Byron Nelson died today. Most of you that are not golf fans probably do not know him. He was one of golf's greatest players of a different era - the 1930's and 1940's. He won a record 11 tournaments in a row one year. I think I remember him saying in an interview once that he earned 182,000 dollars in his entire career. He quit professional golf at age 34 to spend time on his ranch with his family. A different era, indeed.
I got the opportunity to meet him a few years ago at golf outing I was playing in. I had my picture taken with him and I remember him being a kind and gentle man. He spent time talking to us about making a difference in our lives - that being the most important thing to do. When he learned I was a minister, he turned to me and said, "Just keep serving him, there's great reward in that." I'll never forget it.
"I don't know very much," Nelson said in a 1997 interview with The Associated Press. "I know a little bit about golf. I know how to make a stew. And I know how to be a decent man." He was a humble man and everyone knew he was much more than how he described himself. We'll miss him.
No comments:
Post a Comment