A.G.
That's a very fine, honest and true post of yours. Arnie and Jack are both highly competitive (anyone who reaches their levels is bound to be) and ultimately, in some circumstances, that's probably impossible to hide, and neither would probably want to hide it. They've become friends over the years but friends in that always charged competitive context in which they vied against each other nonetheless. And both are very proud men.
For those on here or elsewhere who are too young to remember those early days when Jack came up on tour and how he basically immediately ripped the crown of the "King of Golf" from Palmer will remember a very different Jack Nicklaus than those who have seen him for perhaps the last 35 years. In those early years, in the early to mid sixties Jack was very different looking and acting than those who've seen him in about the last 35 years.
Then he was "Fat Jack", crew-cut, intensely concentrated, tunnel visioned, far ruder on ever level than in the last 35 years! He was also intensely hated by the general golfing public! Much of that had to do with his wresting the crown from Palmer the way he did but a good deal had to do with the way he looked and the way he was back then. The intense approbrium of golf fans towards him (really vocal on course at times) was something Nicklaus was definitely not unaware of and it's said it truly hurt him and it's also said he tried so hard to never let it show.
And then he decided to change the way he was and the way he was perceived. He changed his look, he grew his hair from the crewcut into long blond locks, lost a lot of weight, wore different clothes and became far more gracious on every level and in every way. It was a pretty amazing transformation or almost reverse transmogrification.
And it worked beautifully and the general golfing public rather quickly came to basically love and truly respect Jack Nicklaus.
The man who started this thread probably remembers that early Nicklaus and has never forgotten that--or else he's just a real Palmer fan.
The thing I've never known. though, nor have I ever heard a thing about, is what Palmer's reaction or actions were to what Nicklaus went through in those early years when Palmer was so loved and Nicklaus so hated because of his successful rivalry with Palmer.
It'd be interesting to know about that because there was no question at all the pain that Nicklaus went through in those early days. There's no way at all Palmer could've missed that or been unaware of it--I know I sure wasn't nor was anyone else interested in golf during that time.