From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Golf legend, Latrobe native Arnold Palmer dies at 87
Jack Nicklaus will never forget the first time he saw Arnold Palmer.
He was on the golf course at Sylvania (Ohio) Country Club, practicing and getting ready for the 1954 Ohio Amateur. Nicklaus was only 14 at the time, one of the youngest players in the field.
When it started to rain, Nicklaus decided to go to the clubhouse. Nobody else was on the course. But, as he passed the practice range, one player was there, hitting balls in the downpour.
“I had no idea who it was and I watched this guy, he looked like Popeye hitting these drilling 9‑irons that were going about 12 feet high,” Nicklaus said. “I said, you know, look at this guy, man, this guy’s strong. Boy, can he hit. He’d really drill it.
“So I watched him for about 20 minutes or so and then I walked in the clubhouse and said, ‘Who in the world is that out on the practice tee? I said, that guy looks some kind of strong.’ He says, ‘Oh, that’s our defending champion, Arnold Palmer.’”
That was the first time Nicklaus had ever seen the man who would become his chief rival and long-time friend.
I grew up in Pittsburgh - Palmer was a class act - a real Gentleman's gentleman.