Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez
Puerto Rican golfer (1935 - )
- || At The Bottom
1942 -- One of six children living in horrific poverty in Rio Pierdras, Puerto Rico, Juan Rodriguez and his family had gone without food more times than they could have counted. Young "Chi Chi" himself suffered from rickets and tropical sprue, brought on by vitamin deficiencies that would leave several of his fingers permanently crooked. By the time he was seven years old, he had joined his father in the cane fields, where he carried water to other workers for a dollar a day. At a time when the Puerto Rican economy had not yet emerged from the global depression of the 1930s, there was no reason for Rodriguez to imagine that his future would be much different from his father's.
- || At The Top
1992 -- Chi Chi Rodriguez could hardly believe how far his life had taken him. He had just become the first Puerto Rican elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, capping a career in which he had won eight PGA Tour events, along with another 22 championships after joining the seniors' tour in 1986. His combined lifetime earnings totaled more than $7 million -- placing him in elite company with superstars like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer -- though his winnings told only part of the story. In a sport usually known for its stodgy characters, Rodriguez was a charismatic performer who wore colorful outfits and was known for his endless stream of jokes and (most famously) the "sword dance" he would do with his putter after finishing a hole. He was also unfathomably generous, giving away huge portions of his winnings to charity and raising millions more for his foundation, which aids at-risk youth through educational and athletic programs.
- || The Comeback
For Chi Chi Rodriguez, success could be attributed to the lessons he learned from his father, as well as from his own inventiveness and drive for success, not to mention the support of those who invested in his talents. Chi Chi learned a great deal about life from his father, Juan, who taught him the value of hard work and the virtues of generosity. While the elder Juan never earned more than $18 a month in the Puerto Rican sugarcane fields, he never missed a day of work and never complained. He always made time for his family and would spend a half hour with each of his children every night before he went to bed. Though his father knew nothing about the sport of golf, he did not discourage his young son when he began fashioning crude golf clubs from guava tree branches, which he used to swat tin cans like the golfers he saw at the course near the sugar fields where he worked. He allowed Chi Chi to earn extra money as a caddie and smiled as his son dreamed about earning enough money as a golfer to purchase a bicycle. By the time Rodriguez was twelve years old, he had begun playing the game -- using actual clubs and balls -- and was shooting well enough to attract notice from the professionals who worked at the resort where he caddied. At the age of 17, he finished second in the Puerto Rican Open. Trained by longtime PGA pro Pete Cooper -- and assisted financially by one of the owners of the resort -- Chi Chi Rodriguez became a professional golfer in 1960.
