My all-time hero and role model: Arnold Palmer
Editor’s Note: Donald E. Palmer is a Newport Beach resident and author who was feautured in The Daily Pilot last year. He, like many in the sports community, was inspired by Arnold Palmer, who died on Sunday.
In my 82 years, I’ve met many important people, athletes, movie stars, politicians, race horse owners, and dozens of famous golfers. No one I have ever met in my life even comes close to having had Arnold Palmer’s influence on how I formed my personality, my value system and who I became in life. He touched more lives on a personal level and in sheer numbers in my lifetime than anyone who ever lived.
He could have been elected “King of the World” as well as the “King of Golf.”
I first heard the name Arnold Palmer on television, while watching a golf tournament in 1955. As my last name is Palmer, I was immediately attracted and began following him in the sports section of the Los Angeles Times when he was playing in a tournament.
In early 1956, I had my first live glimpse of him in person when I attended a tournament in Miami. I followed him for 18 holes at the Bayshore Country Club in Miami Beach. I was hooked by his style, charm and obvious passion for the sport.
Moving to California in mid-1956, I decided to take up golf seriously and started watching every tournament on television and following Arnold Palmer in every tournament played in Southern California; The Los Angeles Open, Orange County, Palm Springs, etc. I tried to emulate his swing, his putting style, even his body language. I wanted to be just like him in every way. He became my hero and a mentor without ever having met him.
In 1958, I went to work in advertising for the Los Angeles Times and established my first golf handicap 18 at Green River Golf Club in Corona, Calif. In 1965, Arnold Palmer was the favorite in the Los Angeles Open. On the opening Thursday, I sneaked away from work and went out to Rancho Park, a famous public golf course, to follow my hero.
The next morning when I walked into the Times office, the VP of Advertising, Vance Stickell called me in his office with three other advertising department managers.
“Don, how was your day yesterday?” he asked before telling me to sit down.
Stammering and stuttering a little, I knew someone must have seen me at Rancho Park on Thursday. Before I made a fool of myself, Vance pointed to the sports section on his desk. There was a picture on the front page of the 18th green with people surrounding it.
“Do you see anyone you know in that picture?” Vance asked.
Looking at it, I spotted myself in the first row of the crowd. Smiling coyly, I answered, “a guy in the front row looks a lot like me!”
I knew that Vance was a personal friend of Arnold and I knew that I was his favorite young account executive at 31.
So proceeding, I remarked, “I guess I should have waited till Saturday to follow my hero.” They all laughed and made a few joking comments.
Vance said, “Don’t say anything about the picture to the others and we won’t either.”
I didn’t, and believe it or not, not a single one of the other reps noticed it. However, I did share the story about a month later with some of my close associates.
As the years went by, I continued to follow “Arnie” and I have dozens of stories about incidents involving my hero worship of him along the way. As fate would have it, my grade school friend, Ronald Coleman bought a home at his Bay Hill Club and developed a relationship with Mr. Palmer. In 1992, while visiting my friend at Bay Hill I had the opportunity to meet my hero.
Arnie was coming in from a “Shootout” with other members. I took my putter and was on the putting green as he drove his golf cart by. Seeing him coming, I stepped off the putting green onto the cart path.
When he approached where I was standing, I caught his attention by asking, “Well, did you get the money?”
He stopped and we had some small talk like he had known me forever. I introduced myself, telling him I was a grade school friend of one of his members, Ronald Coleman. My next remark was, “I’ve been following you since 1956 at Bayshore Country Club in Miami Beach.”
He appeared to be interested, so I continued to talk.
Do you have time for one more story? He didn’t say no, so I went on into my story.
In 1965, I took my vacation from the Los Angeles Times to follow you in the Tournament of Champions at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. My wife Arline and I checked into the Desert Inn for a week and I proceeded to bet $100 on you at 8-1 to win the tournament. I saw every practice session, the Pro-AM and followed you all 18 holes everyday.
On Sunday, you and Billy Casper were paired as the leaders. Coming into 18 you were tied. The 18th at Desert Inn was a dogleg left. You hit your tee shot through the fairway into the rough across the fairway. Casper hit his tee shot in the fairway with a little hook on it, ending up with a great shot at the green. You were away and with the rough, your shot to the green didn’t hold and rolled uphill, coming to rest on the back fringe.
Rushing up to 18, I worked my way to a position next to Walter Winchell, the famous newsman standing the closest to where your ball had come to rest. You arrived, surveyed the situation and promptly took your putting position. Before you putted, Walter Winchell said, “Knock it in, Arnie.”
You stroked it with confidence and rolled it about 25 feet downhill on a fast green right into the bottom of the cup.
Before I could say another word, Mr. Palmer who had been listening to my every word, looking me right in the eye said emphatically, “You were there” with a big smile.
He asked if I was coming into the locker room and I said, “yes, if you will listen to one more story.”
He replied as he drove away, “Sure, see you inside.”
Ronnie and I went into the locker room and stood around watching him kibitzing with others from the shootout that had just ended. Two or three members coming to him told him that he owed them $5. He reached in his pocket and handed them their winnings with a few choice comments. My friend Ronnie told me that he hated losing in the shootout, even if it was $5.
Seeing us standing there he asked, what are you drinking? I told him I would have V.O. and ginger, Ronnie passed. Drinks were ordered and I started up the conversation again by remarking, “You and I have a very good friend in common.”
Pausing for a comment, I waited for Arnold to ask, “Who is that?” Looking him in the eye I said, “Vance Stickell.” “How do you know Vance?” he asked. “You must know Betty too.” Vance was VP of Sales and Marketing at the Los Angeles Times and my big boss. I was one of his favorites and we played golf together several times.” I knew that you were good friends. “I left the Times in 1966 but stayed in touch with Vance for years.”
Arnold then asked, “You know that he has cancer?”
“No!” I replied with a surprised look on my face. After a few minutes, I decided it was time to turn him loose, as I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.
We had numerous encounters over the years between 1993, one of them was at the Bay Hill Christmas party in 1996 where this picture that I am enclosing of Arnold and I together was taken. Between 1996 and recently, I spoke with him at Bay Hill, Newport Beach at the Seniors Tournament and at Palm Desert at his Tradition Course.
The last time we talked at Tradition, I thanked him for telling me about Vance Stickell having cancer, as otherwise I might have not had the opportunity to have lunch with him before he passed away about two years later with the disease. Mr. Palmer was visibly touched.
Why I don’t know, but every time I approached him, I felt the need to remind him of who I was. It was hard to believe that with the thousands of people he had met that he would remember me. The last time I did it was at his Tradition Club a few years ago.
When I approached him, I started to remind him of my name. Before I could say anything, looking right at me, he said, “I know who you are.” as if to ask: do you think I have Alzheimer’s disease?
I told him once when we were talking, that we had a lot more things in common like loving Vance Stickell, that we may talk about someday, but we never did. I told Ronnie that I envied the relationship that he had with Arnold, getting to really know him and flying with him and his personal pilot Pete Luster, several times from Florida to Palm Springs.
We will miss you, Arnie. The Lord has been waiting for you. He has an opening in a foursome with Bob Jones, Sam Snead and Payne Stewart, playing the immortal course in that great golf course in the sky.
The world is a better place because you were here.
Thank you on behalf of us all.