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Reading List: Arnold Palmer, dead at 87, remembered

Eddie Keogh / REUTERS

Arnold Palmer passed away at 87 on Sunday, and will not soon be forgotten.

The golf legend is already being honored with countless tributes and remembrances, with the following few standing out as the most comprehensive and heartfelt.

Dave Anderson, New York Times

From 1958 through 1964, Palmer was the charismatic face of professional golf and one of its dominant players. In those seven seasons, he won seven major titles: four Masters, one United States Open and two British Opens. With 62 victories on the PGA Tour, he ranks fifth, behind Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan. He won 93 tournaments worldwide, including the 1954 United States Amateur.

But it was more than his scoring and shotmaking that captivated the sports world. It was how he played. He did not so much navigate a course as attack it. If his swing was not classic, it was ferocious: He seemed to throw all 185 pounds of his muscular 5-foot-10 body at the ball. If he did not win, he at least lost with flair.

Steve DiMeglio, USA Today

After receiving the highest civilian awards given in the United States, Palmer went outside each day, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the U.S. Capitol, and signed autographs for hundreds of people.

That was Palmer, a man who connected with the masses, who related to kids, the hourly wage employee, the CEO — and Presidents.

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times

Yet it was Palmer who earned, and never relinquished, the sobriquet “King.” His impact on golf was unequivocal and transcendent. Armed with big biceps and a flat stomach, Palmer brought raw athleticism to a discipline many considered more skill than sport.

He revolutionized sports marketing as it is known today, and his success contributed to increased incomes for athletes across the sporting spectrum.

T. Rees Shapiro, The Washington Post

Mr. Palmer rose from a blue-collar background to become part of the sport’s royalty — he was colloquially known on the PGA Tour as “The King” — and frequent playing partner of U.S. presidents. He left an indelible mark on the world of golf in the form of nearly 300 signature-designed courses, and Arnold Palmer Enterprises, which handled his endorsements and other ventures, helped make Mr. Palmer the first golfer to make his name a worldwide franchise.

Many credit Mr. Palmer with inventing golf as a televised sport, becoming the game’s first well-known star by helping to put a name and face to the game. Mr. Palmer’s vitality and boyishly handsome looks helped attract many new fans to the sport who watched on TV. “I’ve got sex written all over my face,” Mr. Palmer once said.

Tom Goldman, National Public Radio

He wasn't the greatest male golfer of all time. That title usually prompts a debate about Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods or Ben Hogan, maybe Sam Snead. But the most important player? It's fairly unanimous that Arnold Palmer was, true to his nickname, the King.

Michael Bamberger, Golf.com

Arnold Daniel Palmer - Arnie to millions - was born in Sept. 19, 1929, and he was a man of his generation in all the expected ways. He insisted on men removing hats upon entering the various clubhouses under his watch and was a big believer in the benefits of the firm handshake.

He often said that the secret to his success as a golfer was the firm golf grip his father taught him as a young child, just a few years after the Great Crash. He never changed his grip, he never changed his swing, he never changed his personality.

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