The Arnold Palmer umbrella logo is unmistakable, and we've seen it all over the places and people Mr. Palmer touched in the time since he passed away on Sept. 25, 2016, at 87 years old.
The story of how Palmer and long-time agent Mark McCormack came up with that logo is fascinating.
A year after Palmer won his second Masters title and only U.S. Open title in 1960, Palmer and McCormack formed Arnold Palmer Enterprises, set to capitalize on Palmer's personal brand. After they had come up with the name, they needed a logo for the company. After all, it would be used on clothing, stationary and other branded materials.
Sitting around and having a meeting in Ligonier, Pa., the team had already rejected a number of other ideas, realizing they could be confused with other logos or otherwise lacked originality. Frustrated by the inability to come up with an idea, Palmer stepped outside on that rainy day to regroup. It was then he saw a woman open a multi-colored umbrella, and a spark caught fire for Palmer. Palmer walked back in the room and suggested that be the logo.
After his lawyers looked into it to see if someone else had already copyrighted such a logo, it was given the all clear, and that's why we now have a red, green, yellow and white umbrella logo.
Palmer loyally wore his logo on most every golf shirt he had. He put the logo to work with his golf course design and management firm, as well in other businesses. He was always on brand, and his millions of fans and golfers associated that logo with excellence, accessibility and honesty.