A lot of people who don't partake of the history of our golf legends don't know that Hogan's life was impacted greatly by his witnessing of his father taking his life at a very young age. The burdens placed upon him, to be forced to help out his mother and siblings to survive during his Depression-era upbringing, was quite notable.
He, along with Byron Nelson, caddied @ Glen Garden golf club in Ft. Worth, TX back in their youth. Shortly after starting work there as a kid, the other caddie kids picked on Ben because of his small stature. Nelson, who was taller and more athletic, didn't have to worry about being picked on. One day, Hogan was cornered by one of the biggest bullies in the caddy yard and Hogan bloodied his nose after a tussle. They didn't pick on Ben after that.
His early life was a struggle to say the least. His early life as a professional golfer was likewise a struggle. But he was a survivor... every day of his life was a struggle, whether it was selling papers or looping bags as a young kid just to get by. When he turned pro - the struggle would still continue. I remember one story where he drove to a tournament, just starting out as a tour pro, only to miss the cut and then come back to his car at the hotel where he and his wife was staying - to realize that someone had stolen his tires. And he had no money to replace them. He had very little money to live on... they were living on little more than love and bare necessities.
Hogan was known to be very curt, not very approachable, not very likable throughout much of his prime. Very few people really wanted to caddie for him because of his cold attitude. But he was a product of his upbringing... a product of a child who witnessed his father's suicide, who bottled all of that anguish and misery up well enough to go out and help his family make ends meet. And although that tough, cold attitude would go on to define his personality later on in life - it would also serve him well in his stubborn determination to become one of the greatest golfers of all time.
Nelson and Hogan couldn't have come from more diverse backgrounds, and yet both would become rivals/friends.
Those who enjoy good golf reads should check out "American Triumvirate" by James Dodson. The author details the lives of Hogan, Nelson and Snead, while also providing a very thorough backdrop of what life was like back during the Depression era.