Cigar City Magazine/Jan-Feb 2011

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FROM THE PUBLISHER LISA FIGUEREDO| PUBLISHER@CIGARCITYMAGAZINE.COM As we begin 2011, Cigar City Magazine celebrates 7 years of bringing you the stories that define the history and heritage of the Cigar City. The start of a new year is a time of renewal–with many of us starting new fitness programs, pledging to start (and finish) a new project, or to organize our closets or garages. At Cigar City Magazine, we are renewing our commitment to bring you the best of what the Cigar City has to offer with new events and new features, plus old favorites like “Look Who’s Smokin’” and “Blood is Thicker” returning to our pages in the next issue.

In this special edition of Cigar City Magazine, we’ve partnered with the Florida Sports Hall of Fame to bring you the stories of some of the most legendary athletes to grace the playing fields of the Cigar City including Chicago Bears’ hero Rick Casares, a product of Jefferson High School who credits his tightknit West Tampa neighborhood for helping keep him on the right track, and Derrick Brooks, who led the Buccaneers to their first and only Super Bowl, and whose community involvement has made him a hero off the field as well. We hope their stories will inspire you to dream big and achieve your own goals.

I would like to thank my family and friends for their unwavering support and for putting countless hours into helping me because they believe in Cigar City Magazine and what it brings to our community.

Finally, thanks to you, the reader, who has made Cigar City Magazine Tampa’s favorite magazine!

I look forward to another exciting year.

Lisa M. Figueredo Founder & Owner of Cigar City Magazine

www.cigarcitymagazine.com

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURES

20 22 28

30 32

Florida Sports Hall of Fame Rick Casares

Derrick Brooks Lou Piniella

Tino Martinez

EXTRAS

14 16 18 34

Cigar Label History Looking Back In Florida History Lost Landmarks Café con Leche Interview: Dick Vitale

36 38 46 46

The Kitchen On The Town with Dave Capote Mama Did You Know

Visit us at www.CigarCityMagazine.com ART & PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTORS HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY | THE FLORIDA STATE ARCHIVES | USF DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS ON THE COVER The special Florida Sports Hall of Fame issue will feature stories on great athletes across several sports with roots in Tampa or who have played for local teams including legendary Chicago Bear Rick Casares; FSU legend, eleven-time Pro Bowler, and NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Derrick Brooks; Tampa native, former Major League Baseball player and manager, Lou Piniella; and four-time World Series champion as a member of the New New York Yankees, Jefferson High School and University of Tampa alum, Tino Martinez.

LISA M. FIGUEREDO PUBLISHER

DAVE CAPOTE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

EMANUEL LETO EDITOR-AT-LARGE

SUSAN CUESTA COPY EDITOR

PAUL GUZZO SENIOR WRITER

Cigar City, Inc. | P.O. Box 18613 | Tampa, Florida 33679 | Tel 813-358-3455 | Fax 1-866-869-0617 | E-mail: info@cigarcitymagazine.com

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©2011, Cigar City, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use without written permission of the publisher, of editorial, pictorial, or design content, in any manner is prohibited. The opinions of writers commissioned for articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. All advertising is subject to approval before acceptance. Publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertisement for any reason whatsoever. Publisher assumes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers. All letters, emails and their contents sent to Cigar City, Inc. become the sole property of the publisher and may be used and published in any manner whatsoever without limit and without obligation or liability to the author there of.

Baseball Themed Label an 1874 tour of england by the Boston red Stockings & Philadelphia athletics was immortalized on a SHOrtStOP cigar box. the label became a stock offering in the Harris & Sons catalog. Cigars made in Jamestown, ny, Factory 21, 27th District.

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IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY January 6, 1895 The first Sunday edition of The Tampa Tribune was published today.

January 12, 1828 The City of Key West was incorporated today by the Territorial government of Florida.

January 22, 1912 The first train arrived in Key West, marking the completion of the Florida East Coast Railway. Henry Flagler arrived in his private car, “Moultrie.” The Overseas Extension of the Florida East Coast system spanned 127.84 miles from Homestead to Key West. Seventy-five miles were over marsh or water. The longest viaduct of the system, between Knights Key and Bahia Honda Key, covered seven miles. Building the extension from Miami to Key West required a labor force of 3,000-4,000 men and seven years of work. The railroad extension was abandoned after the destructive hurricane of 1935, but was eventually adapted for use as a major highway.

January 27, 1967 Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire during a test firing of the first version of the Apollo spacecraft. NASA officials said an electrical spark must have ignited the pure oxygen inside the cabin of the Apollo spacecraft as the three astronauts were seated in the cabin. The fire broke out at 6:31 p.m. as the Saturn rocket, which carried the spacecraft, sat on launching pad 34. Because the entire procedure was a test firing, the gantry remained in place and blocked the emergency escape system. Unable to escape, the astronauts perished.

IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY February 6, 1907 Maas Brothers department stores were incorporated today. Originally founded by Abe Maas on Franklin Street in Tampa in October 1886, Maas Brothers became a statewide chain of stores by the 1960s.

February 12, 1894 The oldest Florida chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was founded today in Jacksonville.

February 22, 1819 The Adams-Onis Treaty was formally signed today. Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

February 29, 1836 (Leap Year) General Edmund P. Gaines and his troops were pinned down by more than 1,000 Seminole warriors during a ten-day siege at Camp Izard on the Withlacoochee River, near present-day Dunnellon. The siege would eventually become so critical that the U.S. troops were forced to kill their horses for food.

CORRECTION FROM THE LAST ISSUE:

The Tampa City Council votes to rename the city’s portion of Buffalo Avenue for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on November 23, 1989 not 1908.

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Can you identify this Lost Landmark?

No one was able to guess correctly last issue's Lost Landmark. Good luck with this one!

The Lost Landmark in the November/December 2010 issue was the Ybor City Bottling Works at 2225 9th Avenue, in Ybor City, Florida.

Simply mail the answer and your name to:

Lost Landmarks C/O Cigar City Magazine P.O. Box 18613 • Tampa, Florida 33679 or email us at info@cigarcitymagazine.com by February 1, 2011.

All correct entries will be entered into a drawing and one name will be selected as the winner.

Your name will be featured in our next issue of Cigar City Magazine. Good luck!

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By Burt Lacy, of the FSHOF

F

lorida is blessed with more than its share of great sports figures, ranging from ted Williams who spent more of his years as a retiree in Florida than anywhere else he had lived, to Wade Boggs, a home-grown star athlete who polished off his career by getting his 3000th hit as a member of the tampa Bay Devil rays baseball team. in 1958, norm Froscher, who was then executive sports editor of the Jacksonville Journal along with his sports editor, Jack Hairston, decided that Florida’s great athletes and sports figures needed to be honored. Froscher, who was also executive director of the Florida Sportswriters association, convinced the membership to create the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. the association’s members selected outstanding contributors to Florida sports to be inducted each year. a modest display of memorabilia at the gator Bowl basketball arena served as the first “home” of the Hall. as the years progressed, the Hall continued to grow. in 1973, state funding was acquired for an induction ceremony and the first dinner honoring members was held in Miami.

Soon after, in 1977 Cypress gardens purchased a beautiful southern mansion and, thanks to the gracious generosity of Cypress gardens’ founder, Dick Pope, Sr., the gardens agreed to locate the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in the mansion.

Cypress gardens hosted an annual induction ceremony through 1985 providing a home for the Hall until the gardens 20

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were sold and the new owners needed the mansion space. in 1986, a governing board was formed to search for a new home for the Hall and to serve as its operating board. the new group became the Florida Sports Hall of Fame Foundation Board of Directors. in 1990 what was to be a permanent home for the Hall was constructed in Lake City, where it was housed through 2002 when funding from the state was discontinued under thengovernor Jeb Bush. a group of civic-minded people in St. Petersburg took on the burden of hosting the annual induction ceremony through 2006, when Polk County Sports Marketing stepped in to offer the Hall a new home. the memorabilia that is on display is unique and includes things that cannot be seen anywhere else. For instance, the dress that Chris evert wore when she won her first Wimbledon, a replica of the national collegiate football championship trophy, and a replica of the Heisman trophy are on display. Legendary dragster “Big Daddy” Don garlits has loaned the museum one of his famous “Swamp rats” roadsters. Charlie Ward, Florida State all-american football player and Heisman trophy winner who went on to become a successful pro basketball player, has his jersey on display. there is a miniature replica of Miss Budweiser, the giant racing boat which won numerous world championships for its owner, Hall of Fame member Bernie Little; and world champion boat designer, Don aranow, has a miniature replica of his famous Cigarette boat.

the Hall has its share of famous commentators as well, including the legendary Walter “red” Barber, long-time national sports commentator and university of Florida graduate; gene Deckerhoff, the voice of the Florida State Seminoles and the tampa Bay Buccaneers; Lee Corso, who can be found every Saturday morning during football season on eSPn’s “game Day”, is also an inductee. Curt gowdy, who hosted every conceivable sporting event on the air, is well-represented in the Hall also and every college basketball fan knows the enthusiastic and inspirational voice of Hall of Fame member, Dick Vitale. a local favorite is a scrappy lady named Betty Skelton. During the ‘30s and ‘40s, she raced small planes at air shows around the country and won many national championships. Later, she became the very first woman to complete training for becoming an astronaut. Her Pitts Special plane, which was once in the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, now hangs in the Smithsonian. the list of outstanding athletes goes on and on, thanks to the caliber of sports figures in Florida, and all of them are now showcased in the new Hall of Fame hosted by Polk County Sports Marketing and located at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in auburndale, Florida.

Surrounding the Hall are a variety of sports venues, where on weekends, thousands of young athletes from all around the country compete. these future super stars jam the Hall to eagerly learn about Florida’s legendary sports figures, sparking their own dreams and inspiring a new generation of sports superstars.

About the Florida Sports Hall of Fame The Florida Sports Hall of Fame opened in September 2010 at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Florida featuring memorabilia and displays honoring the long and illustrious history of Florida sports and its greatest stars. It is open Tuesday–Friday from 9am–4pm.

Admission is free.

January/FeBruary 2011

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Tamp H

e is one of the greatest players to ever play for one of the–nFL’s most storied franchises.

When rick Casares retired from the nFL after a 12-year career (1955–1966), he was the Chicago Bears’ all-time leading rusher, all-time rushing touchdown leader, and all-time rushing attempts leader, totaling 5,797 yards from scrimmage, 49 touchdowns and 1,386 rushing attempts. Only the legendary Walter Payton and neal anderson have since eclipsed those marks. in 1956, Casares became only the seventh player to ever rush for over 1,000 yards, doing so in a 12 game season, totaling 1,126, only 20 yards short of the then-all-time single season record. He led the Bears to the nFL Championship game in 1956 and was part of the Bears 1963 nFL Championship team (this was pre-Super Bowl).

He was a five-time Pro Bowler and was named to the first team allPro team in 1956. He is part of the Chicago Bears ring of Honor–their Hall of Fame. Many former Bears legends, including Mike Ditka, his teammate on the 1963 championship team, have called Casares “the toughest man to ever have played for the Bears” due to the ruthless way in which he ran–rumbling over and through defenders rather than around them and neVer running out of bounds to avoid contact. yet, despite all of these accolades, Casares is still not in the nFL Hall of Fame, passed over time and time again, and no one seems to know why.

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a’s NFL Hero Rick Casares

by Paul Guzzo

Perhaps it is because, while his numbers were among the most impressive in the nFL during his playing days, they are sub-par by today’s standards. Perhaps what Hall of Fame voters tend to forget is that Casares put up these numbers in 12 game seasons and against much stiffer competition; the league had only 12 teams at the time, meaning the talent was less watered down. Or, perhaps it is because Casares was never a flashy player, never the type of player to draw attention to himself. He never cared about being a celebrity. He only wanted to play football and win. “there are players today that get all this publicity and do not deserve it,” said the now-79-year-old Casares, who at 6’3 and 225 pounds is still the same size to the pound as when he was an active player. “Some players don’t have the talent, so they try to make up for it with their actions in between plays. today i see these guys celebrating a tackle when their team is down three touchdowns! How can you celebrate when you are losing? if a player did that when i played, his own teammates would have punched him out.” a perfect example of Casares’ speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick attitude is a one-game rivalry he had with feared Baltimore Colts pass rusher gino Marchetti. the year escapes Casares and his fans, but the moment never will. early in the game, Casares was assigned to block Marchetti on a pass play, a tall order for a fullback. Casares was among the best blocking fullbacks in the league though, and his coach, the legendary george Halas, thought he was up to the challenge.

“But i was humiliated,” said Casares. “Well, temporarily.”

Casares said that on his first attempt at blocking Marchetti he went low and for his knees, which was the proper way to block.

Standing at 6’4 and 260 pounds, Marchetti was an athlete whose speed and agility matched his size. and when he saw Casares going low, he went high; he leapt over Casares and sacked the Bears’ quarterback, leaving an embarrassed Casares laying face first in the dirt.

Later in the game, though, Casares gained his revenge. He was again given the assignment of blocking Marchetti. this time, he faked like he was going to block low again. Marchetti took the bait. He tried to leap over Casares again, but he never made it. Casares instead rose up, caught Marchetti mid-jump and flipped him five feet in the air.

Marchetti landed with a thud on his back. Casares did not celebrate or beat his chest, as a modern player might do. He only extended his hand to Marchetti and asked him if he was alright.

“He was–and we finished the game and went at it a few more times,” laughed Casares.

Perhaps if Casares was more of a showboat, that devastating hit would be better remembered. Perhaps such a hit would be a highlight for years to come. as it stands, his low key attitude may be a reason the hit has been pushed from even diehard fans’ memories and may be why he is still not in the nFL Hall of Fame. “i couldn’t be a showboat,” lamented Casares. “it was not how i was raised.”

Casares was born in tampa, Florida on July 4, 1931 but moved to Patterson, new Jersey with his mother when he was 7-years-old after his father was gunned down in a gangland slaying. “times were different then,” Casares said about his father’s murder. He had no desire to provide further details, only adding, “tampa was a tough town then; real tough.”

So was Patterson. Casares said he and his neighborhood friends would regularly meet in parking lots throughout the city to do battle with other groups of neighborhood kids. guns and other such weapons were never used, only fists. these fights were not fueled by hatred, but simply competition; they wanted to see who the toughest neighborhood was, and the large and athletic Casares never lost a fight for his crew. at the age of 15, he took his fighting ability from the streets into the ring when he won new Jersey’s Diamond gloves 160pound division, the state’s version of the golden gloves tournament. to do so, he had to defeat men in their early-20s, as there was not an age limit in the tournament, only weight classes.

His performance was so impressive that it caught the eye of Lou Duva, who has trained numerous boxing champions over the years, including Pernell Whitaker and evander Holyfield. Duva wanted to begin training Casares immediately, offering his mother a contract paying her $100 a week until her son turned 18 and could turn professional. this was a lot of money at the time, but Casares’ mother said no. She did not want her son fighting for a living. “i was frustrated by her decision,” said Casares. “i wanted to box and turn pro and she basically ended that dream.”

Casares rebelled against his mother. He began fighting in the street more. He stopped going to school. if his attitude did not change, his life would go nowhere. His mother, unsure how to handle her disobedient son, shipped him back to tampa to live with his late-father’s family. tampa had turned into a safer city than it was when they left and provided a more tranquil atmosphere for a teen to be raised.

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“they lived in West tampa and i found real stability there,” he looked like Casares was going to Canada. Before he returned to said. “it was impossible to get into trouble in West tampa. if you base, he made a stop in new Jersey to see his mother. While there, were bad, by the time you got home your family knew. everyone he received a call from george Halas, coach of the Chicago Bears.

“Halas had eyes and ears everywhere and had heard about my looked out for everyone there and would tell your family when you were good or bad. West tampa was one giant extended family and trip to Canada,” said Casares. “He told me that he wanted to fly me to Chicago to discuss my contract. i explained that i had to offered me the stability i needed.”

So did sports. in order to keep him in school, Casares’ teach- return to base, that my leave was up, but he told me not to worry ers introduced him to school athletics. He was Jefferson High about that. He said he would handle it. Halas used to put on a game every year for the armed School’s star athlete, forces, which provided him excelling in basketball, basewith a lot of contacts and ball, track, and, of course, friends in high places. and he football, leading the school did take care of it. He got me to the city football champian extended leave and flew onships in 1948 and 1949. me to Chicago.”

Following high school, While Casares was blown he attended the university away by the money toronto of Florida on an athletic offered, in his heart he wantscholarship to play both ed to play for the Bears; he football and basketball. He would have paid them for the scored the first touchdown luxury. But, he had to take in the football team’s first care of his mother so he told ever bowl game and then Halas he was going to accept kicked the extra point in a toronto’s contract. Halas said 14-12 victory over the tulsa that while he could not offer golden Hurricanes in the Casares $20,000, he could January 1, 1953 gator offer him $10,000, which Bowl. the following season, would make him the highest he was named team captain paid player on the team. it while also averaging 15.5 was still far less than toronto points and 11.5 rebounds offered, but was more than per game for the basketball enough to support his mom. team in the 1952-53 season.

Plus, he wanted to play for the the u.S. army’s Korean Bears; he was a fan. Casares War draft ended his college accepted the offer and a career early, but it would future Bears’ legend was not affect his professional signed. career. in 1954 the Chicago “Of course, i later Bears drafted him in the A young Rick Casares wearing the #60 jersey for Jefferson High School learned he told everyone their second round, 18th overall. contract was the highest on the team,” laughed Casares. “Halas was the Bears were not the only team that wanted him, though. “i was stationed at Fort Jackson in South Carolina when i got a master negotiator.”

For the first three games of his rookie season in 1955, Casares the call from the Bears telling me i was drafted,” remembered Casares. “Honestly, i never dreamt of playing professional football, saw limited playing time, a stretch of games that saw the Bears so when i got the call i was shocked. But then a short time later i stumble to an 0-3 start. then, in week four against the Baltimore got another call on base; it was from Canada. a team in the Colts, Casares shined. He was put into the game as fullback when Canadian Football League–the toronto argonauts–also wanted the Bears were pinned against their own goal line. Starting halfme and they offered me $20,000 to play as compared to the $8,000 back Bobby Watkins was handed the football on two straight plays and barreled ahead for significant yardage, carrying the team to the the Bears offered me.”

Casares had not signed a contract with the Bears yet, so he was 19 yard line. Watkins’ number was then called for a third straight legally allowed to negotiate with toronto. During a short military play–this time a sweep play–but when they broke huddle he told leave, he traveled to toronto to talk to the team. He liked the Casares that he was too tired for another carry. Casares volunmoney, like the professionalism of the team and liked the city. it teered to run the play.

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the ball was snapped. the quarterback, george Blanda (who was in for regular quarterback Bob Williams), turned, looked for Watkins and when he saw Casares stopped for a split second, surprised to see the rookie asking for the handoff; Blanda was not informed of the switch, plus fullbacks did not carry the ball much back then, rather they were used primarily for blocking. But Blanda knew he had to finish the play, so he stuffed the ball into Casares’ chest. Casares cradled it and burst around the offensive line, knocking over any defender in his way. When he hit the open field, he accelerated, obliterating the secondary and running 81 yards for the touchdown. He capped the day off with another touchdown later that game and the following week was a regular part of the Bears’ attack. the team finished the season 8-4 and Casares ended up leading the team in rushing with 672 yards, earning himself a spot on the nFL Pro Bowl team as a rookie. it was during the following season in which he ran for 1,126 yards, only 20 away from the single season a record, a record he would have broken had the team known how close he was. in the final game of the 1956 season, he was pulled early because of a blowout. Following the game, the team was informed that by pulling Casares they cost him the record. “i didn’t care,” said Casares. “Back then, we didn’t pay attention to individual numbers. all we cared about was winning.” and win they did that season, making it all the way to the championship game before losing to the new york giants.

For the next decade, Casares continued to be a one-man wrecking crew. Players were smaller then and no one had ever seen a 225-pound running back. Casares would crush anyone in his way and when he hit the open field he had the speed to match his power. this talent propelled him to the top of the Chicago Bears’ record books until a phenom named Walter Payton strutted into town in the mid-1970s.

His career with the Bears culminated in 1963 with an nFL championship. Casares was a complimentary player at the time, though, giving way to younger running backs and fullbacks whom management felt were more talented. in 1965, Casares was traded to the Washington redskins and in 1966 he signed with the Miami Dolphins, an aFL expansion team that year.

Following that season, he retired. His legs simply couldn’t go anymore. after 12 seasons, five concussions and numerous injuries, he said walking away from the game was an easy decision.

“My body was done,” he said. “My body still aches every day, especially my ankle. But i have no regrets. it was all worth it.” the tributes poured in following his retirement. He has been inducted into the Bears ring of Honor, the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame, the university of Florida’s athletic Hall of Fame, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame and the tampa Sports Hall of

Fame. He said he still receives daily fan mail and Bears fans continue to recognize him when he is out and about.

One honor continues to escape him,

though–the nFL Hall of Fame. “i never cared about individual numbers when i played, but i do care about the nFL Hall of Fame,” he admitted.

He now needs to be voted in by the Veterans Committee, which chooses from candidates who have been retired for over 21 years “it would mean a hell of a lot to me to get voted in. i think it would be a great honor. i think there are players in the Hall who i feel i was better than, but i guess the voters don’t see it that way. Who knows, maybe one day i will make it? i sure hope so. if i do not, oh well. i got paid to play football. How can i complain about that?”

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Tino Martinez, like so many others, was a product of West Tampa Little League. He lived in a community rich in baseball tradition. You could drive around the West Tampa neighborhoods and pick out the homes where major leaguers once lived and where their parents still live today. The coaches and parents, many of whom had played professional baseball or had played in the Intersocial League or the Municipal League were good teachers.

They taught the kids how to play the game. They stressed baseball skills but also took time to talk to the kids about respect and making good grades in school.

I can remember a very young Tino playing at West Tampa Little League. He started in the Pee Wee Division before he was supposed to, getting an at-bat here and there. I followed as he moved from the Minors, to the Majors, to the Seniors, each year getting stronger and becoming a better player.

As he prepared to enter high school, Tino’s parents decided to send him to Tampa Catholic. His older brother Rene, a good player himself, was already a student there.

Tino would make an immediate impact, playing first base on a state championship team. He would leave Tampa Catholic when school enrollment dropped, putting the school in a lower classification, which meant playing against lesser competition. He would transfer to Jefferson High School after his sophomore year, along with his brother Rene and a few others.

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tino’s arrival at Jefferson was preceded by a lot of fanfare. He was always a good student at both high schools. i can remember a teacher approaching me in the hall one day and telling me that she had tino in her class. i keep close tabs on all my baseball players from the time they enter high school until the day i see them walk up to receive their diplomas. i get a lot of feedback from teachers about their conduct, work ethic, character and overall behavior. as she approached, i began to wonder what she wanted and had tino done anything wrong. She proceeded to tell me that tino had been in her class for about a month and she didn’t realize it was the tino she had read about in the papers. She told me what a great kid he was–always ontime, prepared and a great joy to have in her class. She was expecting a kid with a big head and instead found a kid who was down to earth and expected nothing more than any other student would receive. His grades were always good and he would later be inducted into the national Honor Society. every teacher he ever had always had nothing but good things to say about him.

When it came to baseball, if anyone had any thoughts about tino being unable to compete in the Western Conference those thoughts were quickly laid to rest. His competitiveness, passion, and love for the game would drive him to be the best. He would hit over .400 as a junior and hit .553 his sen-

tino became eligible for the draft after his junior year and once again the pros came calling. the Seattle Mariners would draft him in the first round with the 14th overall pick. He would rise through the ranks of the minor leagues, starting in aa in 1989 and then aaa in 1990-1991 before making his debut in the Major Leagues in 1992. His manager would be another tampa native, Lou Piniella. He was traded to the yankees following the 1995 season where he was tasked with replacing beloved yankee Don Mattingly. the pressure to replace Mattingly must have been enormous, but tino was never one to shy away from a challenge. His play in the Bronx endeared him to the yankee faithful and he was a valuable contributor to World Series Championships in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. He would later move on to the St. Louis Cardinals and the hometown tampa Bay Devil rays, before returning to the yankees prior to his retirement in 2005. as i look back over tino’s career, i can see a young kid who dreamed of being a big-league player. His goals set high, but realizing that to reach those goals would require hard work, dedication, and, at times, some sacrifices. He was willing to do all those things but still found time to enjoy being a kid; his parents made sure of that. He enjoyed fishing with his dad and playing basketball and football with his friends. He once thought of playing high

ior year, going on to set many school records that still stand today. tino was a unanimous all-Conference in both of his years at Jefferson and was selected to the all-County and all-State teams. He was a High School allamerican and would also go on to win the tony Saladino award, symbolic of the best player in Hillsborough County. tino’s high school career would end with him being drafted by the Boston red Sox, but they were unable to sign him and he moved on to college. as graduation was approaching, tino was considering his college options. the college recruiters had been calling all season. Coach Frazier, then of the university of Miami, flew in and watched practice, as did Coach Polk, then of Mississippi State. Visits would follow to FSu, Florida, Oklahoma and offers would come from all over the country. in the end, tino would choose to stay close to home and attend the university of tampa. as he did in high school, tino would go on to set records at ut.

He was an all-Conference player and an all-american every year that he played. He also remained strong in his academic endeavors and was an academic all-american. tino would go on to represent his country in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, winning a gold medal for the united States with fellow future Major Leaguers, Jim abbott and robin Ventura. He would come home and take the time to take the gold medal, first to the elementary school where his mother taught and later to Jefferson. i had never held a gold medal in my hand and neither had most of the teachers or students who were privileged to share in tino’s accomplishment.

school football. With tino’s intensity, he would have been a great linebacker. tino’s accomplishments on the field have been rewarded with numerous honors at every level. His numbers at Jefferson (19) and the university of tampa (3) would be retired. He would be inducted into the Dragon Hall of Fame and the university of tampa Hall of Fame, as well as being selected by ut to its all-Century team, a collection of the school’s most outstanding athletes. at the Major League level, he was a two-time all-Star (winning the Home run Derby in 1997), a Silver Slugger, and a fourtime World Series champion.

One of tino’s most remarkable accomplishments has been his generosity.

When i needed a glove for a player, i got it. When he won a World Series, he gave me $5000 for the team, which allowed us to purchase a second batting cage, new carpet, extra uniforms and other equipment. i would get a phone call and find out he had left some bats, batting gloves and shoes by the door at the club house. He came to practice one day and told me he had some stuff for me. He told me that Marie, his wife, had told him to get rid of all the equipment–the batting gloves lasted for 2 years. tino Martinez started out on a West tampa Pee Wee field and continued to grow as a ball player and as a man. When other players fell to drugs and other vices, he stood tall. He has been a credit to our community and a shining example to young people. He was recently placed on the ballot for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame; the highest honor accorded a player. Whether or not that comes to bear will not matter. He has made us proud over the years and in the hearts of our community, he is already in our Hall of Fame.

January/FeBruary 2011

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by Bill Buchalter, Bright House Sports Network

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Cigar City Magazine

Derrick Brooks had a decision to make. the Winter Park Lake Howell punter had sailed the football deep into Pensacola Washington territory.

Brooks had a choice of fair catching the ball and turning it over to his offense to win the game. Or… He chose “or” and 78 yards later, he was in the end zone with the winning touchdown. that pretty much sums up the life of Derrick Brooks. a winner. Making the right choices, no matter the level of competition, on the field and off the field. it’s quite a resume that Brooks will take to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. along the way, he has done some remarkable things on the football field from high school to the nFL and, off the field, has achieved both then and now. as a high school senior in 1991, uSa today named him the national high school defensive player of the year. the offensive player selected was Marquette Smith, who played for Lake Howell and could only watch as Brooks closed out his high school career with that punt return. the Florida High School athletic association named Brooks to its 33-man allCentury team. as a college player at Florida State, Brooks was named aCC Defensive Player of the year, was a twotime all-american, had his jersey retired and was a leader on Bobby Bowden’s first national championship team in 1993.

When Brooks arrived at FSu as a 180-pound athlete, all the recruiting experts believed he was destined to become a safety. But Seminole defensive coordinator Mickey andrews noted he was making play after play close to the line of scrimmage and opted to keep him where the action was. “Why would you move somebody who was doing everything you needed right where he was,” andrews said at the time.

Brooks was the 28th player selected in the first round of the 1995 nFL draft by the tampa Bay Bucs, beginning a love affair that would last almost 15 years,

11 years as a Pro Bowler including a stretch of 10 consecutive trips and the 2006 Pro Bowl MVP award.

He was also selected by the associated Press as the nFL’s Defensive Player of the year in 2002. One fond memory was his first touchdown, a 34-yard pick six of a Daunte Culpepper pass, another, helping to lead the Bucs to victory in Super Bowl XXXVii in 2003.

Brooks also holds Buccaneer franchise records for career tackles and most consecutive Pro-Bowl appearances, a mark once held by Hall-of-Famer Lee roy Selmon, another beloved former Buc. as good as he was on the field; he’s an even better person off the field. Brooks is the founder of the Brooks Bunch charity and youth scholarship foundation and helped found the Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School in tampa, a three-year-old charter school.

His mobile classroom concept, which includes taking local youth to South africa with the objective of presenting a first hand experience, symbolizes his advocacy of the importance of education.

He has collected nearly as many awards as he has made tackles, including sharing the Walter Payton Man of the year award with Jim Flanigan, and also winning the Whizzer White and Bart Starr Man of the year awards, all for his leadership and good work in the community. in 2003, governor Jeb Bush named Brooks to the Florida State university Board of trustees, and he continues to serve in that capacity. now retired and living in tampa, Brooks has no thoughts of a football comeback. “i keep pretty busy without football.

Brooks is co-host of “the red zone” on Sirius nFL radio, and a football analyst on “eSPn First take”, usually teamed with former Florida gator and nFL tackle Lomas Brown in a segment called “Law Offices of Brooks and Brown.” isn’t that like FSu Coach Jimbo Fisher and Florida Coach Will Muschamps co-owning a beach house?

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Sweet Lou

by Susan Cuesta

West Tampa’s Lou Piniella, Legendary Player & Manager Returns Home “Sweet Lou” Piniella has a reputation that belies his nickname. Legendary for his temper, many people don’t realize that he earned the nickname for his sweet swing as an outfielder in a career that began when he was signed by the Cleveland indians in 1962, but in reality was launched on the baseball fields of West tampa.

Louis Victor Piniella was born on august 28, 1943 in tampa. raised in West tampa, Piniella followed the track of many young men from the neighborhood, playing POny League ball- where he was a teammate of another local legend, tony Larussa- before moving on to Jesuit High School where he was a star in both baseball and basketball. Summers were spent with West tampa’s american Legion Post 248, a team that would later win a World Series Championship in 1981 with Piniella’s cousin, future Major League Baseball player and fellow Jesuit graduate, Dave Magadan.

Piniella’s stellar high school career earned him a spot on the team at the university of tampa, where he earned all-america honors.

Piniella went undrafted out of ut, and after signing with the indians in the summer of 1962 as an amateur free agent, bounced around with several teams. He was drafted by the Washington Senators in their first draft in the same year, but only spent two

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years with the organization before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1964 as the player-to-be-named later in an earlier deal for Buster norum. two years later, in March of 1966, he was traded back to Cleveland, but only for a short time before the Seattle Pilots chose him with the 28th pick of the expansion draft on October 15, 1968. However, his stay was brief and he was traded to the Kansas City royals at the end of spring training. it was in Kansas City that Piniella found his place, leading off on opening day 1969, getting a hit in his first at-bat and tallying several firsts for the royals- first at-bat, first hit, and first run scored. an outfielder with a strong arm and a strong average, Piniella batted .282 for the season en route to earning the honor of american League rookie of the year in 1969. He also appeared in the 1972 Major League Baseball all-Star game representing the royals on the american League team. after several strong seasons with the royals, Piniella was traded to the new york yankees where he would spend the rest of his playing career, earning two World Series rings with the yankees in 1977 and 1978. Piniella’s last game with the yankees was on June 16, 1984, finishing with a more than respectable career average of .291. the end of his playing days saw Piniella transition into the role of manager with the yankees in 1986, then again in 1988, bookending a brief stint as general manager and followed by a season of broadcasting for the team during several tumultuous years that saw owner george Steinbrenner change managers repeatedly. a threeyear stay in Cincinnati with the reds, netted Piniella his only World Series title as a manager in 1990 when the reds swept the Oakland athletics, who were managed by his old friend from West tampa, tony Larussa.

Piniella was traded to the New York Yankees where he would spend the rest of his playing career, earning two World Series rings with the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

Piniella was hired to manage the Seattle Mariners in 1993 and for his mother. Piniella’s final game as a manager was a 16–5 loss remained there for 10 years– his longest tenure as a manager. He to the atlanta Braves. earned american League Manager of the year honors in 1995 and throughout his career as a player and, most notably as a manin 2001, leading the Mariners to the american League ager, his passion for the game became his trademark and “Sweet Championship Series in 1995 where they lost to the Cleveland Lou” began to take on a touch of irony as his temper made him indians, and again in 2000 and 2001, well known around the league and a fixture where they lost to the yankees. Piniella was on highlight shows. Video of Piniella nosenever able to lead the Mariners to a World to-nose with an umpire, famously kicking his Series title; however, he holds the distinccap, and tossing a base into right tion of being the only manager of at least a field–twice–gave him notoriety beyond the season in Mariners’ history with a winning game, leading to a cameo in the movie Little record. Piniella’s teams posted winning Big League (1994) and a comedic turn in an records in 7 of his 10 seasons, a remarkable aquafina water spot that parodied one of his stat when also noting that the Mariners famous meltdowns. have only had 11 winning seasons in their now retired and back home in tampa, history. all of Seattle’s post-season appearPiniella has taken his place among tampa’s Lou Piniella ances were during Piniella’s years as well. baseball unhappy with the direction of the team, Piniella asked to be legends. Piniella finished his traded and in 2002, was traded to the then-tampa Bay Devil rays managing career with a for outfielder randy Winn. Piniella’s passionate style was a mis- record of 1835-1712, and a match for a team with so many young players and while Piniella led winning percentage of tampa Bay to a then franchise best 70 wins in 2004, he stepped .517, placing him 14th alldown in September 2005, accepting a buyout on the remaining time. after a successful year in his contract. career as both a manager after a season on the sidelines and a return to broadcasting, and player, perhaps Piniella signed a deal with the Chicago Cubs where he led them to “Sweet Lou” has one the best record in the national League in 2008, earning the more honor yet awaiting national League Manager of the year award for that season. He him–the Baseball Hall stepped down from the Cubs on august 22, 2010 after previously of Fame. announcing his intention to retire at the end of the season to care

January/FeBruary 2011

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H

CCM: After 30 years of calling college basketball e is the voice of college basketball. games, what keeps you going? as a color commentator, he is a DV: i simply love the game! the game has spirit PtPer! (Prime time Player for those and i love the emotion of the game, the intennot in the know.) His in-game insight is flat sity and the passion of it. the fans are fantastic out awesome with a capital a! the chances and cheer like no other sports fans do. i love of enjoying a game he is calling is a slam the passion of the schools. the kids play with dunk, a dipsy-doo dunkeroo slam-jam-bam, such drive and feeling as they try to bring the baby! He is out of this world! ultimate success to the jersey that they wear. i if you still don’t know who He is, then Dick Vitale have often said this and i mean it, the nBa is you must have lived in a cave for the past 30 years, or at least never watched a college basketball game! He is about the name of the jersey on the back, college basketball is about Dick Vitale, DiCKy V himself, the over-the-top energetic college the name of the jersey on the front. basketball announcer who brings a level of excitement to the game that no other announcer in any sport has ever been able to match. CCM: Before you became an announcer, you were a basketball coach in both He recently sat down with Cigar City Magazine to talk about college and the NBA. Do you ever miss the competitiveness of coaching? college basketball, the players who changed the game and what he DV: Obviously initially i did, but once i got into tV i got over it. i have the greatest job in the world! For 32 years i have been undefeated! i have thinks about his favorite baseball team–the tampa Bay rays. never lost a game as an announcer and get to watch the greatest games CCM: You have called over 1,000 college basketball games during your in america and i get paid for being there! i feel like i am stealing money!

30 year announcing career and have been courtside for some of the most epic games ever played. In your opinion, what is the greatest game CCM: You are known as one of the biggest Tampa Bay Rays fans in the area.

What do you think of the current dismantling of the Rays? you ever called?

DV: you are right, i have called over 1,000 games and to narrow it DV: i am always a season ticket holder and will continue to be for a long down to just one would be impossible. But the best games to call time, but it is frustrating to see what is happening in Boston and new are always the north Carolina–Duke games. it is a rivalry that york and to know that for a while we were banging head to head with always brings out the best in both teams. the emotion and the those teams but are now being dismantled. However, i do feel and intensity are fantastic! to have had the opportunity to sit courtside empathize with Stuart Sternberg and the administration. they just can’t for 30 years of that rivalry and to be in the arena and to feel that get the number of fans to come out that they need to put money away electricity has been special. there have been some great, great to sign the great players. that has been a problem. But i will continue to support them no matter their record. games.

CCM: Can you narrow down who you think is the greatest college basketball player you have watched?

DV: Without a doubt, it is Lew alcindor, who played at uCLa and was later called Kareem abdul-Jabbar. He revolutionized the game. i did not call his games but i did watch them as a fan. you have to say he was the best because he dominated like no one else ever has. He was so dominant that they had to outlaw the dunk during his era.

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CCM: How about Carl Crawford? What do you think about the longtime face of the franchise signing with a divisional rival?

DV: Carl is such a special player. i love him as a player. He has enormous talent and always came to play. He never took a night off on that field. i wish he could have played for the rays forever, but i also can’t blame a man for taking $142 million to play baseball! However, what i don’t like is that the game has hit the point that players make that much money and in order to pay the salaries the fans have to pay huge ticket prices. that is why i love college basketball so much. i honestly believe with all of my heart that no sport is more about the fans than college basketball.

Chicken Diablo Pollo al Diablo

Ingredients 6 chicken breast halves (skinless and boneless)

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup hot sauce

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup vegetable or peanut oil

Preparation In a bowl, mix hot sauce, honey, and sour cream until well blended. Add paprika, cumin, and ketchup and beat vigorously until sauce is well blended and smooth. Marinate chicken breast halves in half of sauce for at least 2 hours in refrigerator. Heat a heavy skillet or grill coated with vegetable oil. Brown breast halves on both sides in oil until cooked through (about 15 minutes) and serve with rest of sauce (heated). Serves 4.

Share the Columbia Seasoning secret in your own kitchen. Use on meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables.

For more information or to purchase our seasoning visit us at www.ColumbiaRestaurant.com

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Cigar City Magazine

In December of 2010, Cigar City traveled to West Palm Beach for the launching of an exclusive cigar made by Pete Johnson for the Smoke Inn Cigar Shops called Anarchy.

In the Spring of 2009 the owner of Smoke Inn, Abe, approached his good friend Pete Johnson with the Tatuaje Anarchy project idea. The hope was to create something special in a limited run that was reasonably priced. The large size cigar is something never seen before and is made with a very limited leaf of Ecuadorian Habano Wrapper that Pete & the Garcia Family hand selected. For more information about this cigar, check out the back cover.

To see more pictures from this event and other CCM events, go to www.CigarCityMagazine.com and click on our Facebook page.

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January/FeBruary 2011

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January/FeBruary 2011

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MAMA KNOWS GOT A QUESTION FOR MAMA? EMAIL HER AT: INFO@CIGARCITYMAGAZINE.COM

D I S COV E R

Did you know?

by Dan Perez

Dear Mama, My kids are mad at me because i didn’t give them everything they wanted for Christmas. i tried to explain the economy is awful and i just couldn’t afford it. they have been giving me the silent treatment since. What can i do to make them speak to me?

-A Mother In Need Dear A Mother In Need, First and foremost, i don’t like kids. So my first step would be to beat their culos with one of my wooden chancletas–yes, i wear wooden shoes. the other would be to lock them in the closet for an hour. it’s the same thing as time-out just in a diffrent part of the house. the best advice i could give you is that the next time you have a kid, throw him away and keep the stork!

-Mama Dear Mama, i was at the check out lane for 10 items or less. the woman in front of me had over 20 items and it really bothered me. i hate when people feel they do not have to follow the rules. next time it happens should i say something–and what should i say?

-Caught Up In Line Dear Caught Up In Line, Yes, you are right. When that happens to me it makes the pelo on my culo stand up. i usually ask el stupido this question, “Oyé can you not read the sign? i know we all sprang from apes, but i see you didn’t spring far enough!”

-Mama Dear Mama, i’m a Latina and every Christmas eve we have the same traditional meal of pork, black beans and rice, and yuca but next year i want to have more of an american traditional Christmas dinner, can you make some suggestions?

-No Latin Food For The Holidays Dear No Latin Food For The Holidays, yes, i suggest you burn in hell for even thinking about not doing the Latina traditional meal of pork, black beans and rice and yuca! i hear when you were a child your mother wanted to hire somebody to take care of you, but the mafia i guess wanted too much. Eres tonto!

-Mama

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Tampa's international airport had its beginnings at Drew Field. In the 1920s, a dreary, damp marsh land with stretches of sand covered over with a sparse growth of palmetto scrub was purchased from John H. Drew by the city as an air field. The federal government turned it into a military base in 1941.

In 1946, it became the site of Tampa's municipal airport and in 1950, Tampa International Airport.

Then in 1952, a brand new terminal was built on the south side of the east-west runway.

Please note, because of this special Florida Sports Hall of Fame issue, “Fernando Figueredo, The First Mayor of West Tampa” will be published in a later issue of Cigar City Magazine.

Sponsored by TampaPix

For more information visit, www.TampaPix.com