Ben Hogan competed in the British Open only once, in 1953. (Image by Dick DeMarsico.)

For the last dozen years, ticker-tape parades in New York City have been reserved  for when the Yankees or Giants win a championship, but they used to be frequent, even excessive, occurrences.

The first such parade, which took place in 1886 for the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, was an unplanned, spontaneous occasion. Since then, Theodore Roosevelt (1910), Albert Einstein (1921), Charles Lindbergh (1927), Amelia Earhart (1928, 1932), Jesse Owens (1936), Howard Hughes (1938), Winston Churchill (1946), Haile Selassie, (1954), the Apollo 11 astronauts (1969) and Nelson Mandela (1990) have been celebrated in such fashion.

Luminaries all, but there’ve been lesser lights who’ve received parades. Amelia Gade Corson (1923) was the first mother to swim the English Channel. Prince Ludovico Spado Potenziani (1928) was the governor of Rome. Viscount Harold Alexander of Tunis (1947) was the governor general of Canada. William V.S. Tubman (1054) was president of Liberia. And Sammy Sosa (1998) was Sammy Sosa (sort of).

Although only one scientist has ever received a ticker-tape parade in NYC (the aforementioned Einstein), there have been loads of athletes to be so honored. The great photo above by Dick DeMarsico of the New York World Telegram captures golfer Ben Hogan mid-parade as he’s celebrated after his victory at the 1953 British Open. You can see more of DeMarsico’s wonderful work here.