Tiger's Wife Is A Hero: We Look At Other Maligned Acts Of Bravery In Recent History

Tiger Woods Foundation

Tiger Woods' wife is a hero for rescuing the legendary golf pro after he crashed his SUV outside his Florida driveway early Friday morning. Standing over him, perhaps with golf club in-hand, Elin Nordegren was an image of selfless giving. She busted out a window with the club, you know, in order to get to Woods. His face was cut, bruised and scraped from whatever it is that causes one's face to become cut, bruised and scraped in bizarre, early morning, slow-speed collisions with trees outside one's driveway. That club was the jaws of life. Nordegren even asked a neighbor to call 911 (though, later, she refused to talk to authorities).

While the Chevron World Challenge tournament in Thousand Oaks on Tuesday offered refunds to ticket-holders as a result of Woods' injury-related pullout, we mulled other rescuers who have been maligned and under-appreciated over the years. With a small adjustment in rationale, we think you'll see things our way.

Check out these other acts of chivalry though history -- hypothetically speaking, of course:

-On June 12, 1994, O.J. Simpson attempted to rescue Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from a small-handed attacker at her Brentwood condominium. O.J. uses a knife in the commission of his rescue. Or maybe not.

-On May 4, 2001, actor Robert Blake attempted to defend his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, from an unknown attacker by going back to a restaurant to retrieve a gun he left there as she sat in car. Tragically, she took a bullet to the head at about the same time he stepped away to help her.

-On Feb. 3, 2003, famed music producer Phil Spector attempted to perform emergency dental work on house guest Lana Clarkson -- using a gun. Unfortunately, as he said, she "kissed the gun," it went off, and you know the rest. But he tried.

-On Feb. 8, 2009, R&B singer Chris Brown attempted to perform amateur facial reconstructive surgery on fellow pop star and then-girlfriend Rihanna -- using his fists. ... Too soon?