Re(1): 1973 Ocala Roster Posted on May 6, 2023 at 01:30:50 PM by Bennett
Tiger posted the roster below. I don’t have any season ending stats. I know there was a picture in one of the old Marty Fleischman stories, with Marty and the other managers presenting the trophies for that first year at Ocala. It showed Gorrono getting the backcourt trophy and Joey getting the frontcourt and singles trophies.
I know there was also a partido between Joey and Bolivar at season end. Can’t remember Joey’s backcourter but I believe Bolivar played with Gorrono and they won 15-14.
Also, there’s an article online about Laca retiring from Tampa. He was also on the 1973 Ocala roster. He said the highlight of his career was in 1975 when Joey came up from Miami to play a partido with Laca as his partner, against Bolivar and Gorrono. Joey/Laca won that one 15-13. And apparently that is what led to the Tournament of Champions series starting the next year, with the best of Tampa playing the best of Miami for many years.
I talked with many people years ago who lived in the Ocala area and remembered that first season. Whenever the topic of best player came up, most didn’t mention Joey or Bolivar….they always mentioned Gorrono. He won over the crowd for sure that first season and was a fan favorite. Replies:
