Despite His Success, Arnold Palmer Suffered a Massive Setback After Being Snubbed of a ‘Lifetime Deal’ Once

The 1950s were the golden era for the late golfer Arnold Palmer. It was in 1955 that he registered many victories under his name. During his heyday, Palmer was a star name in both the PGA Tour and also as the PGA Tour Champions. His demise in 2016 left a big hole in the golf community, and it shocked many ardent fans of the sport.

However, Palmer, being a legend of the sport, had his fair share of difficulties, like downfalls and rejections. Once, him being rejected by a sporting company was the talk of the town. Let’s find out what happened.

Which sporting company rejected Arnold Palmer?

Palmer worked with the late Mark McCormack for many years. He was the legendary agent who, in a way, pioneered the industry. Palmer and his agent worked together, creating the global sports and entertainment management firm IMG. While talking about their journey together at Graham Bensinger’s show in 2015, the late golfer narrated a story from 1967, when Wilson Sporting Goods rejected the golfer. 

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His agent went to talk to Mr. Bowman, who was the president of Wilson at the time. Palmer said, “he made a deal with Wilson Sporting Goods for me. And it was pretty much a lifetime deal.” One day, he called the star golfer and said that to finalize the deal, Palmer needed to meet judge Cooney, the board chairperson. However, things went sideways when the golfer went to meet the deciding board head. “Well, he just told me that he had all the best golfers in the world, and he didn’t need me,” told Palmer.

While explaining the rejection, the late golfer said, “Had Sam Snead, Gene Sarazan, Patty Berg, all those good golfers, and for the deal that we had worked out, it was a little beyond. They didn’t think that they needed my expertise in their staff.”

How did the late golfer feel about the rejection?

Nicklaus was furious when he got rejected by the sporting company. His agent, Mark, thought he had a deal, but he did not, which made Palmer very angry. He had everything, every piece of equipment in his bag from Wilson, and suddenly all of it was gone. He had to start over. Explaining his feelings, he said, “Everything I had one up until then was with Wilson equipment. I won golf balls, club bags, everything, and now I have nothing. I had to start over. I was angry.”

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Did you know this story about the late legendary golfer Arnold Palmer? Let us know your views about the rejection.