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20 famous people you probably didn’t know were buried in Tampa Bay

By CL Staff on Fri, Oct 16, 2020 at 1:06 pm

From George Steinbrenner to the guy who invented the human cannonball, the Tampa Bay area is the final resting place of many well-known historical figures, entertainers, business leaders, activists and heroes. The lives of these famous (and infamous) celebrities reflect Tampa Bay's history as a hub of cultural connections and brave trailblazers. For those of you looking to learn more about this topic, the City of Tampa actually has a great walking tour of Oaklawn Cemetery.

H/T to History Bike Tampa for help with crosschecking graves.

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George Steinbrenner

Trinity Memorial Gardens, Trinity
George Steinbrenner was a pioneer of the sports industry. He bought the Yankees in 1973 and led the team to seven World Series titles. He lived in Tampa from 1976 until his death in 2010. Today, his legacy lives on in the city as the Yankees’ spring training field and a high school in Lutz are named after him.

Photo via Photo via Wally Gobetz/Flickr

Grady Stiles Jr.

Sunset Memory Gardens, Thonotosassa
Grady Stiles Jr. was a circus performer known as "Lobster Boy" for his deformed hands that looked like claws. He was notoriously abusive toward his family, and after years, was shot dead by his son-in-law while he was in his trailer watching television. Stiles Jr. used to perform in Gibsonton, Florida, which was a gathering spot for many circus performers.

Photo via Photo via Rob Gavagan/YouTube

Ildebrando Zacchini

Myrtle Hill Memorial Park, Tampa
Ildebrando Zacchini was a Maltese-born entertainer who came up with the idea to use humans as cannonballs. His idea was proposed first as a military tactic, but eventually became a popular circus act. In 1932 the family moved to Tampa, as Florida was a hot-spot for carnival acts.

Photo via Photo via LiveAuctioneers/Pinterest

Jerry Wexler

Sarasota Memorial Park, Sarasota
Jerry Wexler was a journalist and music producer who was the first to use the term “Rhythm and Blues,” or “R&B.” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He retired to his home in Sarasota in the ‘90s, and passed away in 2008.

Photo via Photo via Docs&Interviews on MV/YouTube

Millie Deegan

Curlew Hills Memory Gardens, Palm Harbor
Millie Deegan was a baseball player who played 10 seasons for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Nicknamed “the Babe Ruth of Women’s Softball,” she moved to Florida in 1976 after retirement and is buried in Palm Harbor. Deegan played for the Rockford Peaches, which was the team featured in the 1992 movie "A League of Their Own."

Photo via Photo via BullSharkGal/Flickr

William Harry “Billy” Jones

Garden of Memories Cemetery, Tampa
William Harry “Billy” Jones was a singer and guitar player for the southern rock band The Outlaws. He went to Chamberlain High School in Tampa and graduated from the University of South Florida with honors. He was 44 when he passed away.

Photo via Photo via Carl Lender/Flickr

Gordon Solie

Garden of Memories Cemetery, Tampa
Gordon Solie was a famous play-by-play wrestling announcer for the Championship Wrestling from Florida brand, among others. He moved to Tampa in the 1950s after completing service with the Air Force and began emceeing weekly shows until he became the lead announcer. In 2008, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for his work.

Photo via Photo via LM2000/Wikimedia Commons

Santo Trafficante Sr.

Woodlawn Cemetery, Tampa
Santo Trafficante Sr. was a mafia don in Tampa who helped run illegal bolita numbers rackets beginning in the 1920s. A gang rivalry between Santo and fellow mobster Ignacio Antorini lasted until the 1940s until Antorini was finally shot and killed. Upon Santo Sr.’s death, he relinquished power to his son, Santo Trafficante, Jr.

Photo via Photo via Criminal Underworld Compilation/YouTube

Johnny Vander Meer

Garden of Memories Cemetery, Tampa
Johnny Vander Meer was a Major League Baseball player who most notably played pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds where he became the only person in history to pitch two consecutive no-hitters. Vander Meer lived most of his life after retirement in Tampa in his home off of South Dale Mabry.

Photo via Photo via Richard Bartlaga/Flickr

Chic Young

Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park, Clearwater
Chic Young was a cartoonist who created the comic strip “Blondie,” one of the most popular in America in the 1930s. His family moved to Clearwater in the late 1950s prompting his comment, “We reside on a little island off the west coast of Florida, where the porpoises and pelicans entertain me while I work on the strip.”

Photo via Photo via Alan Light/Flickr

Dan Wheldon

Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Clearwater
Dan Wheldon was a British race car driver who won two Indy 500s before he died in a fatal accident during a race. He lived in St. Petersburg from 2006 until his death in 2011. His family and wife still live there today, where she owns a clothing boutique.

Photo via Photo via Greg Hildebrand/Flickr

Al Lopez Sr.

Garden of Memories Cemetery, Tampa
Al Lopez Sr. was a Hall of Fame catcher who played 18 years in the MLB, also managing the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox after his playing career was over. He was born in Tampa, and after 98 years of life, passed away in Tampa in 2005. Lopez was commemorated with a Minor League Baseball Field in the city named “Al López Field,” which was built in 1954 and closed in 1989.

Photo via Photo via Davepape/Wikimedia Commons

Reche Caldwell

Garden of Memories Cemetery, Tampa
Reche Caldwell was an NFL wide receiver who played for the Chargers, Patriots, and Redskins over his six year career. He was a three-sport athlete at Jefferson High School in Tampa. His younger brother Andre was a former NFL player as well. Caldwell was shot and killed in June of 2020.
UPDATED: 10/18/20 8:21 p.m. Updated cause of death.
Photo via Photo via DotCom Editor/Flickr

Stephen Sparkman

Woodlawn Cemetery, Tampa
Stephen Sparkman was a congressman who represented Tampa in the House of Representatives from 1895 to 1917. One of Sparkman’s priorities was turning Tampa into a strong center of ocean-going commerce. He’s now the namesake of Sparkman Wharf, which is a waterfront dining and event space in downtown Tampa full of unique restaurants and shops.

Photo via Photo via Fæ/Wikimedia Commons

Charles Ringling

Manasota Memorial Park, Bradenton
Charles Ringling was a member of the famous Ringling Brothers, who created one of the most famous circuses in the country. Charles was the operating manager in charge of production for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was also an early settler and developer of Sarasota, and founded Sarasota’s third bank, the Ringling Bank and Trust Company.

Photo via Photo via Katherine Raz/Flickr

Vicente Martinez Ybor

Oaklawn Cemetery, Tampa
Vicente Martinez Ybor was an entrepreneur and cigar manufacturer that founded the immigrant-populated cigar manufacturing town of Ybor City. Ybor moved to Key West in 1968 to avoid the war brought on by the Cuban revolution for independence from Spain. Today, parts of Ybor City have been restored as a historic landmark district.

Photo via Photo via rustyalaska/Flickr

William Ashley

Oaklawn Cemetery, Tampa
William Ashley was a white civic leader who arrived in Tampa in 1835, just two years after the city became incorporated, becoming Tampa’s first city clerk in 1865. His longtime companion was an African-American servant named Nance Ashley, and the two were husband and wife outside the law. He was commemorated through the naming process of Ashley Drive in Tampa.

Photo via Photo via FOX 13 News - Tampa Bay/YouTube

James T. Magbee

Oaklawn Cemetery, Tampa
James T. Magbee lived a decorated life in Tampa. He was one of the first attorneys in Tampa, a Florida State Constitutional Convention delegate, a Florida State Senator, an early newspaper publisher and a judge of the Circuit Court. He was also widely known throughout the city as a public drunk.

Photo via Photo via City of Tampa/Website