Palmer to be immortalized with ’20 stamp
The late Arnold Palmer’s legacy remains strong and will be celebrated with a nationwide postage stamp in 2020.
The stamp will showcase Palmer’s furious golf swing and movie-star looks in the photograph taken by James Drake at the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional Club near the nation’s capital.
Palmer, an influential leader in Central Florida who died on Sept. 25, 2016, would have been 90 this past Sept. 10.
The U.S. Postal Service said it will honor Palmer for his wide-ranging impact inside and outside the ropes following his rise from humble beginnings in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He won 62 times on the PGA Tour, including seven major championships, with a unique, swashbuckling style that spawned a devoted fan base that would become known as Arnie’s Army.
“With drive and charisma, he helped transform a game once seen as a pastime for the elite into a sport enjoyed by the masses,” the postal service stated in a news release announcing the stamp.
Palmer always had time for his fans and drew elite golfers to Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational played annually at Bay Hill Golf Club & Lodge, but he also was driven to help people away from the golf course.
Palmer’s philanthropy, including the building of hospitals, impacted both the communities of Latrobe and Orlando, the city he made his second home.
“To have my father celebrated in this way is a true honor,” said Amy Saunders, Palmer’s daughter and chairwoman of the
Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation. “It’s something I think he would be proud of as both an individual and as an American, and it’s a wonderful way to preserve his legacy.”
The date of the Palmer stamp’s release is yet to be determined, but it will be issued as a Forever stamp, meaning that it always will be equal in value to the current first-class mail price. Art director Antonio Alcala designed the stamp.
Palmer is the fourth golfer to be honored by a postage stamp.
Bobby Jones, a 13-time major champion and cofounder of the Masters, was featured in 1981, and again in 1988. Also in 1981, the U.S. Postal Service produced a stamp of Babe Zaharias, a 10-time major champion on the LPGA Tour and 1932 gold medalist in track and field. Francis Ouimet, the 1913 U.S. Open winner as an amateur, was celebrated on a stamp in 1987.