In 1967 the Ryder Cup was to be contested at Champions Golf Club, in Houston. My dad an avid and very good golfer was so excited about an event of this stature coming to our beloved Bayou City. Dad was also very excited about taking his 10 year old son to the event.

I was just starting to play really bad golf, but loved spending any time I could with dad, especially on the course. I was at that awkward age and was a little more than a bit on the shy side.

While at the event we stopped at a concession stand to get something to drink, when dad looked up and said to me “there’s Arnold Palmer, why don’t you go say hello and get his autograph?” Mr. Palmer was coming out of the clubhouse and was, for the most part, by himself. Unlike Dad who was always able to talk to anyone as if they had known each other forever even if he had never met them, I was much more timid. I was petrified to walk up to and meet someone of Mr. Palmer’s fame, and I tried my best to tell dad that I really didn’t want to go by myself, could he come with me? Actually I was just scared to approach Mr. Palmer, and Dad knew it. Dad, as he always did, urged me to go. He had a way of pushing, in a very loving way, but push he did. Slowly I approached Mr. Palmer, most likely trembling and staring at the ground. I can’t remember what words fumbled out of my mouth, but I will ALWAYS remember what Mr. Palmer did. Here was a man whom I admired, so very much, who took the time to kneel down to my eye level, sign an autograph, thank me for asking and smile as he walked away, as only he could. I have no idea what happened to that autograph, but I have never forgotten how I felt following the encounter. Mr. Palmer made me feel so special that day, as if I was a friend, and that will be a day I will never forget.

Happy Birthday Mr. Palmer, from a little man you made to feel a bit bigger on a day long ago, with a passing smile and display of attention you need not have shown, but you did. For that I THANK YOU!

Danny McWilliams