What a week that was for local sports fans. One not likely to happen again for a long time. And it has nothing to do with that nine-game winning streak of the Rays.
What a two-sport parlay.
Not only was Tampa’s own Tony La Russa inducted into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., but Tampa Bay’s own Derrick Brooks was enshrined in the National Football League’s Hall of Fame in Canton, Oh.
La Russa, of course, managed those three World Series winners–representing both the National and American Leagues–and won 2,728 games over 34 seasons. Only Connie Mack and John McGraw won more. La Russa’s bust belongs in their iconic company.
As for Brooks, he was a perennial (11) All-Pro linebacker during his 14 seasons with the Buccaneers. He didn’t just tackle and intercept, but he also scored. No linebacker had more “pick-sixes” in NFL history than Brooks. He also never missed a game. There are a lot of reasons, including unparalleled peer respect, why he is a member of the 2000s NFL All-Decade Team.
But it’s more than that.
It’s two classy guys who excelled on–and off–their athletic arenas. Two professional exemplars who cared about life outside the lines: from the value of education to the well-being of their communities.
La Russa used his off-seasons to pursue higher education: an undergraduate management degree from USF and a law degree from FSU. He always had a Plan B. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1980–just a year after taking over as manager of the Chicago White Sox. He also speaks fluent Spanish and is an author–One Last Strike.
He and his wife Elaine are founders of Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, Calif. It saves abandoned and injured animals. It also runs programs that bring dog and cat visits to abused children, hospital patients and shut-ins.
Brooks was more than a two-time All-American at Florida State. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communications there. He earned his undergraduate degree in three years–finishing with a 3.89 GPA. He’s a member of the College Football Academic Hall of Fame. Gov. Jeb Bush later appointed him to the FSU board of trustees.
Locally, he’s been embedded in this community for two decades. Since his official retirement in 2010, he’s become increasingly known as the “gentle soul” and “philanthropist” who happened to have been a big football star. He founded the “Brooks Bunch” that takes children on educational trips and Derrick Brooks Charities, a non-profit that mentors children and helps provide college scholarships. He also co-founded Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High, the non-profit public charter school.
La Russa and Brooks: a Tampa Bay tandem for the ages who truly deserved to share the same Hall of Fame week.