Bruce Springsteen had something to say about Glory Days, how they’ll pass you by.
Historian Richard Burton wants to preserve them.
“It’s the best time in a lot of people’s lives,” Burton said. “Winning that state championship, it’s a thrill.
- Seeds of Greatness: A History of Florida High School Football Championships from 1963 to 2017
- Available for purchase at Amazon.com or the book website
A thrill Burton’s captured in his book Seeds of Greatness.
“I just wanted to make sure football was honored in Florida,” he said.
Burton’s anthology is a trip down Florida high school state championship lane. It’s page after page after page of Sunshine State history. From the first FHSAA championship game in 1963 featuring the Robinson Knights, all the way through the 2017 season, state title runs are chronicled.
Burton thought he knew Florida football. Then he started doing his research.
“I just didn’t realize just the abundance of wealth and great players there were in Florida,” Burton said. “Some of the stuff I found was just mind blowing to me.”
It took Burton seven years to compile information from more than 4,000 games. That kind of research tends to linger.
“One of the ones that stayed with me a long time was the 1983 Woodham team,” he said. “The fact that they were No. 1 nationally and they got beat by a team that was 5-5, Choctawhatchee. Just that any given Friday night somebody can beat somebody.”
And on any given Friday night, memories can be made and preserved.
“I hope it’s something they can always look back on and it can be passed down generation to generation,” he said. “And that families can say, hey there’s my dad, there’s my uncle, my brother and that we have a reference in Florida.”