Monday, October 3, 2016

Let's Get Into Physical - Part 6 - A Tribute to The King

"Grandpa, why are so sad?"

"Well son, I just found out that Arnold Palmer, one of the legends of the 60s and 70s, passed away."

"Oh, sorry to hear that Grandpa......Who??"

"Son don't tell me that you don't know who Arnold Palmer is?!?!?  He was only the most iconic and famous golfer of all time!!"

"Oh, you mean like Tiger Woods?"

"No, no, no.  Arnie was a true gentleman off the course as well as a ferocious competitor on it, and his fans loved him for it.  He came along right at the beginning of the TV age and transformed golf forever.  And best of all he remained humble and grateful for his success - not at all like the rich spoiled athletes today!"

"He always put on a show by his go-for-broke style."

"Did you ever see him play, Grandpa."

"Yes I did.  I attended a tournament when I was...well I was about your age.  I remember Arnie drove a tee shot into the deep right rough and we were just a few feet from his ball to see him play his second shot.   The lie was horrid, and he was blocked by trees.  But instead of chipping out like a mortal player would, he asked for a 3 iron, played it back in his stance and went for the green!  Leaves and dirt went flying!  When the dust settled, his ball was on the green about 7 feet from the pin.  It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen in sports...."

"And Arnie was really the first athlete to really cash in on the endorsement arena - hawking everything from watches.....

...to copy machines to........

...to even lawn mowers!"

"Grandpa, you called a golfer an athlete.  Really?!?  "

"Watch it kid.  Anyway, Arnie made golf cool and made it popular for all sorts of people...

...even hot babes took up the game!"

"And of course, the Big Book catalogs took notice and pushed merchandise endorsed by all sorts of golf stars..."

"Johnny Miller??? Grandpa, why do you keep bringing up these guys that I've never heard of??  Anyway, there's NO way you can convince me that golf is cool."

"Oh really?? Challenge accepted kid, check these out........"

"Okay, I admit that's pretty cool, except for that green jacket.  It clashes with the red car.

"Sigh, Do you kids now days know anything?!?  You see, the biggest professional tournament of the year is called The Masters and the winner gets....oh never mind, let's move on"

"Yeah Grandpa, I admit that's pretty bad ass.  I didn't know that golfers could be such rebels! But still what about the babes?"

"Hey Grandpa, this Arnold Palmer was a stud!!  Maybe I'll take up golf."

"There you go son.  Hey I think it's time for one of those 'What Kind of Man Reads..." moments."

What Kind of Man Reads The Kathy Loghry Blogspot?  He's a champion champion who defined an era that defined his moments for eternity.  Ruthless, flamboyant and daring in competition, he was as equally kind, humble and caring off the course.  Women wanted him, men wanted to be him.  Quite simply he will always be known as......


The King.

4 comments:

  1. His chief rival, Jack Nicklaus, also had his own clothing line, the Golden Bear. If it weren't for Arnold, would there be a Tiger Woods or even Laura Baugh (one of those hot chicks from the LPGA tour in the 70s)? I wonder if Kathy or any of the models featured here ever took up golf or just modeled golf clothes?

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    1. That would be interesting to know. However, most models are pretty obsessive with their skin tone and probably wouldn't want to risk being out in the sun that much (just a guess.)

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  2. Great tribute and wonderful forgotten ads, here. I'm not a golfing enthusiast, but I respect what Arnold Palmer bought to the sport -- and I love his beverage invention, too! And...he was a cutie back in the day!

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