JACK “HAMBONE” HAMILTON an omaha constant
J
ACK “HAMBONE” HAMILTON, 79, has been around the country and world, but Omaha remains a constant in his life. He grew up in the projects at 20th and Clark streets and attended Omaha Central High School, where he played football, baseball, and basketball. He graduated in 1955. Soon after, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. “They taught you a lot,” he says. “First thing you gotta do: get up in the morning and make my bed. That’s what they taught me.” He also picked up a pastime he enjoys to this day—cigar smoking. “Never smoked a cigarette,” he says. His favorite brand? “Cheapest.” He stayed in the Marines until 1958. He enjoyed being overseas, but didn’t like the constant inspections and “spit and polish” of the military, so he came back to Omaha and worked in construction for a while. Then he went to barber school.
He remained active in sports, and met “Big Fred” Bruning playing basketball at the YMCA downtown. Because of their friendship, Jack became the original bartender at Big Fred’s Pizza Garden when it opened in 1969. “I would barber during the day and work the bar at night,” he says. Hamilton moved to Palm Springs, California, in the early 1990s and worked at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage as a “starter” on the golf course (someone who makes sure golfers start their rounds on time) and as a “ranger” (someone who makes sure rounds move along at a reasonable pace). He also lived in the Phoenix area for 23 years and worked for golf courses there. It was a natural occupation for him. “He’s golfed his whole life,” says Hamilton’s daughter, Tricia Hamilton-Marsh, 52. He even became good friends with PGA member Fred Couples, who golfed at Mission Hills when Hamilton worked there. >
march/april 2016 | 60PLUS S11