shovel, and a baseball bat.
Montague had a secret, though. It was why he never allowed himself to be photographed and reputedly why he never entered any professional events. When that secret was revealed, it led to a sensational trial in upstate New York that turned into a celebrity-laden media fest. The secret is told in the first chapter of the book: Montague was wanted under his real name, LaVerne Moore, for the armed robbery of a roadside restaurant in the Adirondacks in 1930. The trial and its aftermath is an interesting window into the media world of the time.
Montville entertains the reader with tales of Montague's prowess, although it's obvious many of them grew to legendary status mainly through the re-telling such feats engender. He also gives us a good look at the celebrities who flocked to Montague's cause. Babe Ruth, Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy, W.C. Fields, Howard Hughes, Babe Didrickson Zaharias, and many more were tied to Montague one way or another. Sportswriter Grantland Rice was his biggest fan.
The end of the book, which chronicles Montague's late-in-life attempt to break into the ranks of professional tournament golf, may be of the greatest interest to players of the game. Weakened by too many years of Hollywood parties and lack of practice, Montague was a miserable failure in his attempts to compete with PGA stars, who had disdained him from the start.
Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Mysterious Montague - An Enjoyable Book, May 7, 2008
The title of Leigh Montville's new book tells you a lot about the story without ever having to read a page. John Montague played golf and schmoozed with some of the most famous of the 1930's Hollywood celebrities. However, something in his personal life would eventually turn his world totally around. This book will probably not win any literary awards, but it is entertaining, amusing, and at times quite unbelievable. Golfers will love it, non-golfers will enjoy it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Legend Discovery, then Evaporation, March 14, 2009
Amazing tale of a mysterious Hollywood golfer and friend of the stars who no one seemed to know his past, due to robbery gone bad in native NY.
The reader is instantly hooked with the robbery account at the beginning, then moving on to his legendary exploits in golf and feats of strength around Hollywood country club set the likes of Olver Hardy to Bing Crosby. The man resisted any photos until sportswriter Grantland Rice gets the man too much press in newspaper story which eventually results in secret photos of the man in national magazine. The photo of him on the cover reminds me much of a young Jackie Gleason and one of my dad's brothers. The NY authorities see this picture, and go to California to have the man arrested and brought back for trial seven years after its the alleged law breaking.
After the trial, unfortunately now in freedom, Montague does not perform up to his legendary status, which gives me dual emotions: sorry that he couldn't and not sorry that his loose behavior prevent it. The likes of John Wayne, Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb play in his fascinating life.
Great read for golfer, sports aficianado and anyone else liking a good read of Americana sports/Hollywood history. Montville is a great writer who holds your interest.
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