Alvin Clarence Thomas (November 30, 1893 – May 19, 1974) was an American gambler, golfer, and hustler, who killed five men but was never charged with a crime, better known as Titanic Thompson.

Thompson traveled the country wagering at cards, dice games, golf, shooting, billiards, horseshoes and proposition bets of his own devising.

Thomas began conducting his nomadic, lucrative career of hustling in the rural south-central United States circa 1908, leaving home at age 16 with less than one dollar in his pocket.

Thomas spent most of his youth developing skills he would use later, such as shooting and understanding odds at card games through marathon dealing of hands.

During the show, Thomas would entertain onlookers by shooting pie tins, cabbages, and by tricking viewers into thinking he shot a silver dollar out of the air.

Thomas remained stateside, trained younger draftees, and did not see overseas service or combat before the war ended in November 1918, when he was discharged.

[6] Later, when Thompson had honed his skills, he became a "road gambler", a traveling hustler who became an underground legend by winning at all manner of propositions, many of them tricky if not outright fraudulent.

[6][8] Thompson's partners in "the hustling game" included pool player Minnesota Fats, who considered Titanic a genius, "the greatest action man of all time".

[6] Gifted with extraordinary eyesight and hand–eye coordination, he was a skilled athlete, crack shot and a golfer good enough to turn professional.

[10] Hall of Fame golfer Ben Hogan, who traveled with him in the early 1930s for money games, later called Titanic the best shotmaker he ever saw.

Several of these who went on to later PGA Tour stardom included young and unknown Ben Hogan, Ky Laffoon, Herman Keiser and Lee Elder.

Other well-known golfers who left behind first-hand documented accounts of their dealings and matches with Thompson included Harvey Penick, Paul Runyan, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead, all of whom were inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

[6][13] He typically married a young woman, lived with her for a few months, then returned to his road hustling, while leaving comfortable housing and financial support for his newly divorced wife.

The sheriff gave Thompson the choice of standing trial, or handing over the deed to the boat and leaving town; he chose the latter.

[6] The third came in St. Joseph, where Thompson and his hired bodyguard between them shot two men attempting to rob a poker game (again, the victims were known criminals and no charges were pressed).

[6] On November 4, 1928, Arnold Rothstein was murdered, allegedly because he refused to pay his debts from a poker game, held the previous month, which he believed to have been fixed.

[6] In his own story, published in Sports Illustrated in 1972,[2][dead link‍] Alvin Thomas, listed as a co-author, said: In the spring of 1912 I went to Joplin, Missouri, just about the time the Titanic liner hit an iceberg and sank with more than 1,500 people on board.