22 Facts About Earl Woods

Earl Dennison Woods was the father of American professional golfer Tiger Woods.

Earl Woods was previously a US Army infantry officer who served two tours of duty in South Vietnam and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Miles Woods was an epileptic who worked as a street cleaner and caretaker.

Maude Earl Woods, who was college educated, was determined that her children should make the best of themselves.

Earl Woods attended Kansas State University and played baseball, earning a varsity letter in both 1952 and 1953.

Earl Woods broke the Big Eight Conference "color barrier" in baseball in 1951.

Earl Woods usually played as a catcher, and was offered a contract by the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues.

Earl Woods served two combat tours during the Vietnam War, the first as an infantry officer and the second with the United States Army Special Forces.

Earl Woods moved to Southern California, and became an employee of McDonnell Douglas Corp in Huntington Beach, California.

Earl Woods married Barbara Gary on May 18,1954, in Abilene, Kansas.

Earl Woods had met his second wife, Kultida Punsawad, while stationed in Thailand in 1966.

In 1972, Earl Woods was stationed at Brooklyn's Fort Hamilton, and learned to play golf, starting at age 42, at the Dyker Beach Golf Course in Dyker Heights.

From his first experience with golf, Earl Woods was captivated by it, and played a great deal for the remainder of his life.

Earl Woods eventually became a good standard amateur golfer, often scoring in the 70s for 18 holes.

Earl Woods claimed to be playing close to scratch handicap level when his son Tiger was born in late 1975.

Earl Woods shared the techniques he used in coaching his son Tiger in two books: Training a Tiger: A Father's Guide to Raising a Winner in Both Golf and Life, and Playing Through: Straight Talk on Hard Work, Big Dreams and Adventures with Tiger.

Earl Woods coached Tiger exclusively until age five, then sought professional assistance from Rudy Duran and John Anselmo, both well-regarded PGA club professionals in the area.

Earl Woods retired from his second career working at McDonnell Douglas in Huntington Beach, California in 1988.

Earl Woods traveled to Tiger's events as often as possible for the rest of his life.

Earl Woods hired Connecticut attorney John Merchant in 1996 to help facilitate the path for Tiger to turn professional, and to secure lucrative sponsorship agreements when he did so.

Earl Woods died from a heart attack at his home in Cypress, California in 2006 at the age of 74.

Earl Woods was buried at Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan, Kansas.