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Earl Woods

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Earl Dennison Woods
Tiger and Earl Woods during a 2004 press conference at Fort Bragg
Buried
Manhattan, Kansas[1]
Allegiance United States
Service / branchUnited States Army, Infantry
Years of service1954-1974[2]
RankLieutenant Colonel
UnitGreen Berets
Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
Battles / warsVietnam War
AwardsBronze Star
Army Commendation Medal
Vietnam Gallantry Cross
RelationsTiger Woods, Cheyenne Woods

Earl Dennison Woods (March 5, 1932 – May 3, 2006) was a US Army infantry officer who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was a college-level baseball player, writer, and father of top golfer Tiger Woods. Earl Woods started Tiger Woods in golf at a very young age, and coached him exclusively for his early years in the sport.

Early life

Woods was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas, the only son of Miles and Maude (Carter) Woods.[3] He had three older sisters. Miles Woods was a scorekeeper for baseball games, and coached his son until his death in 1943. Woods' mother died in 1947, and he was then raised by his eldest sister, Hattie Belle Woods. Earl was an All Star baseball player at the American Legion level, the first African American from Kansas to achieve this.[4]

College, sports, segregation

Woods attended Kansas State University (then known as Kansas State College), and played varsity baseball, earning a varsity letter in both 1952 and 1953.

He was of multi-ethnic ancestry: African American, Chinese, and Native American. His teammate Larry Hartshorn told how Woods was not allowed to play at a college in Mississippi. The entire Kansas State University team left in protest without playing.[1] Woods broke the Big Eight Conference (then the Big Seven Conference) "color barrier" in baseball in 1951.[5] He generally played as a catcher, and was offered a contract by the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. However, he turned down the offer and continued his education. He graduated in 1953 (B.S. in Sociology),[6] and embarked on a career as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army.[1]

Military career

Woods served two combat tours during the Vietnam War, the second with the elite United States Army Special Forces.[2] A Defense Information School graduate, Lieutenant Colonel Woods was assigned as an instructor of Military Science & Tactics, (Army ROTC) at the City College of New York for several years. He retired from the military in 1974.[7] He then moved to southern California, and resumed working in a new career path, as an agent for corporations involved in defense industry contracting.

Personal life

Woods married Barbara Gary on March 18, 1954, in Abilene, Kansas.[6] They had three children: Earl Dennison Jr. (1955), Kevin Dale (1957), and Royce Renee (1961).[8] Earl Jr.'s daughter Cheyenne Woods is also a competitive golfer and received some coaching from Earl Sr. Woods and his first wife divorced in 1968 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and in 1972 in California.[9]

Woods met his second wife-to-be in 1966[10], while serving in Thailand. Kultida "Tida" Woods (nee Punswad) is also of mixed ancestry: Thai, Chinese, and Dutch. They married in 1969 in Brooklyn, New York. Their son, Eldrick was born in 1975. His son's nickname, "Tiger", comes from Earl Woods' friendship with Colonel Vuong Dang "Tiger" Phong, a pilot in the Vietnamese Army.

The view of the Dyker Beach Golf Course, in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, NY.

Coaches son in golf

In 1972, Woods was stationed at Brooklyn’s Fort Hamilton, and learned to play golf, starting at age 42[11],at the Dyker Beach Golf Course, in Dyker Heights.[12][13][14] From his first experience with golf, Earl Woods was captivated by it, and played a great deal for the remainder of his life. He eventually became a good standard amateur golfer, often scoring in the 70s for 18 holes. Earl claimed to be playing close to scratch handicap level when Tiger was born in late 1975.[15] Coached by his father, Tiger Woods was introduced to golf in Orange County, California before age two, and became a child prodigy in golf, perhaps the most precocious young golfer in history. Tiger learned golf first on the U.S. military courses in southern California.[16]

Author

Earl Woods shared the techniques he used in coaching his son Tiger in two books: Training a Tiger: A Father's Guide to Raising a Winner in Both Golf and Life, and Playing Through: Straight Talk on Hard Work, Big Dreams and Adventures with Tiger. Woods coached Tiger exclusively until age five, then sought professional assistance from Rudy Duran and John Anselmo, both well-regarded PGA club professionals in the area.[17]. Earl Woods has been criticized by some for putting too much pressure on Tiger. In 1993, following Tiger's third straight title in the USGA Junior Amateur Championship, Earl Woods sought out superstar teacher Butch Harmon to develop Tiger's game to the next level.[18] Harmon, upon meeting Tiger Woods for the first time in Houston in summer 1993, praised the coaching which Earl Woods, Duran, and Anselmo had done to that stage.[19]

Guides Tiger's career

Earl Woods retired from his second career in 1988. He travelled to Tiger's events as often as possible for the rest of his life. Earl Woods hired Connecticut attorney John Merchant in 1996 to help facilitate the path for Tiger to turn professional, and to secure lucrative sponsorship agreements when he did so. Merchant had been the first African American member of the United States Golf Association's Executive Committee. Tiger signed deals with Nike, Titleist, and the International Management Group, which made him a multi-millionaire as soon as he declared professional status, in late August 1996. Tiger's deals broke by a wide margin all records for sponsorship money in golf. Soon after Tiger turned professional, Merchant was fired by Earl Woods.[20]

Earl Woods was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998. He survived it, but died from a heart attack at his home in Cypress, California in 2006 at the age of 74. He was buried in Manhattan, Kansas.

Memorials

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.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Tramel, Jimmie (August 3, 2007). "Tulsa World: Tiger was raised by a Wildcat". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Reitwiesner, William Addams. "Ancestry of Tiger Woods". William Addams Reitwiesner Genealogical Services. Retrieved 2009-07-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Training a Tiger, by Earl Woods and Pete McDaniel, 1997.
  5. ^ Training a Tiger, by Earl Woods and Pete McDaniel, 1997.
  6. ^ a b Sounes, p. 35
  7. ^ Training a Tiger, by Earl Woods and Pete McDaniel, 1997.
  8. ^ Sounes, p. 114
  9. ^ 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. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  10. ^ The Wicked Game: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and the Story of Modern Golf, by Howard Sounes, 2004, William Morrow, New York, ISBN 0-06-051386-1, pp. 115.
  11. ^ Training a Tiger, by Earl Woods and Pete McDaniel, 1997
  12. ^ “Golf and the City - The City Game After years of neglect and despite numerous obstacles, public golf courses in New York City are alive and well" The Met Golfer August/September 2007 By Raphael Tennenbaum
  13. ^ Fore free! Dyker junior links open The Brooklyn Paper, By Jessica Firger, June 14, 2008
  14. ^ Dyker Beach Park – A Golf Course Just For Kids NYC Parks Department
  15. ^ Training a Tiger, by Earl Woods and Pete McDaniel, 1997, p. xvii.
  16. ^ Training a Tiger, by Earl Woods and Pete McDaniel, 1997.
  17. ^ Training a Tiger, by Earl Woods and Pete McDaniel, 1997; The Wicked Game, by Howard Sounes, 2004
  18. ^ Training a Tiger, by Earl Woods and Pete McDaniel, 1997; Pro, by Butch Harmon, 2006; The Wicked Game, by Howard Sounes, 2004.
  19. ^ Pro, by Butch Harmon, 2006.
  20. ^ The Wicked Game: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and the Story of Modern Golf, by Howard Sounes, 2004, William Morrow, New York, ISBN 0-06-051386-1, pp. 175-195.
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