tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13360798034324811242024-03-14T02:33:35.202-04:00Tampa Sports HistoryFrom the pages of La Gaceta -- The Nation's Only Tri-Lingual Newspaper -- came the only weekly column of its kind devoted to the history of sports in the Tampa Bay area: "Once Upon a Time."
Copyright 2022 by Travis Puterbaugh. All Rights Reserved.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger166125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-59932905557288239912012-08-24T11:18:00.001-04:002012-08-24T11:19:51.015-04:00Why Do They Call It That: Tampa Bay BanditsHere is a link to the WTSP-Channel 10 feature "Why Do They Call It That?" on the Tampa Bay Bandits. I offer my own two cents throughout the segment.
http://www.wtsp.com/callitthat/article/268406/260/Why-do-they-call-it-that-Tampa-Bays-favorite-football-teamUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-64926869787008867932011-02-28T15:49:00.000-05:002011-03-08T15:54:09.615-05:00Bulls and Spartans Meet on Hardwood, 2/24/86Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the first-ever meeting between the University of Tampa and University of South Florida’s men’s basketball teams. Although their campuses are just a little over 10 miles apart, athletically the gap is much larger.As members of the Big East Conference, the USF Bulls typically play other large NCAA Division I schools in every sport. The UT Spartans, as Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-51588453032887512822011-01-24T14:21:00.002-05:002011-01-24T14:25:51.972-05:00Catching Up With Larry HirschLarry Hirsch, whose voice is familiar to anyone who followed the Lightning in the 1990s, handled radio broadcast duties for the team from 1993-1999. His signature "Yes, sir!" calls for goals captured the imagination of Lightning fans during the team's playoff run during the 1995-96 season. Hirsch recently took some time to reflect on his years with the club and set the record straight on the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-59517705871483878672011-01-03T11:50:00.002-05:002011-01-22T15:07:44.221-05:00Catching Up With Mark ChampionMark Champion, the current radio play-by-play announcer for the Detroit Pistons, is fondly-remembered locally as the radio voice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1979-1988. Since leaving Tampa in 1989, Champion has served in the same capacity for the Detroit Lions from 1989-2004, the Detroit Pistons from 1992-1996, then rejoined the Pistons in 2001. He recently took some time prior to a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-10367569148927091972010-12-28T14:42:00.001-05:002010-12-28T14:44:54.211-05:00Bucs End 1985 at 2-14, 12/22/85In 1985, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seemed condemned to failure right from the very beginning. Few teams ever rebound from a 0-9 start, and the Bucs proved to be no exception.Even their first victory – a 16-0 triumph at home over the St. Louis Cardinals, and only the second-ever shutout in team history – could not be enjoyed for more than a few days. The next week on the road in the Meadowlands, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-18571969807578961382010-12-20T08:27:00.001-05:002010-12-20T08:29:52.154-05:00Bucs Fall to Bears in Finale, 12/20/80On November 2, 1980, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sported a record of 4-4-1 with seven games remaining. A season which had seen the Bucs sandwich a five-game winless streak between two separate two-game winning streaks could still be salvaged with a strong finish. At the same point the previous season, the Buccaneers were 7-2 and on their way to winning the NFC Central Division. Although that team Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-80682100437242475402010-12-13T09:13:00.001-05:002010-12-20T08:30:25.483-05:00Sun Dome Finally Opens, 12/2/80Last week, the University of South Florida marked the 40th anniversary of the first intercollegiate men’s basketball game in school history. When the basketball program began in 1970, however, it had yet to find a suitable place to call home. At the time, the only venue on campus to watch basketball was a 1,500-seat gym more suitable for pick-up games and intramural competitions than spectator Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-86597414372740079582010-12-06T09:35:00.001-05:002011-07-22T16:06:32.934-04:00Birth of a Basketball Program, 12/4/70On June 12, 1969, the University of South Florida announced that the school would begin playing intercollegiate men's basketball beginning with the 1970-71 season. This week, the university celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first game in school history. Although today the school is a proud member of the Big East conference, USF did not jump into the deep end of college basketball right away.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-53297768503172733652010-11-29T09:32:00.003-05:002010-11-29T09:36:04.285-05:00Seminoles Fall to Houston at Stadium, 11/26/70Leading up to their November 26, 1970, showdown against the Houston Cougars at Tampa Stadium, the Florida State Seminoles found themselves in the running for a berth in the Peach Bowl. In the days before 70 teams went to bowl games, the 7-3 Seminoles were on the outside looking in for a berth in either the Liberty Bowl or Peach Bowl, the only two bowls that remained unfilled. To get to Atlanta,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-45580270478996617832010-11-22T09:02:00.003-05:002010-11-22T09:05:30.826-05:00Rick Casares the Gator, ca. 1951-53Earlier this year, the Tampa Bay History Center received a large gift of original drawings, prints, and materials from the family of the late Tampa Tribune artist Lamar Sparkman. Among the countless wonderful artifacts in the collection are a few hundred photographs that Sparkman took of his subjects prior to drawing them for the newspaper.Some gems recently uncovered include a series of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-91047116595047946312010-11-15T09:18:00.001-05:002011-07-22T16:08:38.579-04:00Gator/Spartan Twin-Bill at Stadium, 11/14/70In 1969, Tampa Stadium hosted a doubleheader featuring the University of Florida against Tulane, followed by the University of Tampa against Tulsa. A total of 55,553 fans turned out for the "Super Saturday" games, and the event proved to be so successful that organizers tried the concept again on November 14, 1970.This time, the 6-3 Florida Gators would square off against the 2-7 Kentucky Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-43313259908993758322010-11-08T09:17:00.001-05:002010-11-08T09:20:03.784-05:00Rehe Captures Florida Federal Open, 11/10/85Organizers of the Florida Federal Tennis Open knew they were going to have a challenge marketing the event in 1985.Some of the biggest names in women’s tennis had all politely declined to enter the tournament. Martina Navratilova – winner of the 1983 Florida Federal – skipped the 1984 event and had no intention of returning in 1985. Other top-ranked women skipping the tournament were Pam Shriver,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-55493127129371694792010-11-01T10:33:00.001-04:002010-11-01T10:35:03.250-04:00John McKay Hired in Tampa Bay, 10/31/75By late October 1975, fans of Tampa Bay's new professional football team had to be wondering when their first head coach would be hired. With the first exhibition game just nine months out, the Buccaneers still had no players and only a hint of who would be leading the team into battle.Speculation had been running rampant since July when Tampa Tribune columnist Tom McEwen confirmed that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-16478837697405040652010-10-25T09:45:00.001-04:002010-10-25T09:47:09.093-04:00Catching Up With The Fabulous Sports BabeRadio personality Nanci Donnellan, better known to her legions of fans as “The Fabulous Sports Babe,” began her career here in the Tampa Bay area in 1982. After moves that took her to Seattle, Bristol, Conn., and New York City, the Babe took several years off from broadcasting earlier in the decade, but she is once again a fixture on the local airwaves. Always opinionated and willing to tell it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-2209887924219752672010-10-18T10:34:00.001-04:002010-10-18T10:36:18.640-04:00Bucs Throw Away Win Against L.A., 10/13/85On October 9, 1985, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers parted ways with linebacker Hugh Green, who was the team's first overall selection in the 1981 draft. The disgruntled Green -- a two-time Pro Bowler for the Buccaneers -- had recently made his unhappiness known around One Buc Place, skipping a practice and criticizing the team's defensive scheme.Green and his agent essentially demanded that owner Hugh Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-31623334816932939252010-10-11T09:13:00.001-04:002010-11-10T11:05:15.508-05:00Death of "Chelo" Huerta, 10/8/85On September 21, 2010, the Tampa sports community lost a giant when Sam Bailey, the former University of Tampa football coach and athletic director, died at the age of 86. It seems sadly appropriate that his death would fall so close to the 25th anniversary of the passing of his colleague and fellow Tampa sports icon, Marcelino "Chelo" Huerta, Jr.On the evening of October 8, 1985, Huerta attendedUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-68341459222233708212010-10-04T09:54:00.002-04:002010-12-15T16:54:21.857-05:00Catching Up with Mark CarrierMark Carrier, a third round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1987, is Tampa Bay's most prolific receiver of all-time. He still owns the most 100-yard receiving games in team history (15), and the single-game receiving yardage record (212). A Buccaneer from 1987-1992, Carrier played 12 seasons in the NFL and finished his career with 8,763 yards and 48 touchdowns. Carrier can now be heard Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-84355745275459750452010-09-27T11:21:00.002-04:002011-05-19T12:26:36.446-04:00Bucs' Comeback Falls Short, 9/28/80The Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened their season two weeks ago with a victory at home over the Cleveland Browns. After going winless against the Browns between 1976 and 1995, the Buccaneers have now won three straight against Cleveland.The second all-time meeting between these two teams occurred 30 years ago, when the Browns came to Tampa for a late-September contest at Tampa Stadium.Coming off the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-47097429685896789502010-09-20T10:22:00.006-04:002010-12-15T16:56:52.461-05:00Catching Up With Mike ConnellMike Connell, an original member of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, played with the team from 1975-1984 and became one of the most popular players in franchise history. Joining the squad as an 18-year-old from South Africa in 1975, Connell earned the nickname “Iron Mike” for participating in over 25,000 minutes of play over the course of a career spent entirely in Tampa. Connell saw it all as a member of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-52490025436943000232010-09-13T10:17:00.001-04:002010-09-13T10:19:27.298-04:00Gators Tackle Golden Bears, 9/13/80For “Gator Nation,” the last two decades have been like something out of a dream. The homecoming of Steve Spurrier in 1990, eight Southeastern Conference Titles, three National Championships, and iconic players such as Heisman Trophy winners Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow.None of the current players who will suit up this weekend against the University of South Florida Bulls, however, are old enoughUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-64982321915121007472010-09-06T09:33:00.001-04:002010-09-08T11:28:55.726-04:00Redskins Win One for Lombardi, 9/5/70Recently there has been much debate about the merit of adding two additional games to the NFL’s 16-game regular season schedule. Proponents of this idea say this could be done by reducing the preseason by two games. The preseason, they say, is already too long with four and sometimes five games scheduled, and the risk of injury too great for an essentially meaningless game.It was not that long Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-71107155530765876312010-08-30T14:06:00.001-04:002010-08-30T14:19:10.357-04:00Belmont Heights Plays for Title, 8/30/80In the 1973 Little League World Series, a team of 11 and 12-year-olds representing Belmont Heights in East Tampa ran up against a baseball-destroying machine from Taiwan. The final score of their semi-final contest – 27-0 in favor of the team from the Far East – put a damper on what had been a spectacular summertime run.The Belmont Heights bunch took third place overall in the series, but this Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-30357922445830824422010-08-23T13:55:00.002-04:002011-07-22T16:05:16.734-04:00Rowdies Capture Soccer Bowl, 8/24/75In August 1975, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were still one year away from playing their first down of professional football. In the interim during their first year on the scene, the Tampa Bay Rowdies did not just hold the attention of local sports fans with the new and exciting sport of soccer. In fact, they were able to win their hearts and minds as well.Shrewd marketing and player Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-75653532336633815442010-08-16T12:30:00.005-04:002010-08-16T12:34:16.094-04:00Spurrier Headlines at Tampa Stadium, 8/15/70In mid-August 1970, the Tampa Bay area prepared to host the first of two National Football League exhibition games held at Tampa Stadium that summer. Beginning in August 1968, the stadium had played host to three NFL exhibition games – two in 1969 – and a regular-season American Football League game between the Miami Dolphins and Boston Patriots in November 1969. All were well-attended affairs –Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336079803432481124.post-29942211801924247832010-08-09T11:25:00.001-04:002010-08-09T11:27:49.404-04:00The Last Tangle in Tampa, 8/3/80“I’ve wined and dined with king and queens, and I’ve slept in alleys eating pork and beans.” – Dusty Rhodes Billed throughout his career as a common man and a working-class hero, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes is one of the most dynamic personalities in the history of professional wrestling. From his charisma inside the ring to his ability to cut memorable promos outside of it, Rhodes was oneUnknownnoreply@blogger.com9