George Ferguson Column: Life Lesson: We can all be more like the King

There’s a lot of words that could define the life of Arnold Palmer. And, if you are old enough to be a fan of his, golf was rarely one of them.

While Arnold was known simply as the King, he was so much more to legions of people, and generations of golf fans. And, in the days since he passed at the age of 87, back on Sunday, Palmer has been eulogized all over television, the internet and social media, and, interestingly, rarely in all of the words spoken about him in the last few days, was golf even mentioned.

While it’s no secret that Palmer wouldn’t have been the mega star that he was without being one of the greatest golfers of all time, his life, the way he lived it and what he did for people, for humanity, and not just for golf fans, truly dwarfs anything the King did on the golf course.

Now that’s a life lesson we can all learn and especially, our younger generation of superstar athletes.

I have spent the better part of the last three days watching and reading tributes to Palmer, and while I am indeed old enough to know his golf accomplishments, to have seen the days when he was still one of the biggest pitch men on commercial television, and even seeing him when he was still winning on the Senior Tour, it wasn’t until his passing that I really knew the impact Palmer had on so many, and, above all else, how different he was than most of the star athletes that I, and we, idolize today.

For instance, Palmer, early in his career, decided to change the way he signed autographs. He realized that most celebrities sign in a way in which the signature isn’t legible. That’s not uncommon. But, Palmer did an uncommon thing amongst celebrities and star athletes — he recognized the issue. So what did he do? He started to carefully sign his name, each and every time, millions of times over the years, so that his signature was clear and legible. He said he wanted the fan who got his autograph to actually be able to read it.

Honestly, if you’re a sports fan who has been lucky enough to get or purchase something signed by one of your heroes, can you really say they signed it like Arnie did? The answer is most likely no.

And that about sums up Palmer. Unlike so many famous athletes, Palmer actually cared about his fans and, obviously, about people in general. It is said by many that even while he was in the prime of his golfing career, he probably didn’t win as much as he should of because the things he cared about and was dedicated to off the golf course — his philanthropic and charity work, his time with his family and friends, his love of flying his own planes — took away from his ability to concentrate on golf.

How many of your favorite athletes today can honestly say they care more about charity, more about humanity than they do about winning? The answer is probably none. And, yes, many star athletes today do great charitable work, for an abundance of great causes. But do they personally care about those things to the point where they give up time spent on what they do for a living — sports? The answer is no way. You know LeBron James doesn’t. You know Michael Jordan didn’t, or even in Arnie’s sport, there’s no way Tiger Woods does.

But Arnold did. Whether building two of the most reputable children’s hospitals in Florida, or just spending hours upon hours signing autographs on the driving range, Arnold Palmer cared in ways that very few of our sports heroes ever have, or ever will.

Put another away, if more people with the types of influences Palmer had would care in the ways he did, this world would be a lot better place. If more people with power and wealth treated human beings in the manner Arnold Palmer did, we as a society, we as a collective human race, would be a lot better off than we are.

There are countless reasons why Arnold Palmer will be missed, there are hundreds of reasons why Palmer, years from now, will be considered one of the greatest golfers of all time, and there are so many different reasons why the King will be cherished by so many, forever. But the biggest reason why Palmer is so beloved, so revered, and the biggest reason he was so unique among athletes and celebrities was, and will always be, summed up in word — class.

Arnold Palmer was class personified. To the extent that it made him not only one of the greatest golfers to ever play the game, but it made him one of the greatest human beings to ever walk the face of the earth.

For me, it may have taken his passing last Sunday to fully realize what an incredible human being Palmer was, because I already knew about the golf. But learning more about what Palmer did with his life, it’s a lesson learned, and, it makes me want to do better with my own life going forward. Hopefully, and I suspect it does, knowing what a great man Palmer was makes us all want to do whatever we can to make the world a better place.

Most of us will never have the golf game Arnie had, and we’ll never the money or the fame, or even our own plane, but all of us as human beings can still be just like the King. In other words, we can treat people just like he did. We can care just like he did. And in the world of sports, we can conduct ourselves with class and dignity.

We can be just like the King.