Didn’t have too much by the way of big time sports here in the early 1960s, before so many of you out there were around. I was, of course, as sports editor of the old Tampa Times, and was in search of subjects of mutual interest to challenge the bigger Tampa Tribune, where I moved to in the summer of 1962.

George Levy, a mover, like twin brother Leonard, was in the trophy and awards business in downtown Tampa then and a good friend. In 1961 he stopped by to visit at my office at the Times, where I had a small staff and was but a pup. We got on the subject of more and bigger sports for Tampa . Didn’t have much, we thought then.

The Levys and a bunch of young, aggressive guys were members of the Bayshore Optimist Club. We knew we had an uncommon number of fine athletes in Tampa and in Hillsborough County. Somehow the idea of a sports awards banquet to honor them and have a big sports night came out of the conversation. He took it to his club. They liked it.

Friday night, the 47th Sports Awards Dinner was held at Laurence Higgins Hall. Yes, it was too long. Added awards, had as a speaker an associate athletic director at the University of Florida, Mike Spiegler, when Gators basketball coach Billy Donovan had said he could not come. Donovan and the UF basketball team are in midseason. But, the club meant well, did well, and dedicated the program to the improved Gator sports. And, the key purpose, honoring the athletes from this place, was achieved. Oh, yes, some of them did not show either, but affable emcees from Catch 47 Rock Riley and Drew Fellios handled it all well, and it was the usual hoot for those that came for their moment in the limelight. The audience got its kicks, serious moments and laughs.

We sat in the middle of the vast hall, with the family of Cleveland and Michele Jennings, whose all-star son Cleveland, Jr., a basketball hero, won the award for his passion for giving back to the community in dealing with countless troubled kids. The female award went to USF soccer player Jeanette Dyer for a myriad of things, including collecting 800 pounds of food for Metropolitan Ministries.

Then, near the night’s end of the salutes, with the prepared Rick Nafe the final emcee, he presented the final awards, including the election of a record four to the Tampa Sports Hall of Fame. One, the tireless late boys basketball coach for 30 good years at Blake High School, Freddie Lee Dyles, was enshrined posthumously.
The great Jim Courier, already in the international tennis Hall of Fame, was represented by his dad, Jim Sr. Good men, both. Jim Sr. got some laughs, and was a quick out.

Then came the Nafe introduction of the two new Hall of Famers present, retired Tampa and New York Yankee star and all-around good guy, Constantino Martinez, better known as Tino. Martinez thanked the world and was as gracious as ever, being careful, he paid tribute to his University of Tampa and the University of South Florida, where he is an associate baseball coach and we are glad he is.

But, Tino, as he said, had to follow the skilled Dave Andreychuk, former captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, now a seven-year resident of Tampa with no plans to return north of the border. He not only saluted the club and the fans in the audience for making him so happy; he and his family also make this now home. This giant of a man and hockey player, thanked his wife for being there for about half of his 1,639 games and his kids for getting to so many of those, but, he wanted especially to thank his mother and father who got him started in the sport, “and saw them all.’’

George Levy, that dinner idea of yours, 1961, turned out pretty good, eh?