Over this tragic
past weekend, the sports world lost two giant figures who, in different ways,
represent extraordinary success stories of the American Dream.
The legendary
Arnold Palmer passed away at 87 after an impossibly full life as one of the
greatest icons in any sport, not only golf. In addition to being one of golf’s
most accomplished champions, he earned a reputation as a class act, as admired
and well-liked for his down-to-earth, gentlemanly demeanor as for his golfing
skill. Palmer was noted, for example, for never refusing a fan his autograph nor
asking to be paid for it.
I’m not a golfer
but my late father was on the course nearly every weekend. He was an enormous
fan of “Arnie,” as he and countless others called him – as if they were buddies,
because Arnie was so personable and accessible that his millions of followers –
“Arnie’s Army” – viewed him as a friend.
Two stories serve
to capture Arnie’s kindness and humility, qualities too often overlooked and
underappreciated in our era of oftentimes narcissistic and self-aggrandizing
superstars.
In 2014 an avid, 18-year-old
golfer and local tournament winner named Nate Marcoulier received a graduation
gift from his older brother Adam. It was a letter
from Arnold Palmer, whom Adam had written in the hope that the golfing icon
would have some life advice for Nate. Both brothers were stunned when Palmer
replied, congratulating Nate on his golf victories and telling him he would
find life “enjoyable and fulfilling” if he followed this advice:
·
Courtesy and respect are timeless principles, as
well as good manners.
·
Knowing when to speak is just as important as
knowing what you say.
·
Know how to win by following the rules.
·
Know the importance of when and how to say thank
you.
·
Never underestimate the importance of a good
education.
“Good luck in
college and study hard,” Palmer concluded. “By far the best present I've ever
gotten,” declared Nate.
Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament director
Scott Wellman tells
another tale, about Arnie’s humility and
gratitude:
[A] gentleman came
up to the car, knocked on the window with his young son and said, “I’m sorry,
Mr. Palmer, but could you give my son an autograph?” Arnold turns the car off,
signs the autograph, and the gentleman said, “Thank you so much, you’ll never
know how much this means to me.” And Arnold looked at him in all sincerity and
said, “No, sir, thank you for asking me for the autograph.” That’s Arnold
Palmer.
His many trophies
notwithstanding, arguably the most important prize Palmer earned was the Stan Musial
Lifetime Achievement Award for Sportsmanship almost exactly a year ago,
honoring Palmer’s “kindness and philanthropic commitment.” That award speaks more
to the lives that he changed than the tournaments he won.
Pitcher Jose
Fernandez also died last weekend, at the tragically young age of 24. Unlike
Arnold Palmer, we will never know the heights to which Fernandez might have soared
as an athlete or the impact he might have had on the game of baseball. But in
his short life he persevered through three failed attempts at escaping the Communist
dictatorship in Cuba (each of which earned him imprisonment) before finally managing
to defect to Mexico. At one point in that final dangerous attempt, Fernandez
had to dive overboard to save his mother from drowning. Fernandez went on to
become Major League Baseball’s 2013 Rookie of the Year and was twice named an
All-Star in only four seasons for the Miami Marlins before dying last Saturday in,
ironically, a boating accident. He had just become an American citizen and
announced only days ago that his girlfriend is pregnant.
Marlins manager Don
Mattingly became emotional speaking
to reporters about Fernandez, praising the pitcher’s “joy and passion” for
the game. One mourning fan wrote
a tribute celebrating one quality about Fernandez that “stands out above
the others: joy… No one has ever loved playing the game as much as Jose.” He
went on to describe the pitcher as “a young man who was so talented he skipped
most of the minor leagues and whose joy and simple, honest gratitude to be
playing baseball flooded out of him so powerfully that you couldn’t help but
share in it.”
Both these men
exemplify, in different ways, the American Dream. In addition to his
incalculable impact on the game of golf, Arnold Palmer parlayed his
championships and unforced charisma into a side career as a product pitchman;
at the time of his death his personal worth was estimated at nearly $680
million. He had gone from caddying at a local country club as a youth to buying
that same club as a superstar adult. Fernandez escaped obscurity and the oppression
of a totalitarian regime to find fame and fortune playing the game he loved.
But both men will
forever be remembered for so much more than their success and rare talent. They exuded virtues that inspired others and
transformed lives. They exhibited qualities of character that elevated their
respective sports. They will be legends for the right reasons.
From Acculturated, 9/28/16
