Frank Campisi is best known as a tomato guy, a former jet fighter pilot, a Florida Gator booster, as a romantic so very proud of his Tampa roots and Italian heritage. And his family.

Back when the Farmer’s Market on Hillsborough Avenue was big and bustling and a bigtime tomato center, Campisi and his market pals were rolling. The tomatoes were untarnished, a bright future was surely ahead, with the Geracis, the Ippolitos, and the Ruskin crowd pushing everybody in the industry.

Campisi and his friends sensed a need for public and sports involvement in a joint venture. Born was the Italian Invitational Golf Tournament at Temple Terrace and fancy-dancy dinner dance, big band and at all. The dance and awards night ending up at the then-new Egypt Temple Shrine party place.

Well, Campisi, a sentimental fellow, and his pals got some of their celebrity friends involved, like the late, great Art Pepin, Sam Ferlita, the late Al Lopez and Bob Martinez. By the third dinner, he asked me to emcee if I could get Cincinnati Reds catcher John Bench to help out, and maybe Roger Maris, too, and Abe Gibron to attend, and Stan Musial, and Red Schoendienst, George Zaharias, and Cowboy Luttrall.

Campisi did it and was first class for years and at the time, a big deal for us around here. Not now, the money is now disappearing with our enlarging financial troubles.

Well, Frank Campisi stopped by the other day and said he had something for me to see. He had raw video footage his photographer had taken, with some distant sound of the sing in at the Shrine and Downtown Hyatt, then some of the introductions at the dinner. Dumb? No, not if you there, and no, not if you knew so many attending.

“There’s E.J. Salcines,” said Campisi, identifying the Tampa attorney with wife, “and there’s Abe Gibron. Got to get to the food, before he passes out.’’

Gibron was a massive man who ate more with me at a favorite restaurant of his in Green Bay than any person I ever saw at one sitting. But, a woman came over, an ample woman, and told Abe she’d just been to the “Middle East”.  She said I couldn’t get to your Lebanon, but I just put my backside through the barbed wire and saluted you.’’ Abe said he appreciated it.

On the film of the Italian Invitational, John Bench introduced Joe DiMaggio, and Roger Maris.  He presented for applause, Johnny of the Phillip Morris call presented his Tampa buddies Malio and Carmine Iavarone, the directors, then told jokes. He did fine. He is at ease behind a mike as he was behind the plate. John Bench was simply the best who played the game at his position. He had no script, as I did and his jokes were good enough.

John Bench, back in 1981 and 1982, loved the Reds, and this was his only team.  I met him when was a 17 year-old rube okie from Oklahoma catching for the old Tampa Tarpons at Al Lopez Field. He caught for the Tarpons through his last night, Johnny Bench Night, at Cincinnati.  He was an old shoe sort of guy and on his night in Cincinnati, I was his guest in his home. He left the game, then came back in his truck to get me later. He came up into the pressbox at Crosley Field and, yelled: “Come on, McEwen, damnit, we got dinner reservations at a fancy joint.’’ I hurried. 

We had the reservations and I got some good stories that week.

Bench would come to my home unannounced. Brought a wife once and introduced her.

“Didn’t think I’d do it, did you,’’ the first ballot Hall of Famer joked.

“I’ll be back down to Tampa soon. Got a new business. Got a new deal to sell,’’’ said Bench by phone. “Love the place down there.  You know that. That, Tampa, is where it all began for me,’’ saying what Campisi knew and shared.

Good times, those.