My presentation to the Azalea Homes Community Association on September 9, 2019. |
| Exhibit 1 - Babe Ruth golfing in front of the Jungle Hotel (now Admiral Farragut Academy) |
I retired a couple of years ago and decided I wanted to find an answer to a question that I’ve been thinking about for a long time.
Did Babe Ruth walk across my lawn?
Well, I discovered that our home on Farragut Drive was near the 6th green of the Jungle Country Club Golf Course.
This is a picture of Babe Ruth playing golf in front of the Jungle Hotel, now Admiral Farragut Academy.
We all know there was a golf course here many years ago
And that Babe Ruth played on the course –
• He would arrive in town before spring training to play golf
• The Jungle course was said to be his favorite
• He would play golf before and during spring training in February and March
• Over 10 years, he probably played the course 100 times.
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| Exhibit 2 - Golf Course Map circa 1920 |
• I found this 1920 map of the golf course in the Pinellas County Plat Book
• It shows street names - Park Street, Bogie, Par, Stimie, Country Club Road
• Golf Creek follows the same path down Farragut Drive as it does today
• By the way, that ditch down the center of Farragut Drive has a name
• Call the city and ask them – they will tell you it is Golf Creek
• There’s a Golf Creek Park on Dartmouth Avenue and Park Street
• Also on the map there is a Dufferstroke Lane and Niblick Avenue
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| Exhibit 3 - Golf course map superimposed on current street map |
• This is the golf course map superimposed on the current street map
• Larger version on my website, which I will tell you how to get to in a minute
• Street names line up between the maps - except Dufferstroke Lane, which I can’t find on the current map
• Golf Creek follows same path down Farragut Drive as it does today
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| Exhibit 4 - Gallery on 5th green - colorized |
• I found that our home overlooks the 6th green.
• This is a colorized picture of the gallery at the St. Petersburg Open tournament on the 5th green at 1100 Farragut Drive March 6, 1930.
I showed all this to my wife and she said I should make this available on the internet so that other people could look at it.
So now I have a website where I have posted the maps and other stuff.
I left some cards on the front table with the web address.
According to Golf magazine, who was the most popular golfer in the 1920’s and 30’s?
• Was it Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, or some other guy?
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| Exhibit 5 - Babe Ruth golfing (colorized photo) |
• According to Golf Magazine… Remember this guy? Babe Ruth.
• He was often photographed playing golf
• He did more to popularize the sport than any of the pro golfers in his day
• He could hit a golf ball 360 yards (3 ½ football fields), but he couldn’t putt worth a darn
Who hit the longest golf shot?
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| Exhibit 6 - Alan Shepard on the moon (photoshopped) |
• Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the moon
• We don’t know exactly how far it went
• possibly 2 miles - it’s considered the unofficial record
• And where did he go to school? … Admiral Farragut Academy
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| Exhibit 7 - Babe Ruth birthday party, Jungle Hotel |
Babe Ruth’s birthday party became an annual tradition at the Jungle Hotel. (Read caption)
So, there is a lot of history in our neighborhood.
I have posted the maps on my website so you can find where your home is on the golf course.
And there is a lot of other neighborhood information that I found.
• Old postcards and photos.
• Rare films from the Jungle Hotel.
• Wildlife pictures from around the neighborhood.
• Peacock sightings.
• Old 1920’s jazz from the band that played at the Gangplank speakeasy on 1700 Park Street.
• Archaeology.
• And a lot of other neighborhood stuff.
If anyone has stories, pictures or memorabilia to share, please let me know and I can add it to the site.
There’s information about the website on the front table… and in my pocket.
