By Fred Seely
Editorial Director
The Verlander Champions Trophy was unveiled Thursday evening and the man for whom it is named made sure that he was a presence.
“It doesn’t say ‘Memorial,’ said the 86-year-old Verlander, who was honored by the Gator Bowl Association, which put his name on the trophy going to the winning team in the annual football game. “I’ll be around to enjoy it.”
The association brought out the gleaming Tiffany trophy to cap off the introduction of the coaches for the competing teams in the Jan. 2 game, but neither Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech nor Bobby Petrino of Louisville wanted to upstage the former insurance executive, a Jacksonville civic leader for over 50 years.
“He must be a heckuva guy,” said Petrino. “A lot of people went out of their way.”
A committee headed by contractor W.W. Gay raised the money for the silver trophy, which is about two feet tall and reportedly costs $17,000 for each casting. Gay, a former Gator Bowl chairman, led the fundraising effort that resulted in a who’s who of civic leaders coming forward in the Omni Hotel ballroom for the unveiling.
Among those who donated included Federal Judge Gerald Tjoflat, former Jacksonville U. Chancellor Frances Kinne, former Methodist Hospital President Marcus Drewa, Bolles School headmaster John Trainer, investor John Harrison, RS&H CEO Leerie Jenkins, BellSouth executive Jim McCollum and attorney Ken Anderson.
Gay’s list included about 30 names and, he said, “that doesn’t include a bunch of people who came up tonight and made a pledge.”
Verlander quietly accepted the honor, saying “If they think it’s good for the Gator Bowl, it’s good by me. The game has meant a lot to Jacksonville. It brought people to the city when we needed people here.”
Gator Bowl President Rick Catlett explained the reason for the trophy and the name.
“We’re in the 21st century and we had a 1960’s trophy, so we wanted to upgrade the image,” he said. “We wanted to go first class so we commissioned Tiffany’s and they came back with some great drawings.
“Then we found out how much it would cost. Wow!
“As we often do when we have a problem, we went to our past presidents. Bill Gay accepted the task, and he raised the money to have the trophy endowed.”
The endowment goal is $100,000 and the association will make up the difference each year.
Verlander was a co-founder of the American Heritage Life Insurance Company, which was funded by the Davis family that held the majority interest in Winn-Dixie. The company handled the grocery company’s business as well as many others and Verlander ran the company while his partner, Claude Kirk, searched out new business and, in doing so, became a governor of Florida.
Verlander chaired the local and state chambers of commerce and was a director of many major businesses. He was either president or chairman of most major civic institutions including the Gator Bowl Association.
Under his leadership, American Heritage became one of the city’s top companies. Its first big building is now the 11 E. apartment building and it later moved to what is now the SunTrust building across from the Landing and then to what is now the AllState building off Butler Boulvard. near the Intracoastal Waterway. After Verlander’s retirement, American Heritage was sold to AllState.
“Ash always was close to the Gator Bowl,” said Catlett. “When the association needed offices, he provided them, rent-free. He was always there for the association.”
Verlander’s son, Chris, also was a Gator Bowl chairman. Grandson Alan is the athletic director at Jacksonville U. All share something more than their heritage: all are Georgia tech graduates.
About 100 attended the meeting which included brief talks by the competing coaches and their athletic directors.
Both coaches said they expected their fans to turn out.
“They’ve always been there when we need them,” said Beamer, whose Hokies suffered an upset loss to Florida State a week ago in the same Alltel Stadium where he’ll have to roust his team and fans for the Gator Bowl. “We have something to prove.”
Petrino recalled his three years as a Jacksonville Jaguars assistant coach and added, “This is a very big thing for our school and our city. You’re going to see how proud Louisville is to be here.”
The teams arrive Dec. 27.