The Story of Tony Marimon
         Owner of T.M. Office Systems, Inc. in Houston, Texas

In the early 1950's in Madrid, Spain, 13 year-old Tony Marimon was only a station above a street urchin, owning only the clothes on his back. Forty-seven cents of every 50-cent caddie
fee he earned at a ritzy Madrid golf club helped put food on the table at his home. His mother died when he was an infant, so Marimon was raised by his father and four brothers, who were also regulars in the caddie yard.

Because of his engaging personality and his willingness to work, Tony got most of the
"celebrity bags". One day, Jacqueline Cochran Odlum, internationally-acclaimed avatrix and wealthy New Yorker, drew Tony as her caddie.

When she saw him, Mrs. Odlum had to repress a laugh. With his big grin and his patched pants, Tony was only about "bag high". Odlum's pint-size caddie was only four feet tall and weighed around 70 pounds, depending on whether or not he had eaten breakfast. This was the beginning of a heartwarming story that would be a natural for Hollywood.

Jacqueline Cochran Odlum, who held most of the world speed records for her gender in propeller-powered aircraft, promised she would send for Tony when he started school. She kept her promise, and Tony will never forget the day his plane touched down at Los Angeles Airport. It was July 17, 1954.

Back at the caddie yard in Spain, Tony had learned the basics of golf, playing with discarded clubheads jammed into sticks and tree limbs. He played well enough at a California Catholic high school to earn a scholarship to Riverside Junior College, where he won several regional titles. It was during this time that he caught the attention of Dave Williams, the legendary University of Houston golf coach, who brought the 5-foot 1-inch, 129-pound Marimon to Houston.

"We had a lot of great golfers", Williams once told a sports writer. "but 90 percent of the student body didn't know them from Adam. Everybody on the campus knew Tony. It's pretty easy to see why Mrs. Odlum took a shine to him"
Tony earned his keep. He played on successive national championship teams in 1959 and 1960.

After his college career, Tony Marimon went into the office-machines business and became a weekend golfer. In 1972 and 1973, he won the Greater Houston men's championship. He has never lost his Spanish accent, which has always been a part of his charm.

Tony Marimon is the proud owner of  T.M. Office Systems, Inc. in Houston, Texas.