Golf legend Arnold Palmer dead at 87

Arnold Palmer, considered one of the best golf players of all time, died Sunday in Pittsburgh, according to reports. He was 87.

He had been undergoing heart tests at the at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital since Thursday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Over his decades-long career, Palmer recorded 62 PGA tour victories and a treasure trove of major tournaments wins, including the U.S. Open, British Open and the Masters, which he won four times. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

Palmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, and in 2012 was recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal for his work on and off the golf course.

His prowess and athleticism made him golf’s first true star, and he helped usher the sport into the mainstream.

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His prowess and athleticism made him golf’s first true star, and he helped usher the sport into the mainstream.

Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan might have something to say about that.

landtuna said:

His prowess and athleticism made him golf’s first true star, and he helped usher the sport into the mainstream.

Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan might have something to say about that.

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Palmer was to golf what Muhammad Ali was to boxing. Jones, Nelson, and Hogan were great, but they never had the worldwide fame that Arnold Palmer had, both inside and outside the game. He transcended his sport, with lots of help from television. The only guys that will come anywhere close to his stature when their times come are Jack Nicklaus and (maybe) Tiger Woods.

I think the fact that he was the first golf star of the TV age has a lot to do with it. There were many great golfers before him, but he was the first to get on TV every Sunday afternoon. Appointment viewing. That opened the door for the Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus. The right personality with the right talent at the right time, and the media to bring him to the world's stage.

I think Big A has this right. The examples of Ali and Woods are unfortunate because both, at the virtual peak of their careers, torpedoed themselves and provided the asterisk that will always accompany their listings.

landtuna said:

I think Big A has this right. The examples of Ali and Woods are unfortunate because both, at the virtual peak of their careers, torpedoed themselves and provided the asterisk that will always accompany their listings.

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One big difference: Ali lived by his conscience, while Woods lived by his loins. Both paid the price, but Ali was completely forgiven by most people, although not immediately.

Woods is another story. That's why I added the (maybe) to his name. He hasn't been forgiven yet. The fact that he refuses to retire despite his injuries and poor play doesn't help his cause any.

landtuna said:

I think Big A has this right. The examples of Ali and Woods are unfortunate because both, at the virtual peak of their careers, torpedoed themselves and provided the asterisk that will always accompany their listings.

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I'd argue that boxing was already in the mainstream decades before TV. People used to thrill to title fights on radio in the '30s and '40s, or stand in front of newspaper offices waiting for the wire-service ticker reports of each round to be posted in the window. Everyone knew who the champions were in the glamour divisions -- heavyweight, middleweight and welterweight -- and the newspapers of the day gave those fights lead-page play. It was when boxing virtually abandoned TV, first for closed-circuit and then for pay-per-view, and the "alphabet soup" organizations started handing out titles like candy and splintering the divisions, that the sport left the mainstream. Except for brief revivals in the '80s and '90s (led largely by the star power of Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson), boxing hasn't come close to its golden age status since.

CTListener said:

I'd argue that boxing was already in the mainstream decades before TV. People used to thrill to title fights on radio in the '30s and '40s,

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I think that's true. Boxing was big on the radio. Probably bigger on the radio than it was on TV. Perhaps it was just too painful to watch. It was better left to the imagination. When you listen to the radio broadcast of Joe Louis vs Max Schmeling, it was incredible. The Gillette Fight of the Week on radio was the Super Bowl of its time. Bigger than any other sport, at least in the US, because baseball was mostly local, and mostly in the northeast. I think boxing wasn't restricted by geography, plus it was one on one, while baseball was a team sport. Golf was also a one-on-one sport, but it played well on TV. So when a charismatic young player came along, he became a star.

Everyone should drink an iced tea and lemonade (one of my favorite drinks) in his memory today.

KeithE4 said:

One big difference: Ali lived by his conscience, while Woods lived by his loins. Both paid the price, but Ali was completely forgiven by most people, although not immediately.

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I don't want to get too far afield here but how can you know Ali's intentions? I certainly can't and don't know anyone else that has that capability. Perhaps he didn't want to be the first Pat Tillman. The fact that he belonged to a religion that purports to be "peaceful" yet he participated in one of the most violent activities on the planet tends to brand him somewhat a hypocrite. He could have chosen to serve his country in a variety of ways that would not have involved combat but he didn't. Personally, I don't care one way or the other what the public forgives or not. I would not want someone like Ali in my foxhole for the simple reason I could never trust him. I can understand why some people consider him a hero but in my book he was just a simple coward. Karma has a way of evening things out though.

I think Ali addressed the "violent" thing at the time. Cosell asked him about it.

Speaking of violence, Arnie notably co-starred in a long-running series of commercials for Hertz Rent-A-Car with O.J. Simpson.

TheBigA said:

I think Ali addressed the "violent" thing at the time. Cosell asked him about it.

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Cosell was one of those public leeches who rode the Ali train for all it was worth for personal gain even though at times it seemed as if Ali didn't want Howard's attention and tried to pry him off.

But this was primarily about Palmer and I didn't mean to redirect it. Palmer's legacy will remain intact because, in addition to being skilled at his chosen game, he was also not involved in activities detrimental to the game or himself. I am not a golf fan by any means but I always liked Arnie and he seemed genuine at all levels.

Oscar Madison said:

Speaking of violence, Arnie notably co-starred in a long-running series of commercials for Hertz Rent-A-Car with O.J. Simpson.

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Arnie had been in ads for Xarelto in recent years and still looked like he was in good health. But I saw another picture today online that looked like he was getting in worse shape recently.

RIP to one of the biggest legends of golf. Palmer was the one that recent golf athletes look up to. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Bubba Watson.
Speaking of which, you may remember he was a spokesperson for Xarelto (heart-thinning pill, with Brian Vickers and Kevin Nealon). Hopefully the heart problems weren't caused by Xarelto, because those pills have tons of lawsuits out nowadays. If it was, Xarelto is in big do-do.

From Drugs.com: Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is an anticoagulant (blood thinner) that prevents the formation of blood clots.

Xarelto is used to prevent or treat a type of blood clot called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which can lead to blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism). A DVT can occur after certain types of surgery.

Xarelto is also used in people with atrial fibrillation (a heart rhythm disorder) to lower the risk of stroke caused by a blood clot.

As someone who suffered a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs) about 5 years ago I went through a week of IV warfarin which contains the active ingredient in rat poison. It is absolutely amazing what this drug will do to ordinary blood consistency and how quickly it can lead to severe health issues. Drug thinners, including small doses of aspirin, are advocated for older folks to thin out the blood a little bit and make pumping a bit easier on the heart.

My Dad was on Xarelto before he died. They had to take him off of it because it was causing some
complications with his kidneys. They put him on warfarin instead, which caused him to drop tons
of weight because it made all of his food taste bad (like "salty metal" he told me). I think he would
have preferred Xarelto if his kidneys could have handled the drug. They had put him on this stuff after
he had a very mild stroke. Ultimately he died of a pulmonary embolism anyway.

The loss of Arnie was a sad day in Western Pennsylvania. He was a true gentleman, always active in
local charities. People around here were very proud to call him one of their own.

Oscar Madison said:

Speaking of violence, Arnie notably co-starred in a long-running series of commercials for Hertz Rent-A-Car with O.J. Simpson.

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I never saw those commercials until the documentary which ABC aired the first part of.

Arnold Palmer is a name I never heard anything bad about.

I even have one of his shirts.

landtuna said:

Cosell was one of those public leeches who rode the Ali train for all it was worth for personal gain even though at times it seemed as if Ali didn't want Howard's attention and tried to pry him off.

But this was primarily about Palmer and I didn't mean to redirect it. Palmer's legacy will remain intact because, in addition to being skilled at his chosen game, he was also not involved in activities detrimental to the game or himself. I am not a golf fan by any means but I always liked Arnie and he seemed genuine at all levels.

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No, Cassius rode the Cosell train. Howard was his Boswell.

Oscar Madison said:

No, Cassius rode the Cosell train. Howard was his Boswell.

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Howard wouldn't be much good to him when he had Joe Frazier beating down on his head.