SCARBROUGH'S TAKE

Arnold Palmer … Tribute to a Hero

Lyn Scarbrough

September 26, 2016 at 12:11 pm.

Apr 7, 2016; Augusta, GA, USA; Honorary starters from left Jack Nicklaus , Arnold Palmer and Gary Player pose for a photo on the first tee during the first round of the 2016 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Photo Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Apr 7, 2016; Augusta, GA, USA; Honorary starters from left Jack Nicklaus , Arnold Palmer and Gary Player pose for a photo on the first tee during the first round of the 2016 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Photo Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

When I was young in Rock Creek, we had a small black-and-white television.

That was the time of Death Valley Days, Howdy Doody and the Mickey Mouse Club with Annette and Cubby.

That was how a generation of boys and girls in rural Alabama – and in much of the country – was first exposed to big-time professional sports.

We had the Game of the Week with Pee Wee Reese and Dizzy Dean, bringing Major League Baseball into our homes every Saturday.

We watched pro football games on Sundays, including the Baltimore Colts overtime win over the New York Giants in the “Greatest Game Ever Played” – the 1958 NFL Championship Game, given credit for igniting America’s passion for the sport.

And, we had golf in our living rooms, something virtually unthinkable just a few years before.

Black-and-white television introduced me to my heroes.

It brought me Mickey Mantle and Johnny Unitas. And, it brought me Arnold Palmer.

I thought about that on Sunday evening when my son called with news that Palmer had died. He passed away that afternoon in Pittsburgh due to complications from heart problems. He was 87 years old.

When he placed that call, my son knew the emptiness and sadness that it would cause for me. Even though I never talked with Palmer one-on-one, I felt like I knew him well. Countless millions of people in America and around the world felt the same way.

You can close your eyes and picture the patented Palmer swing, his arms extended gripping the club, following the ball, then hitching up his pants and striding down the fairway as only Arnold Palmer could do. In those early days, Palmer attracted the massive crowds. They called them “Arnie’s Army,” a phrase first used by an Augusta, Ga., newspaper when soldiers from a nearby army camp followed him at the 1960 Masters. Soon, the army grew to include thousands of non-uniformed fans as they followed him around the course, cheering his every shot.

There were many great golfers before Arnold Palmer. Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead.

There have been many great golfers since Palmer was in his prime. Tom Watson and Greg Norman. Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

And, the players of Palmer’s era were among the greatest to ever play the game.  Lee Trevino and Billy Casper. Cary Middlecoff, Raymond Floyd and Gene Littler. And the other two who joined Palmer in the “Big Three”… Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus.

But, there was still just one Arnold Palmer, the one they called the “King of Golf.”

Palmer’s greatness wasn’t because he was the picture perfect golfer. He had an aggressive style, spinning follow-through and unique stance. His go-for-broke approach could bring charging come-from-behind victories or historic collapses.

His awards and wins, on and off the course, were among the greatest in golf history. His 62 career tour wins trail only Snead, Woods, Nicklaus and Hogan on the all-time list. He won the Masters four times, the British Open twice and the U.S. Open once. He finished second in the U.S. Open four times and was PGA Championship runner-up three times.

Four times he won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average on the PGA tour. He was U.S. Ryder Cup captain twice and played on the Ryder team six times. He was named Athlete of the Decade for the 1960s and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

After retiring from the regular PGA Tour, he was a founder of the Champions Tour where he won 10 titles, including five majors. He was also a founder of the Golf Channel. He helped raise millions of dollars for charities, including prostate cancer research, as well as opening the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando, Fla.

But it was none of those things that made Palmer the most popular and revered golfer in history. It was because he was always just Arnold Palmer, the regular guy born in 1929 in the small town of Latrobe, Pa., a man equally comfortable with children, blue-collar workmen or U.S. Presidents.

It was Palmer who was most responsible for bringing the game of golf, then considered a sport for the elite, to the common man and woman. People who had never played a round of golf would watch the game for hours, just to pull for Palmer. He was approachable and courteous, known for his sportsmanship and for being there for younger players. He would sign autographs, talk with members of the gallery, and pose for photos. If he realized that he was the most well-known and popular golfer on the planet, he didn’t act like it.

Professionals in the golfing industry, including today’s players competing for gigantic purses, credit Palmer for where the game is today.

“Arnold meant everything to golf,” Woods said. “I mean without his charisma, without his personality in conjunction with TV … Everyone got hooked on the game of golf via TV because of Arnold.”

“Thank you for being you and for giving me the opportunity to do what I get to do every day. I love you, as did everyone,” tweeted PGA tour golfer Rickie Fowler.

“Arnie put the game on the map,” said McIlroy. “Don’t think any other sportsperson in any sport did for their profession what Arnie did for the game.”

A couple of decades ago I was an editor of LINKS magazine, covering tournaments in which Palmer played and courses that he had designed. But, I only came close to a one-on-one conversation with him one time.

At a course in Orlando, there was a meeting to discuss a new business venture, automobile tires that would have the names of college teams and mascots on the side. Palmer was considering investing and was going to be at the meeting. I got tied up in traffic and despite driving much too fast and disregarding some signals, I still got there just five minutes after he had left.

“That’s a shame,” the meeting’s organizer told me. “If he had known you wanted to meet him, he would have stayed a few more minutes. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

Everybody who knew Palmer felt that way.

“Arnold Palmer was the everyday man’s hero,” Nicklaus said. “Arnold embodied the hard-working strength of America.”

Arnold Palmer was one of my heroes. And, what he represented for the game of golf, and for so many people outside the game, will never be replaced.