Postal Service to honor Arnold Palmer with 'Forever' stamp
Golfing legend Arnold Palmer next year will share another distinction with fellow iconic Latrobe native Fred Rogers.
The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday it will issue a stamp next year honoring Palmer. A stamp recognizing Rogers, beloved host of the children’s television program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” was issued in 2018.
“Latrobe is unique, such a small town with two legends in Mister Rogers and Arnold Palmer,” said the city’s mayor, Rosie Wolford. “We are fortunate in Latrobe to have these kind of iconic leaders that keep our name on the map with national recognition.”
Latrobe enjoyed another postal showcase in 2016, with the release of a U.S. stamp featuring the banana split, a treat said to have been created in 1904 at the town’s former Tassell Pharmacy.
A preliminary 2020 stamp design released by the Postal Service features James Drake’s action photograph of Palmer at the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Art director Antonio Alcalá was responsible for the design.
Palmer failed to capture that year’s Open, won by Ken Venturi. But, at age 34, he did become the first four-time winner of the Masters in 1964. It was his seventh and final major championship.
According to the Postal Service, Palmer was selected as a stamp subject because of his “drive and charisma” that “helped transform a game once seen as a pastime for the elite into a sport enjoyed by the masses.”
“To have my father celebrated in this way is a true honor,” Amy Saunders, Palmer’s daughter and chairwoman of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation, said in a news release. “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 stamp will be among next year’s “Forever” issues, meaning its value always will be equal to the current First Class rate.
Hip hop, the Harlem Renaissance, Earth Day and American gardens are other topics to be featured on 2020 stamps.
The Postal Service has yet to announce the date and venue for the stamp’s First Day of Issue. Once issued, stamps can be purchased at usps.com/shop or at a local post office.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
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