Palmer, Arnold D.
Golf
b. Sept. 10, 1929, Latrobe, PA
Perhaps the most popular golfer ever, Palmer was a charismatic figure who came along just when golf was becoming a major television sport. Palmer and television suited one another perfectly.
One sportswriter said of him, "His emotions--pain, pleasure, dismay, anger and the rest--were never hidden, and his followers could relive through him their own joys and frustrations." In his prime, he drew galleries of up to 30,000 spectators, who became known collectively as "Arnie's Army."
Palmer won the U. S. Amateur Championship in 1954, shortly after graduating from Wake Forest, and he became a professional the following year, announcing, "I want to win more tournaments than anyone, ever."
He won his first major tournament, the Masters, in 1958. But he really established his reputation in 1960, when he demonstrated an amazing ability to charge from behind to win tournaments. At the Masters, he needed birdies on the last two holes to win. He got them.
In the U. S. Open, Palmer was seven strokes back going into the final round, but he shot a 65 to win. He then won the Palm Springs Open with a 65 and the Pensacola Open with a 67, shot a 67 at the Hartford Open to get into a playoff, which he win, and finished with another 67 to take the Mobile Open.
Palmer also won the Masters in 1962 and 1964 and was the British Open champion two years in a row, 1961 and 1962, for a total of seven major championships. During most of the 1960s, Palmer, Nicklaus and Gary Player were the "Big Three" of golf, and the competition among them helped build the sport's popularity.
After 1964, Palmer never won another major championship. The distractions of business may have been part of his decline. With the advice of manager Mark McCormack, he built a multi-million-dollar empire and spent a great deal of time flying in his private plane to attend to business affairs and make public appearances.
Nevertheless, galleries still loved him and continued to cry "Charge" when he hit a good shot, even when it was obvious he had no chance to win. As late as 1985, Palmer was still ranked by Sport magazine as the highest-paid athlete in the world, because of endorsements and commercial appearances.
Palmer was the PGA Tour's top money-winner in 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964, and was named player of the year in 1960 and 1962. He won the Vardon Trophy for the tour's best scoring average in 1961, 1962, 1964, and 1967. His 62 tournament victories is third best all-time. Associated Press named him Athlete of the Decade for the 1960s, ahead of Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, Sandy Koufax, Bill Russell, and other stars from team sports.
In 1980, Palmer won the PGA Senior Championship, the first event he entered on the senior tour. The following year, he became the first former U. S. Open champion to win the U. S. Senior Open. He won the PGA Senior Championship again in 1984, when he also won won the Senior Tournament Players Championship, and he repeated as the Senior Tournament Players champion in 1985.