Professional Soldiers ® - RIP LTC (R) Earl Woods

Here is some additional information, taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Woods

Earl Woods (March 5, 1932 – May 3, 2006) was a pioneering African-American athlete, a Lieutenant colonel in the Green Berets, and the father of golfer Tiger Woods.

Woods was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas. After being orphaned at age 13, he was raised by his sister. Woods attended Kansas State University on a baseball scholarship. While at Kansas State, Woods, of mixed Black, Chinese and Native American ancestry, broke the "color barrier" in baseball in the Big Seven Conference in 1951. Woods played catcher, and was good enough that the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues offered him a contract. However, he rejected the Monarchs, graduated from college in 1953, and started a career in the U.S. Army.

Woods served two full tours of duty in the Vietnam War, the second as part of the elite Green Berets. While serving in Asia, Woods met his future second wife, Kultida Woods, who is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. Woods also had three children from a first marriage; in interviews he said he rarely saw these children. While serving with the military in Asia he also became friendly with Vuong Dang (Tiger) Phong, a Vietnamese Army Colonel. It was this friendship that led Woods to nickname his son Tiger. Woods retired from the military in 1974.

Woods' son Tiger was born on December 30, 1975, and became a child prodigy playing golf by the time he was three years old. Earl Woods shared many of the techniques he used in rearing Tiger in two books: Training a Tiger and Playing Through: Straight Talk on Hard Work, Big Dreams and Adventures with Tiger. He had been criticized by some for putting too much pressure on Tiger at an early age.

The Earl Woods National Youth Golf Academy at Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, Kansas is named in his honor. It was host to the first First Tee National Academy in 2000.

Woods died from prostate cancer (which he had originally been diagnosed with in 1998) at his home in Cypress, California on May 3, 2006.

Rest in Peace, Sir.