1. The making of Hugh Hefner's "The Naked Ape"

1. The making of Hugh Hefner's "The Naked Ape"
Playboy's first feature film is an epic bomb...and I was an extra!
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2. "Fallout Shelters: The selling of Doomsday"

2. "Fallout Shelters: The selling of Doomsday"
In Panama City, time-share for doomsayers.
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3. "Four days before Dallas, JFK's last visit to Florida."

3. "Four days before Dallas, JFK's last visit to Florida."
A motorcade through downtown Tampa reveals JFK's lax security.
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4. "The rise and fall of a Top-40 hero"

4. "The rise and fall of a Top-40 hero"
The tragic story of WABC-radio disc jockey Roby Yonge
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5. "Peace at last for family twice cursed"

5. "Peace at last for family twice cursed"
A cosmic coincidence so bizarre you'll have to read to believe.
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6. The making of PT-109

6. The making of PT-109
How Hollywood helped spin the Kennedy legend
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7. "Cotton Watts: the Last Blackface"

7. "Cotton Watts: the Last Blackface"
The end of an unenlightened era.
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8. "The last public appearance of Al Capone"

8. "The last public appearance of Al Capone"
Miami, Feb.1941: Looney? Senile? Or crazy like a fox?
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9. "The murderous reign of Florida's Ashley Gang"

9. "The murderous reign of Florida's Ashley Gang"
They were the scourge of the Roaring '20s Everglades...
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10. "The Day I Defeated Joe Frazier"

10. "The Day I Defeated Joe Frazier"
The true story of my undefeated lifetime record againt Smokin' Joe.
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11. "Sal Maglie, the night before Larsen"

11. "Sal Maglie, the night before Larsen"
A Brooklyn Dodger unwittingly steps into history.
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12. "Jackie Gleason: Brooklyn pool shark to Florida playboy"

12. "Jackie Gleason: Brooklyn pool shark to Florida playboy"
The Great One brings network TV to Florida for the first time.
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13. "Jackie Gleason's Inverarry Golf Classic: 1972-1980"

13. "Jackie Gleason's Inverarry Golf Classic: 1972-1980"
TV's Great One hosts stars of the PGA Tour
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14. "Golf's greatest becomes a transplanted Floridian"

14. "Golf's greatest becomes a transplanted Floridian"
A young Jack Nicklaus forsakes his native Ohio and moves his family to the Sunshine State
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15. "The PGA Championships of 1971 and 1987"

15. "The PGA Championships of 1971 and 1987"
...the only two majors ever competed on Florida soil.
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16. "Oliver Hardy: Education of a funnyman"

16. "Oliver Hardy: Education of a funnyman"
Before heading to Hollywood and teaming with Stan Laurel, Georgia-born Hardy honed his craft in Jacksonville
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17. "Elmira, NY, April 1925: the stamp collection that WASN'T stolen"

17. "Elmira, NY, April 1925: the stamp collection that WASN'T stolen"
Honor and philatelic appreciation among thieves.
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18. "The family that lived in an elevator shaft"

18. "The family that lived in an elevator shaft"
Were times tough in Panama City in 1943? Well, this won't make Southern Living.
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19. "The Youngstown train disaster of 1978"

19. "The Youngstown train disaster of 1978"
A routine trip through a tiny Florida town turns into a deadly mystery.
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20. "The Case of the Purloined Poster...solved!"

20. "The Case of the Purloined Poster...solved!"
Patty Hearst: Armed and Dangerously Fabulous.
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21. "Nov. 22, 1958: First-ever football game between Gators and Seminoles"

21. "Nov. 22, 1958: First-ever football game between Gators and Seminoles"
...but it nearly took an act of congress to make it happen!
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22. "The shocking spring break scandal of 1929"

22. "The shocking spring break scandal of 1929"
Prepare to be scandalized.
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23. "The Ft. Lauderdale spring break riots of 1967"

23. "The Ft. Lauderdale spring break riots of 1967"
Paradise Lost? Things turn hateful in the Summer of Love.
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24. "Panama City bands: Dirty Lenny and Little Ray Melton"

24. "Panama City bands: Dirty Lenny and Little Ray Melton"
Recalling the good ol' days at the Breakers East, the Mai Tai Lounge, and the Golden Nugget.
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25. "The spring training homer that changed baseball history"

25. "The spring training homer that changed baseball history"
Babe Ruth's exhibition blast in Tampa changes everything.
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26. "Babe Ruth's love affair with Florida"

26. "Babe Ruth's love affair with Florida"
Ruth (shown, with wife Claire) revels in the Florida sun.
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27. "Presidential politicking in the Florida Panhandle"

27. "Presidential politicking in the Florida Panhandle"
Recalling the primary campaigns of 1952, 1956, and 1972.
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28. "Dateline 1977: Dispatches from Downtown Louisville"

28. "Dateline 1977: Dispatches from Downtown Louisville"
The death of downtown.
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29. "Faded image in a dusty frame"

29. "Faded image in a dusty frame"
After 75 years, can the winner of the first Sherman Invitational golf tournament be found?
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30. "The Olympic star and the heavyweight champion"

30. "The Olympic star and the heavyweight champion"
What do Jesse Owens and Primo Carnera have in common?
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31. "America's forgotten civil rights pioneer"

31. "America's forgotten civil rights pioneer"
Marianna, Florida's T. Thomas Fortune may be our most influential, least-remembered civil rights leader.
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32. "She met the Beatles"

32. "She met the Beatles"
...and she's got the signatures to prove it.
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33. "Bay County's Little Tournament of Champions" 1962 - 1966

33. "Bay County's Little Tournament of Champions" 1962 - 1966
Sam Snead, Tony Lema, Cary Middlecoff, Tommy Bolt...and dozens of other stars of the PGA Tour come to the Panama Country Club for the LTOC... (a 5-part series).
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34. "Nellis Johnson made sure we saw the humor"

34. "Nellis Johnson made sure we saw the humor"
Remembering a much beloved Panama City cartoonist and musician.
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35. "A Tale of Two Aviators"

35. "A Tale of Two Aviators"
Pioneering flyboys Johnny Reaver and Clarence Chamberlin
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36. "The Houdini family visits the Florida Panhandle"

36. "The Houdini family visits the Florida Panhandle"
Mrs. Houdini conducts a seance, and the Great Hardeen performs.
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37. "Rutherford wins its first Big-5 Conference crown"

37. "Rutherford wins its first Big-5 Conference crown"
The short life, tragic death, and ultimate redemption of Rambunctious the Ram
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38. "The Top-9 Ways 9-Ball is Just Like Life"

38. "The Top-9 Ways 9-Ball is Just Like Life"
How 9-Ball unravels the mysteries of the universe.
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39. "Fred Turner and Gideon v Wainwright"

39. "Fred Turner and Gideon v Wainwright"
A small-town lawyer and a local ner-do-well change the American justice system
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40. "World's tallest man...and worst actor!"

40. "World's tallest man...and worst actor!"
8'2" Henry Hite comes to Panama City
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41. "The Great Radio Sting of 1958"

41. "The Great Radio Sting of 1958"
French president Charles De Gaulle calls New York radio station WMGM...or did he?
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42. Did "We Were Strangers" trigger the JFK assassination?

42. Did "We Were Strangers" trigger the JFK assassination?
This is the house in Dallas where Lee Oswald watched the movie "We Were Strangers," twice in 24 hours, six weeks before killing Kennedy. Did the movie trigger the JFK assassination?"
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43. "The Cove Hotel: fifty years, dust to ashes"

43. "The Cove Hotel: fifty years, dust to ashes"
A last remaining symbol of the Old South, gone in a flash
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44. "The last flight of Edwin Gorbet"

44. "The last flight of Edwin Gorbet"
Sept. 27, 1953...Panama City's forgotten hero?
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45. "Time stands still as Stephen Stills takes stand"

45. "Time stands still as Stephen Stills takes stand"
The rock star as musical museum piece.
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46. "DeLorean, the car, still turning heads"

46. "DeLorean, the car, still turning heads"
For some guys it's all about the machine.
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47. "Clinton imposter turns parody into...ker-ching!

47.  "Clinton imposter turns parody into...ker-ching!
Tom Watters, the nation's faux-Bubba.
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48. "Dec. 31, 1899...Millennium 0bsessed?"

48. "Dec. 31, 1899...Millennium 0bsessed?"
We check out the NY Times from 1899
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49. "Odds 'n' ends from a reporter's notebook"

49. "Odds 'n' ends from a reporter's notebook"
Bay County's first shark attack and a visit from Aunt Jemima...
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50. "Here's a 'Riddle' for Panama City baseball fans"

50. "Here's a 'Riddle' for Panama City baseball fans"
What pro ballplayer hit .411, 25 homers, 144 RBIs in 1953?
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The Last Rebel Yell...a six-part series

The Last Rebel Yell...a six-part series
Click either picture for Part One of Brooks' six-part history of Class-D professional baseball in Panama City. This series originally ran in the Panama City News Herald in 1986. You will find links to all six parts within each article.

51. "The Last Rebel Yell, Part One: 1935"

51. "The Last Rebel Yell, Part One: 1935"
The Barnum of the bushes brings pro ball to Bay County
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From 2000 to 2003 Brooks wrote a monthly humor column for FORE magazine entitled "Random Thoughts of a Golf Junkie." The following articles are from the annals of FORE.

FORE 1. "Why guys play golf"

FORE 1. "Why guys play golf"
It's about more than birdies and bogeys.
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FORE 2. "The Immutable Laws of Golf"

FORE 2.  "The Immutable Laws of Golf"
Here's what you won't read in Ben Hogan's "Five Fundamentals"
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FORE 3. "WARNING: Health experts warn of dangers of PBDs!"

FORE 3.  "WARNING: Health experts warn of dangers of PBDs!"
As Socrates can attest, golf is DEFINITELY hazardous to your health
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FORE 4. "Doesn't it just irk you when..."

FORE 4.  "Doesn't it just irk you when..."
A compendium of golf's most annoying moments
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FORE 5. "Dolphins, llamas, ticks, and hogs"

FORE 5. "Dolphins, llamas, ticks, and hogs"
Golf in the (animal) kingdom...
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FORE 6. "Golf's most embarrasing little moments"

FORE 6.  "Golf's most embarrasing little moments"
...and don't be afraid to admit: It's happened to you!
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FORE 7. "You are what you carry"

FORE 7.  "You are what you carry"
In golf it's all about the bag.
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FORE 8. "Golf to Joyce Kilmer: DROP DEAD!"

FORE 8.  "Golf to Joyce Kilmer: DROP DEAD!"
Golf's most blasphemous heresies
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FORE 9. "Shocking expose: the TRUTH about driving ranges"

FORE 9.  "Shocking expose: the TRUTH about driving ranges"
Now it can be told!
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FORE 10. "Time travel, Sam Snead, and Port-o-Potties"

FORE 10.  "Time travel, Sam Snead, and Port-o-Potties"
What were those Scots thinking?
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FORE 11. "Random thoughts of a golf junkie"

FORE 11.  "Random thoughts of a golf junkie"
Brilliant insights or inane ditherings? You decide.

TABLE of CONTENTS (To read an article click on the photo from the menu above)

1. The making of Playboy's "The Naked Ape"
2.
Fallout Shelters: the selling of Doomsday

3. JFK in Tampa, Four Days before Dallas
4. Roby Yonge: Rise and fall of a Top-40 hero
5. Peace at last for family twice cursed
6. The making of PT-109
7. Cotton Watts:The last blackface
8. The last public appearance of Al Capone
9. The murderous reign of the Ashley Gang
10. The day I defeated Joe Frazier
11. Sal Maglie, the night before Larsen
12. Jackie Gleason brings network TV to Florida
13. Gleason hosts Inverarry Classic, 1972-80
14. Jack Nicklaus moves his family to Florida
15. Golf's only two majors on Florida soil.
16 Oliver Hardy: Education of a funnyman
17. The stamp collection that WASN'T stolen
18. The family that lived in an elevator shaft
19. Youngstown train wreck a deadly mystery
20. The Case of the Purloined Poster
21. First-ever football game between UF, FSU
22. The Great Spring Break Scandal of 1929
23. The 1967 Ft. Lauderdale spring break riots
24. Little Ray and Dirty Lenny
25. The spring training homer that changed baseball history
26. Babe Ruth's love affair with Florida
27. Presidential politicking in Florida's panhandle
28. The death of downtown Louisville
29. Rediscovering the first winner of the Sherman Invitational after 75 years
30. Olympic hero and heavyweight champ
31. Thomas Fortune, civil rights pioneer
32. She met the Beatles
33. Little Tournament of Champions: Stars of the PGA Tour come to Bay County
34. Nellis Johnson made sure we saw humor
35. A tale of two aviators
36. The Houdini family visits Panama City
37. Rutherford Rams win their first Big-5 crown
38. Top 9 ways 9-Ball is just like life
39. Fred Turner and Gideon v Wainwright
40. World's tallest man...and worst actor
41. The Great Radio Station Sting of 1958
42. Did "We Were Strangers" trigger the JFK assassination?
43. The Cove Hotel: 50 years, dust to ashes
44. The last flight of Edwin Gorbet
45. Stephen Stills: Rock's museum piece
46. The DeLorean, still turning heads
47. Clinton impostor...ker-ching!
48. Dec.31, 1899...millennium-obsessed?
49. Odds 'n' Ends from a reporter's notebook
50. A "Riddle" for Panama City baseball fans
51. The Last Rebel Yell: a six-part series on the history of Class-D baseball in Panama City.
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A volume of Brooks' columns from FORE Magazine is now available as a Kindle single.


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