Earl Woods
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Earl Dennison Woods | |
|---|---|
| March 5, 1932 – May 3, 2006 (aged 74) | |
 Tiger and Earl Woods during a 2004 press conference at Fort Bragg |
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| Place of birth | Manhattan, Kansas |
| Place of death | Cypress, California |
| Resting place | Manhattan, Kansas[1] |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army, Infantry |
| Years of service | 1954-1974[2] |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | Green Berets Military Assistance Command, Vietnam |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards | Bronze Star Army Commendation Medal Vietnam Gallantry Cross |
| Relations | Tiger Woods, Cheyenne Woods |
Earl Dennison Woods (March 5, 1932 – May 3, 2006) was an athlete, a US Army infantry officer, the father of golfer Tiger Woods, and the grandfather of Cheyenne Woods.
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[edit] Early life
Woods was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas, the son of Maude Carter and Miles Woods.[3] He was the youngest and the only male of four siblings. His father was a scorekeeper for baseball games and coached Earl in the sport until his death in 1943. His mother died soon after in 1947. After being orphaned, he was raised by his eldest sister, Hattie Belle for the next seven years.
[edit] College, sports, segregation
Woods attended Kansas State University on a baseball scholarship[citation needed], and earned his varsity letter in 1952 and 1953.
Woods had mixed Black, Chinese, and Native American ancestry. While at Kansas State in 1951, he broke the Big Eight Conference "color barrier" in baseball. Woods played mostly catcher, and was good enough that the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues offered him a contract. However, he rejected the Monarchs, graduated from college in 1953 (B.S. in Sociology),[4] and started a career in the U.S. Army.[1]
Teammate Larry Hartshorn related a story at a school in Mississippi where Woods was not allowed to get off the bus to play. In response, the entire team left in protest without playing the game.[1]
[edit] Adult life
Woods served two full tours of duty in the Vietnam War, the second as part of the elite United States Army Special Forces.[2] He was a Defense Information School graduate. Near the end of his active duty career, LTC Woods was Professor of Military Science & Tactics, (Army ROTC) at the City College of New York.
He married Barbara Woods Gary (May 18, 1954, in Abilene, Kansas).[4] Before their divorce (1968 in Ciudad Juárez, 1972 in California),[5] they had three children: Earl Dennison Jr. called Denny (1955), Kevin Dale (1957), and Royce Renee (1961).[6] Earl Jr.'s daughter Cheyenne Woods is also a competitive golfer and received some coaching from Earl Sr.
Woods met his future second wife in Asia. Kultida "Tida" Woods has Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. They married on or around July 11, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York, and she bore Woods' fourth child, Eldrick on December 30, 1975. His nickname, "Tiger", came from Earl Woods' friendship with Colonel Vuong Dang "Tiger" Phong, of the Vietnamese Army.
Tiger became a child prodigy in golf by the time he was three years old. Earl Woods shared many of the techniques he used in rearing Tiger in two books: Training a Tiger and Playing Through: Straight Talk on Hard Work, Big Dreams and Adventures with Tiger. He had been criticized by some for putting too much pressure on Tiger at an early age.
The Earl Woods National Youth Golf Academy at Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, Kansas is named in his honor. It was host to the first First Tee National Academy in 2000.
Woods was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998 and died from the disease at his home in Cypress, California on May 3, 2006. He is buried in Manhattan, Kansas.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Tramel, Jimmie (3 August 2007). "Tulsa World: Tiger was raised by a Wildcat". Tulsa World. http://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/article.aspx?articleID=070803_2_B1_hPlay11047. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ^ a b Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2009. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC. Fee via Fairfax County Public Library, accessed 2009-07-06. Document Number: H1000125003.
- ^ Reitwiesner, William Addams; Christopher Challender Child. "Ancestry of Tiger Woods". William Addams Reitwiesner Genealogical Services. http://www.wargs.com/other/woodst.html. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ^ a b Sounes, p. 35
- ^ Sounes, Howard (2004). The wicked game: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and the story of modern golf (illustrated ed.). HarperCollins. pp. 116 et seq.. ISBN 9780060513863. http://books.google.com/books?id=2BgpTxQzrGoC&dq=Howard+Sounes,+The+Wicked+Game&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=9kLMzEW55k&sig=faBVZicaC_rzuN0c9r2N9n0kaUg&hl=en&ei=BfRRSprwCsKvtweo9PivBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ^ Sounes, p. 114
[edit] External links
- Interview with Earl Woods in Golf Digest
- Earl Woods National Youth Golf Academy
- Tiger Woods' statement on the death of Earl Woods
- Chicago Tribune story on Woods' death
- Earl Woods' Other Children
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