How They Got Their Name: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1000logos.net

In 1974, Tampa Bay was awarded an NFL expansion franchise to become the 27th member of the league.  Owner of the new team, Hugh Culverhouse (a Florida tax lawyer and broker), decided to hold a “name the team” contest to gather ideas fans had for a name.  Of the 400-plus unique team names suggested, Culverhouse and local sportswriters chose the Buccaneers, which captured not only the area’s history but also a little bit of local lore.

It's no secret that pirates used to raid Florida’s western coast along the Gulf of Mexico.  The Tampa Bay region was frequented by pirates during the 17th-19th centuries that gave way to the fitting “Buccaneers” nickname.  There is one pirate in particular, however, that has become a legend in the Tampa area.  He was a Spanish sailor named Jose Gaspar, but was better known as “Gasparilla.”  After serving in the Spanish Navy, he turned to piracy in the late 1700s, where he terrorized the Gulf shores of Florida until his death in 1821.  There is no doubt that he had a huge part in the formation of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers name.  The thing is, though, while it is a fact pirates used to roam the shores of western Florida, the legend of Gasparilla could be nothing but folklore.  There is no evidence that he actually existed.  Real or not, he helped give an NFL team its name and a parade has been held in Tampa, Florida every year since 1904 to honor him.

Garett