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Shaw Buck Project

    

On the left, the Shaw Buck Memorial as it was at the GHS football field dedicated in his honor. On the right, the monument at the museum waiting for the plaque to be restored.

 UPDATE! 
The missing, original plaque has been discovered and is being polished and reattached to the marble base. Read on for the whole story!

Few people have touched as many lives in Groveland as teacher and Coach Shaw Buck. Although he passed away several years ago, the memory of the Florida Athletic Coach Hall of Famer is very much alive in the hearts of those students, athletes and family members who were touched by this talented, decent man.

That's why it was a great source of anguish to many GHS alumni when the marble monument that marked the football dedicated in his honor turned up missing. When it was returned, cast off in the weeds to the east of the field, the bronze dedication plaque was missing.

Groveland Historical Society members questioned school officials about the missing plaque, but no one seemed to know where it was. The society also got the media to publish stories about the missing plaque hoping to turn up clues to its whereabouts.

When no leads turned up, the Groveland Historical Society started a fund-raising drive to raise money for a replacement. Among those who donated to the cause were Vicki Bucher, Coach Buck's step-daughter, and Debra Crosby Miller, Louis Muraro and Jack Speer -- all GHS alumni. The plaque was ordered through Southern Monument in Leesburg.

THEN A MIRACLE HAPPENED! THE ORIGINAL PLAQUE WAS FOUND!

Larry, the custodian at Gray Middle School and a GHS grad (sorry I've misplaced his last name), discovered it in an obscure corner of a closet at the school. Beyond that, we don't know what happened. Maybe more details will come out. For now, we're just thrilled to have the original.


READ ON FOR MORE ABOUT COACH SHAW BUCK

In the Groveland Historical Museum, you will see the ever-smiling Buck as senior class sponsor for decades. There's a photo of Buck, a phenomenally talented athlete and professional baseball player, on his high school's state championship baseball  team.

But it was on the sideline of Groveland's athletic fields where most people remember Coach Buck.  He reportedly coached the smallest teams with the winningest record in the state. In the 1950's, his football teams won 24 straight games. The GHS baseball team records were said to be equally impressive. Unfortunately, the records were lost in the 1984 fire that destroyed major portions of the high school.

 

Talk to GHS grads, however, and you'll hear that Coach Buck was known for something even more important than his records. He believed that the point of high-school athletics was not to win but to build character. Former athletic trainer Julian "Soup" Rowe said because of the standards he set, Groveland perennially won the sportsmanship trophies, which you can see proudly displayed at the museum.

Bill Cockcroft, who played as a student athlete under Buck and returned to coach with him, told a reporter that Shaw Buck was "the most perfect man I ever met. He didn't drink, smoke or cuss." Former Mayor and Class of '44 grad Dick Kurfiss said Buck "represented everything you always wanted to be."

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When Buck retired, nothing seemed more fitting than dedicating the football field in his name. A beautiful marble monument with a bronze plaque was put at the 50-yard line. (See the photo at the top of this article.) Sadly, after the high school became a middle school, many new students and town residents knew little to nothing about this legend. Sadder still, more recently it is believed that vandals took the monument away and sheared off the plaque then dumped the monument and pedastal into the weeded area east of the field.

Class of '63 member Marie Padgett, who lived across the street from the field, went to the Gray Middle School administrators and got permission to retrieve the monument. She and GHS alum Dan Michelle along with city employee Jeff Jones brought the monument to the Groveland Historical Museum, where it is a part of the trophy room.

Now the last step is to restore the plaque. We plan to have a re-dedication ceremony. Check back for the date and time.