Professional Golf and the March of Dimes

Poster Child Denise Nankivell and Arnold Palmer, 1978.

  

            March of Dimes associations with golf can be traced back to FDR’s interest in the sport at the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation in the 1930s, prior to the founding of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938. There is at least one photograph of FDR with young golfing friends on the course of the Meriwether Reserve Golf Club at Warm Springs. An avid sportsman, FDR had won several trophies for his golfing abilities before being stricken with polio. The heyday of March of Dimes interest in professional golf, however, was the 1980s, when golf champion Arnold Palmer was the foundation’s National Honorary Chairman and several professional golf events were established as fund-raisers.

 

·       Arnold Palmer held a special appointment as the March of Dimes Honorary National Chairman from 1971 to 1989. Mr. Palmer was also a member of the March of Dimes Board of Advisors from 1990 to 1998. He supported the foundation through films, television, radio spots, and personal appearances with most, if not all, March of Dimes poster children / national ambassadors during this period, including Jamie Weaver (1975), Robbie Zastavny (1977), and Tony Voyles (1987). Mr. Palmer participated in March of Dimes-sponsored golf tournaments, and he appeared in the Congressional WalkAmerica in 1983. His father, Milfred (Deacon) Palmer, had polio as a child, about which his son commented, “My father had polio, which the March of Dimes licked after more than a decade of research. He went on to lead a normal life, even to being a good golfer.” Milfred Palmer was the Latrobe Country Club golf pro in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. On one occasion, Arnold Palmer appeared with his father at the March of Dimes “Legends of Golf” event in Austin, Texas in 1988. Nancy Lopez succeeded Mr. Palmer in 1990 as Honorary National Chairwoman, Women’s Golfing Events.

Arnold Palmer, circa 1984

·       Polio and Golf: Though golf and polio may seem completely incongruous, there was a golf course at the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation because the resort at one time catered to both vacationers and to polio sufferers seeking rehabilitation. In the 1950s, at the Rancho Los Amigos rehabilitation center in Hondo, California, polio sufferers in physical therapy practiced putting from their wheelchairs.

 

·       Celebrity Golf Classic: The March of Dimes established its Celebrity Golf Classic in 1985 as an annual fund-raising event, but many other golf events pre-dated and evolved from this key event. During the 1970s and 1980s, March of Dimes chapters conducted more than 100 golfing events each year. In January 1987, the Sports Division was created which developed a Golf Tournament Planning Guide for chapters as a standardized model for creating golf tournament events. From 1988 to 1992, the Nestle Corporation sponsored the annual Women’s National Championship.

 

·       Sports Professionals: Professional baseball and football players often participated in March of Dimes golfing events. AT&T was the national sponsor for all National Football League Players Association events, including golf tournaments in collaboration with the March of Dimes. In 1985, NY Yankees baseball star Phil Rizzuto hosted the first March of Dimes Celebrity Golf Classic.

 

·       Golf Events: The following is a partial list of March of Dimes golfing and golf-related events:

 

March of Dimes Celebrity Golf Classic

·       Pelham Country Club, Pelham Manor, NY; September 23, 1985

·       Burning Tree Country Club; Greenwich, CT; June 22, 1987

·       Hal Linden / MOD Celebrity Golf Classic; Edgewood Tahoe, Lake Tahoe, CA; June 10-12, 1988

·       National Championship; Montgomery, AL; May 1989

·       Burning Tree Country Club; Greenwich, CT; June 18, 1990

 

Nestle Women’s National Championship

·       Rye, NY; July 26, 1988

·       Pine Island, GA; August 20, 1988

·       Stouffer Esmerelda Hotel, Palm Springs, CA; 1990

·       Press conference and video shoot; February 7, 1991

·       Stouffer Esmerelda Hotel, Palm Springs, CA; November 20-24, 1991

·       Stouffer Esmerelda Hotel (with Cindy Rarick); Palm Springs, CA; November 19-22, 1992

 

AT&T / March of Dimes Celebrity Golf Classic

·       New Jersey; June 11, 1982

·       Los Angeles, CA; March 10, 1986

·       Long Island, NY, with NY Jets (NFL); May 5, 1986

·       Chicago, IL; May 18, 1986

·       Brookline, Long Island, NY; May 4, 1987 (New York Jets)

·       Springbrook Country Club, Morristown, NJ; with NFL Players Association; October 13, 1987

 

“Legends of Golf” National Ambassador Photo Sessions

·       April 25, 1984 (Austin, Texas)

·       April 24, 1986

·       April 1987

·       April 26, 1988 (with Arnold Palmer and Milfred Palmer)

 

Various Events and Tournaments

·       Golf Tournament Awards Dinner; Los Angeles, CA; 1979

·       Michelob Golf Classic; Kansas City, MO; 1982

·       Big Canoe; Atlanta, GA; October 15, 1983

·       Los Angeles tournament with Los Angeles Raiders; March 12, 1984

·       March of Dimes Golf Classic; New York; September 13, 1985

·       Embassy Dairy / National Football League Players Association Celebrity Golf Classic; Tantallon Country Club, Tantallon, MD; September 17, 1985

·       Celebrity Golf and Tennis Classic; Maplewood Country Club, Fairfield, NJ; October 8, 1985

·       Quadel Senior Golf Classic; Florida; November 21, 1985

·       Boca Raton, FL; February 25, 1985

·       Senior Golf Tournament with Arnold Palmer; Sleepy Hollow, NY; July 31, 1987

·       Senior PGA Tour (Nynex / Golf Digest); Sleepy Hollow Country Club, NY; Jul 29 - Aug 2, 1987

·       Senior PGA Tour (Nynex / Golf Digest); Sleepy Hollow Country Club, NY; May 18-22, 1988

·       Women’s Golf Reception, with National Ambassador; Plainfield, NJ; May 8, 1990

 

 

March 14, 2005 / David Rose / March of Dimes Archives