1974 - American Airlines Golf Classic

A short story about my parents trip to a sports celebrity golf event 50 years ago

This is a different type of article for The Sports Time Traveler™, as it involves going back in time to see my parents at a major sporting event.

In the first week of February, 1974, my mother & father were on vacation in Puerto Rico. 

Quite by accident, they found out that there was a sports celebrity golf tournament taking place nearby at the El Conquistador resort.

They went there and had an incredible time as they got to meet a bunch of very famous athletes.

Naturally I had to hop into the sports time travel machine to experience this event.

One of celebrity athletes at the tournament was Joe Namath, the quarterback of the New York Jets.

Namath had achieved permanent legend status 5 years earlier when he led the Jets to the apocalyptic upset over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. It was the game that proved the AFL was every bit as good as the NFL.

On February 1, 1974, The New York Daily News had a picture of Joe Namath on the back page of the newspaper (which is the front page of the sports section), as Namath was warming up for the golf tournament.

The back page also included photos of Willie Mays and several other sports stars that were playing at the tournament in Puerto Rico.

And wouldn’t you know it my parents met Joe Namath at the golf tournament!

Below is a picture of my mother and Joe Namath. 

My parents also met Joe DiMaggio.

They asked Joltin Joe to jot down my name as he signed their program!

In real life I was back in New Jersey staying with my grandparents at the time. I was a 10 year old boy who loved baseball. And at that time, Joe DiMaggio had recently been voted “greatest living baseball player.”

As The Sports Time Traveler™ I got to virtually see Joltin’ Joe sign the program to me in Puerto Rico.

He wrote, “To Lenny.  Best Wishes, Joe DiMaggio.” 

You can see the signature on the program below.

Newspaper Coverage of the Tournament

Articles about the tournament appeared in newspapers across the country from February 1st through the 4th.

Here’s an AP photo of Oakland A’s star Gene Tenace (MVP of the 1972 World Series) that appeared in newspapers on February 3, 1974.

NOTE From the The Sports Time Traveler™ - The cool thing about seeing this photo of Gene Tenace at the golf tournament is that I recently interviewed Gene back in October, 2023, as part of my article on game 7 of the 1973 World Series.

And here’s a photo of Jim Palmer, the hall of fame pitcher from the Baltimore Orioles, at the golf tournament that also ran in newspapers on February 3rd.

This photo of Joe Namath and Jim Kiick (from the reigning Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins) also appeared in newspapers on February 3rd.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

The 54 hole, 3 day tournament was won by the team of Jeff Burroughs (outfielder for the Texas Rangers the 1974 AL MVP) and Bob Anderson (running back for the Denver Broncos) taking first place. The players split $5,000 in prize money for winning.

They were just 1 stroke ahead of 3 teams which included the oldest pair of players in the entire tournament - Joe DiMaggio and hall of fame QB Otto Graham. The three 2nd place teams all split $1,500 in winnings.

MY PARENTS RETURN TO NEW JERSEY

When my parents came home, I remember I had never seen anyone get so tan in one week as they had on their exciting trip in the sun in Puerto Rico.

My dad told me stories about the tournament. One day they were sitting in the buffet for the players and they saw a “young guy who was alone so we went over and talked to him.” It turned out to be Reggie Jackson, who recently had earned the nickname, “Mr. October,” for his MVP performance in the 1973 World Series.

A little later that day my mother stopped outside the ladies room to talk to a ball player. Then she hollered over to my dad and said, “come and meet Johnny Bench,” (who is arguably the greatest catcher in history).

After 50 years of hearing about these stories from my parents, who are still doing well in New Jersey, I finally got to experience all of this virtually as The Sports Time Traveler™.

What a trip!