arnie stories – the king

Daniel O’Neill, a golf consultant for Fox Sports, shared an Arnold Palmer story with the Morning Read. It’s one he’ll never forget as he was a rookie golf reporter at the time when a gracious Arnie took a few moments to help the young man with a story.
Click here to see the post on the Morning Read.

Frank Cantrel Jr. sent in a painting of Arnie done by good friend Larry Selman, who is a well-known and highly respected painter of military and historical subjects.
Click here to see the painting and learn more about Selman.

Pete Georgiady shares his moment in the sun with Arnie. Click here to read his story about serving as Arnie’s doorman.

Quick note from my father (this is JD talkin’)… the old gent passed away several years ago, but we often talked golf in them days. I once had the temerity to suggest that Jack had a fair claim as the best golfer around. The old man fixed me with a calm look, then said “For me it was always Arnie. He will always be The King.” Delivered with utter and complete sincerity, the verdict was rendered as absolutely final, with a sense of how could anyone think otherwise? Arnie had that kind of impact on a lot of folks.

Here’s an Arnie story from past GHS president Jim Jeselnick:
I attended high school in Latrobe, Pa., from 1962-66. One day Arnie surprised us by coming over to do a ball striking clinic, probably 1964. And, there were maybe only 10 of us there. His caddie would stand in the field and Arnie would hit shots. Even with a three iron, he could come very close to hitting his caddie. Afterwards, he autographed a small slip of paper which I kept in my wallet. Several years later we were at a beach and I dove in, forgetting that I had my wallet in my shorts. Of course the autograph was ruined. Later, when I discovered eBay, I went crazy and won three autographed pictures in one week, not realizing that he was a prolific autograph signer. That is certainly one of the reasons I started collecting golf items. Arnie was one of my heroes and I admit that I cried during his funeral.

GHS President Bern Bernacki shares a couple of treasured items from his Arnold Palmer collection: