Hall of Fame Professional Golf Player. He was the youngest of six children born in Ashwood, Virginia, their father a dirt farmer. He was introduced to golf while working as a caddy at a local resort and hotel in order to supplement his family's income. Although he showed some dexterity as a golfer, his boyhood dream was that of becoming a football player. However, a back injury forced him to reassess his ambition and Samuel began taking golfing seriously. The double jointed youngster found the technicalities quite easy to master. His made his rookie golfing debut on tour beginning at Hershey in 1936 where he finished fourth. Disappointed in the financial rewards, he had doubts about continuing. However in his fourth official event of the tour at the Oakland Open in California which he won, netted him $1,200, a small fortune during the depth of the American depression. He would complete the tour winning five events. In his third season on the Tour, Snead appeared about to win the 1939 US Open. He was leading but floundered and lost. His Nemesis was born, and the Open title would elude him for the rest of his life. Over the years, his winnings did not equal the millions received from his golf-equipment contracts, exhibitions and other golf-related income with his friend and business partner Ted Williams. In a career that spanned nearly five decades, Snead became famous for his talent, his straw hat and a backwoods philosophy. His career shined even with the approaching shadows of old age. At 52, he was the oldest golfer to win a PGA Tour event - the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open. At 62, he was third in the 1974 P.G.A. Championship at Tanglewood in Clemmons, N.C. At 67, he was the youngest golfer to shoot his age in PGA Tour history, in the second round of the 1979 Quad Cities Open. At age 71 in 1983, with depth-perception problems, he shot a 12-under-par round of 60 at the Lower Cascades course at the Homestead in Hot Springs and on his 85th birthday in 1997, he shot 78 at the Greenbrier's Old White course in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. A month before his death, an ailing Snead rode in a cart to the first tee at the Masters at Augusta National, the honorary starter. His tee shot drifted to the right and struck a man, breaking his nose. After a series of small strokes, Sam Snead died at age 89 a few days short of his 90th birthday at his residence in Hot Springs, Virginia. A one-hour visitation was held the night before his funeral at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Hot Springs followed by an Episcopal Church Service the next day. A private service was held at the family's cemetery located outside Hot Springs, a simple enclosure down the hill from the house where he lived. He joined his wife Audry, and decedents dating back when the land was given to the family in 1763 by way of a land grand from the King of England. His victories, honors and legacy: 'Slammin' Sammy in his career won 81 Tour events and 70 other world wide and senior tournaments. In major tournaments, he won three Masters, three PGA Championships and one British Open. He wrote two books on golf 'How to Play Golf' in 1946 and 'The Education of a Golfer' in 1962. He was Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974 and named the fourth recipient of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. He helped launch the Senior Tour by winning its inaugural Legends of Gold in 1978.