Chris Rodell - Arnold Palmer: Homespun Stories of The King

For past reveries, current considerations, and future frolics, this book is dedicated to the inimitable Michael Patrick Shiels.

Contents

Foreword by Gary Player

Would Arnold Palmer have become Arnold Palmer without his hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania? Or to paraphrase what Winnie Palmer once said of her husband, I cant decide if hes simply complex or complexly simple. Could it be both?

For this book Chris Rodell, a popular author and Latrobe resident since 1992, interviewed more than 200 area neighbors and began each interview with a simple request: Please tell me your best Arnold Palmer story. Youre holding the responses right in your hand. This book takes the exuberant nitty-gritty of what they had to say about the man they knew and shines a light on their experiences to reveal something beautiful to behold. Because the story of Arnold Palmer and his beloved Latrobe isnt just some story of hometown roots. No, dig a little deeper, and its a story of community, encouragement, optimism, determination, and cheerful perseverance in the face of all lifes challenges.

So, at its heart, the story of Palmer and Latrobe is a story about the United States of America. It details the benefits of what happens when individuals and their communities mutually decide to be good for goodness sake. Because the Latrobe that raised and supported Palmer likely differs little from the place you call home. It has solid industry, good schools, strong communities of various faiths, recreational opportunities and is populated by many good-hearted people who work hard and play hard. That probably sounds familiar. Every state in America has dozens of small towns that fit that description, and many are still producing people of character, faith, and genuine appreciation for their country.

But there might just be something special about Latrobe. After all, Palmer isnt the only beloved star who called it home. Mister Fred Rogers was born in Latrobe. So were Rolling Rock beer and professional football. For more than 50 years, Latrobe and St. Vincent College have been the summer home to the six-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. And every August Latrobe celebrates its role in being the birthplace of one of the most famous desserts, when it hosts the Great American Banana Split Festival.

Palmer was first and foremost a professional golfer, but more importantly he was generous, thoughtful, funny, inspirational, and a friend to many. He was equally at ease dining with kings and queens as he was having shots and beers with the gang sitting around the bar at the local volunteer fire department social hall.

He could be difficult and demanding, but to me he simply was a dear friend for more than 60 years. We laughed together but also cried together. Like anybody, we had our differences, but these never stood in the way of our relationship. And he was blessed with charm, charisma, and patience. Such an inspirational man, he certainly lived his life to the fullest. No matter what the circumstance, his effort was relentlesseven when the odds were stacked against him. He was a world traveler who gave every appearance hed have been content being a Latrobe homebody. He was a record-setting aviator with a large personality who somehow managed to remain grounded. And maybe Latrobe and its people were the reason he remained so grounded. He never forgot who he was and where he came from.

Maybe it was destiny that Rodell, a writer whos become known for observational humor, moved to Latrobe 26 years ago with zero professional interest in pestering his famous neighbor. Coincidental circumstance led him to a neighborly friendship and to Palmer eventually providing his official cover endorsement on Rodells previous book. The books topic? How to be happier.

So, of course, Palmer was supportive. Making the world a happier place was what hed been doing his entire life. He did it with hospitals and philanthropic organizations in Orlando, Florida, and he did it with people who lived just down the street. Heck, he did it every time he signed his name in that indelibly flawless penmanship. He was doing it right up to the day he died.

Im confident fans will enjoy this euphoric book that doesnt stop at celebrating the life of another famous man. It provides evidence that some greatness comes naturally while some is forged. My hope is that this magic will continue all across the United States for many years to come. And as this book makes clear, it can happen in hearts all around the world.

Gary Player

Introduction

The second most common question asked of people who live in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, as my wife and I have done since 1992, is, Have you met Arnold Palmer? Through the 26 years, my answer has changed by dramatic degrees. For nearly 10 years, my answer was a grinding no, a truthfulness that always left the questioner disappointed and me feeling diminished. It was a social failure. Living in Latrobe and not knowing Arnold Palmer was like living at the North Pole and not knowing Santa Claus.

We finally and formally metintroductory handshake, eye contact, and a concluding thumbs-upin 2001. A hometown box had been checked after nine years. But it was a meeting without zest, zip, or zing. It was as if wed shared a cab ride to a bus station, not a hometown. It left me in a weakened position to answer what is the No. 1 most common question, which is, So whats Arnold Palmer really like?

Id say Ive been told hes cool, fun, and friendly, but in truth I hadnt the foggiest idea. My answer for years would have been dismissed by any fair court as hearsay. Then on August 2, 2005, circumstances beyond my control changed my life, both professionally and personally in ways both silly and profound. I began getting paid to immerse myself in the daily details of Palmers entire life. I was hired to go through more than a dozen legal-sized cardboard boxes stuffed with newspaper and magazine clippings, etc., detailing every time Palmers name made the news anywhere in the world. Each box had thousands of clips, some momentous, others minuscule. For transcription purposes, Id pore over nearly 40 years of date books. Id read boxes of fan letters and whole newspapers and magazines devoted to Latrobes favorite son. Know what Id do if I had a question? Id ask Mr. Palmer.

And the formal honorific is deliberate. Calling him Arnie, Arnold, orheaven forbidArn would seem as inappropriate to me as calling The King Sweetheart, even though that description would have been perfectly accurate.

Overall, Id spend more than 100 hours over the next 11 years, not as his buddy, but as the guy privileged with the liberty to ask him anything that popped into my head. Sure, we talked about golf, aviation, history, architecture, nature, politics, loss, failure, and what happens when we die, but the undercurrent of each of those questions was much bigger than all that.

We talked about life.

It gave me foundational insights I could use any time some curious stranger asked me that No. 1 question: whats Arnold Palmer really like? Arnold Palmer is perfectly cool, authentic, and refreshing. If Arnold Palmer were a drink, hed be an Arnold Palmer, Id say.

If Arnold Palmer were the only member of The Greatest Generation, it would still be The Greatest Generation solely because it included Arnold Palmer. Hes often referred to as a legendary golfer. The description doesnt begin to do justice to the momentous legacy.

I smugly believed mine was the best answer. In fact, I dont think I really knew at all what Arnold Palmer was really like until I asked all his Latrobe neighbors to tell me what they thought Arnold Palmer was really like. Youre holding the sum answer in your hands.