"The King Arnold Palmer" dies at 87

Arnold Palmer, Nicknamed "The King", a seven-time major winner who brought golf to the masses and became the most beloved figure in the game, died Sunday in Pittsburgh from heart complications. He was 87.

He was one of the golf's most popular stars and it's most important pioneer because he was the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s.

Palmer's social impact on behalf of golf was perhaps unrivalled among fellow professionals; his humble background and plain-spoken popularity helped change the perception of golf as an elite, upper-class pastime to a more democratic sport accessible to middle and working classes

Palmer, a native of Latrobe, Pa., had been admitted to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he was scheduled to have heart surgery Monday, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.