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Palmer, shown in 1953, turned pro a year later.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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1954 ■ At age 25, Arnold Palmer, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, turns pro and signs a contract with Wilson Sporting Goods.
1958 ■ Palmer wins the Masters, his
first of seven major championships, including subsequent victories at Augusta in 1960, ’62 and ’64.
1960 ■ Mark McCormack agrees to handle Palmer’s marketing deals. The two men claim the partnership was sealed simply with a handshake.
■ After winning the Masters and the U.S. Open, Palmer is named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year and Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year.
1961 ■ Arnold Palmer Enterprises is established.
1962 ■ Palmer, who would become an accomplished pilot, buys his first in a long line of personal aircraft for $27,000.
1966 ■ Appears in a Qantas Airlines ad. He would later star in many ads for United Airlines.
1967 ■ Coca-Cola offers Palmer a $15,000-a-year endorsement deal.
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An accomplished pilot, Palmer enjoys a flight in a biplane.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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■ Rolex names Palmer its first golf ambassador.
1968 ■ Becomes the first golfer to earn more than $1 million in career prize money on the PGA Tour. He also trademarks his name and his famous umbrella logo.
1969 ■ Named Associated Press Athlete of the Decade for the 1960s.
1970 ■ Palmer and a group of associates acquire a five-year lease with an option to buy Bay Hill in Orlando.
1971 ■ Becomes president and majority owner of the Latrobe Country Club, his boyhood golf club and the course his father worked at as a pro.
1972 ■ The Palmer Course Design company is formed after selling Arnold Palmer Golf Co. to Professional Golf Co. for $3.4 million. The company has since been involved in the design and construction of more than 350 courses worldwide.
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With IMG founder and longtime business partner Mark McCormack in 1968
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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1973 ■ Palmer begins endorsing Cadillac, a relationship that would last three decades.
1974 ■ Inducted as a charter member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
1980 ■ Enters the PGA Hall of Fame.
1981 ■ Stars in a Pennzoil ad driving his father’s tractor, beginning a series of commercials for the oil brand.
1983 ■ Hertz and Palmer begin a long-standing partnership.
1993 ■ The White House and President Bill Clinton honor Palmer with the National Sports Award.
■ The PGA Tour honors Palmer with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
1995 ■ Golf Channel launches on Jan. 17 with Palmer as a co-founder.
■ Office Depot introduces Palmer as the company’s spokesman.
1997 ■ The Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-style competition between American and European college golfers, is established.
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Presidential Medal of Freedom
Photo by: BARRY REEGER
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1999 ■ A group of investors led by Palmer, former MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and Clint Eastwood purchases Pebble Beach Golf Links for $820 million.
2000 ■ Callaway Golf buys the Arnold Palmer Golf Co. and signs Palmer to an endorsement deal for the company’s line of golf products.
2002 ■ Innovative Flavors debuts the Arnold Palmer Tee beverage at the Bay Hill Invitational.
2004 ■ President George W. Bush honors Palmer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
■ Signs an endorsement deal with Ketel One Vodka, the first time the brand has had an endorser.
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Arguably the greatest pitchman: Palmer from his iconic Pennzoil campaign in 1981, and for Xarelto in 2015 (below).
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■ MasterCard signs on as presenting sponsor of The Bay Hill Invitational. In 2007, the tournament would be renamed the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
2005 ■ The Arnold Palmer Wines from Napa’s Luna Vineyards debuts to the public.
2006 ■ The Arnold Palmer Home Collection of furniture is developed with Lexington Furniture.
■ Palmer officially retires from tournament golf.
2012 ■ Palmer becomes only the sixth professional athlete to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. Palmer is the second golfer, following Byron Nelson, to receive the award, which must be co-sponsored by two-thirds of the House and Senate.
2013 ■ Appears with Tiger Woods on the cover of EA Sports video game “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14”.
2015 ■ Palmer, NASCAR driver Brian Vickers, NBA player Chris Bosh and actor Kevin Nealon appear in commercials for the blood-thinner Xarelto.
— Compiled by Brandon McClung
