The American Spectator

Streetcar Line

(Page 2 of 2)

p> Bobby Jones: Jack Nicklaus idolized Jones -- the winner of 13 major championships in a span of just 20 attempts -- and tried to emulate Jones's legendary sportsmanship. The best story about Jones is summed up nicely in Wikipedia: br> /p>

In the beginning of his amateur career, he was in the final playoff of the 1925 U.S. Open at the Worchester Country Club. During the match, his ball ended up in the rough just off the fairway, and as he was setting up to play his shot his iron caused a slight movement of the ball. He immediately got angry with himself, turned to the marshals, and called a penalty on himself. The marshals discussed among themselves and questioned some of the gallery if anyone had seen Jones' ball move. Their decision was that neither they nor anyone else had witnessed any incident, so the decision was left to Jones. Bobby Jones called the two-stroke penalty on himself, not knowing that he would lose the tournament by one stroke. When he was praised for his gesture, Jones replied, "You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank."

br> The examples of great athletes of admirable character are almost endless. Other favorites might include tennis players Arthur Ashe and the latter-day Andre Agassi, golfer Ben Crenshaw, basketball player David Robinson, football players Bart Starr and Steve Young, baseball player Dale Murphy, basketball player A.C. Green, golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez, speed skater Bonnie Blair, decathletes Rafer Johnson and Bob Mathias, and golfer Arnold Palmer.

It is trite but true that athletics can both reveal character and build it. Perseverance. Teamwork. Overcoming adversity. Confidence. Tactical and strategic thinking (at least in some sports). Humility of the right sort. Hard work. And, of course, sportsmanship.

So the next time some thug who is famous for his on-field exploits gets arrested, fights with fans, or otherwise makes a nuisance of himself, remember that there's another and far better side of the story.

And when the Golden Bear or Ironman Cal talk about doing what's right "for the good of the game," well...find a child, and make him listen.

topics:
Sports