UMass to house IMG founder’s files

December 28 -- Records documenting a 1960 handshake between Arnold Palmer and the late Mark H. McCormack that resulted in the founding of IMG have found a permanent home at the University of Massachusetts, according to the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson.

Some 48,000 boxes containing letters, memos, and a wealth of other material related to the agency that has represented golfers and celebrities including Jack Nicklaus, Derek Jeter, and, of course, Tiger Woods, will reside at UMass’ Isenberg School of Management in Amherst, Mass. The archives will remain at Isenberg’s Mark H. McCormack Department of Sports Management, renamed to commemorate the McCormack family’s financial support, Ferguson said.

Staffers at the state university’s W.E.B. Du Bois Library will digitize much of the treasure trove, which will likely become the centerpiece of a museum, Isenberg dean Mark Fuller told Ferguson.

“Mark was all about keeping records, and I think he knew he was onto something,” Fuller said. “You can see a life lived through documents.”