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June 18, 2011 – September 12, 2011

Sports in Tampa Bay: Through the Eyes of Lamar Sparkman

EXHIBIT TYPE: Past

Sports in Tampa Bay recounted teams and players from Tampa’s past, highlighting Spring Training stars, Super Bowl champions and college stand-outs. Tampa Bay’s modern sports franchises were also celebrated, with memorabilia from the Tampa Bay Rays, Lightning and Buccaneers, as well as personal items from some of Tampa’s home-grown sports heroes. Perhaps best known as the creator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ original swashbuckling logo, which fans labeled “Bucco Bruce,” Sparkman’s drawings of professional and amateur athletes span more than 40 years. In 2010, the Sparkman family donated more than 200 original drawings by the late cartoonist to the Tampa Bay History Center.

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