Along with it came a red jacket dinner and gala that raised money for charity.
» PHOTOS: The Bogie Busters golf tournament drew huge celebrities to Dayton
How it started
The first Bogie Busters was a private party in 1967, thrown by Laughter for Bud Wilkinson, a longtime Oklahoma football coach. Dayton’s Cy Laughter had invited Wilkinson to come to Dayton to speak at a father-son banquet.
Since Wilkinson was coming to town, Laughter thought it would be a good idea to invite other sports-related friends for a round of golf. The original group of 23, which included the likes of Paul Brown and Don Shula, played at the Dayton Country Club and had dinner at the Bicycle Club.
It was the start of something big.
That outing grew into Bogie Busters, which became a two-day event with 250 players on the two courses at NCR Country Club. The event was sponsored by the Laughter Corp., a tool-and-die company founded by Cy’s father, Bob Laughter.
So many celebrities
Laughter’s connection to national figures dated back to when he was a campaign worker for Richard Nixon during his unsuccessful 1960 presidential race against John F. Kennedy.
At its peak, more than 360 leaders in sports, entertainment, business and politics participated in the two-day event. Celebrities included:
Presidents: Nixon, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. Ford attended the annual Bogie Busters bash 10 times — once while occupying the Oval Office — and Bush made five appearances.
Credit: Bill Garlow
Credit: Bill Garlow
Athletes: Johnny Bench, Ken Anderson, Otto Graham, Whitey Ford, Ray Nitschke, Stan Musial, Pee Wee Reece, Jim Bunning, Byron Nelson, Paul Hornung, Jim Paxson, Nancy Lopez and others.
Coaches: Paul Brown, Don Shula, Ara Parseghian, Bobby Knight, Digger Phelps, Bo Schembechler, Sparky Anderson, Bruce Coslet, Mike Ditka, Bob Huggins, Marty Schottenheimer, Sam Wyche, Tom Landry, Johnny Orr, Darrell Hedric, Walter Alston, Chuck Knox and others.
Other celebrities: Bob Hope, Foster Brooks, Jimmy Durante, Glen Campbell, Chet Adkins, Sarah Vaughan, Andy Williams, Neil Armstrong, Charley Pride and others.
The celebrities always enjoyed themselves because Laughter knew how to entertain, and he knew which guests would benefit from playing golf together, so he made all the pairings.
In 1982, for the first time, the public could buy tickets to watch the Bogie Busters at the NCR Country Club.
After Laughter had run the event for 18 years, Johnny Bench took over in 1984. The event became known as “Johnny Bench’s Bogie Busters.” Laughter still handled many of the arrangements.
At the time, Bench said, “I’m interested in taking over the most respected golf tournament in the country. My objective is to keep the high standards of what Bogie Busters means to people around the country.” He went on to say, “All of Dayton is benefiting from this...The idea is that people are coming to Dayton.”
Laughter remained “honorary chairman” during later events and still played a major role in the planning.
Red Jacket dinner and Bogie Busters Gala
The night before the tournament, a red jacket dinner was held, usually at the Dayton Convention Center. The evening Bogie Busters Gala, after the first round, was held there many times as well.
The red jacket dinner was a private event and the gala was open to the public, who could buy tickets to attend.
Cincinnati TV personality Bob Braun served as master of ceremonies at several galas.
The gala was a showcase for a wide variety of entertainers who shared the bill. There were some regulars, who performed many times, including Bob Hope, Glen Campbell and Ray Bolger, who played the scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz.”
Other performers included Larry Gatlin, Sarah Vaughan, Andy Williams, Pat Boone, Charley Pride, the McGuire Sisters, Lawrence Welk, McLean Stevenson and many more.