Golf’s quintessential gentleman — Byron Nelson — died yesterday in his home near Dallas at the age of 94. Here are the Dallas Morning News, the NY Times, and the LA Times obituaries, along with a PGATour.com timeline of Nelson’s life, a list of his records, and a handy summary of his career.
Nelson — who was affectionately known as “Lord Byron” — was a contemporary of his fellow Texan Ben Hogan, and was more successful on the PGA Tour than Hogan during the time that Nelson played (Hogan struggled on the Tour until he perfected his swing in his mid-30’s, by which time Nelson had retired). Nelson established one of the most remarkable records in sports history when he won 11 consecutive pro golf tournaments in 1945 (Dan Jenkins contends that it was actually 13 straight), a record — similar to Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in baseball — that will likely never be broken. Nelson won an incredible 18 tournaments that year and 52 (including five major tournaments) over his relatively short 16 year career on the Tour. He retired in 1946 from full-time competitive golf at the age of 34 after achieving his goal of earning enough money to buy a ranch in his beloved Texas.
Nelson was a kind and gentle man who remained active until his death. He set a wonderful example for all of us and represented much of what makes golf such an endearing pastime. He will be sorely missed (particularly by Dallas’ PGA Tour event) for many reasons, not the least of which was his perspective on how fortunate the modern PGA Tour players are:

“I only won $182,000 in my whole life,” said Nelson in a 1997 interview. “In 1937, I got fifth-place money at the British Open — $187 — and it cost me $3,000 to play because I had to take a one-month leave of absence from my club job to go.”