from staff
Sammy White turned 80 in December and for his birthday Bedell Firm partner and Florida Bar President Hank Coxe pulled a few strings and gave White one of the best presents White could want — an autographed basketball from Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce.
White perhaps should have never seen 80. Thirty years ago White was in a diner sitting at the counter. Two white men made it known they had no intention of sitting next to a black man and made a racially derogatory comment on the way to a booth. White innocently wondered what kind of person could say something like that. One of the men then shot him three times.
White was shot in the finger, left arm and back.
“They did exploratory surgery and found the bullets didn’t hit any vital organs,” said White, who worked for the Postal Service for nearly 30 years and was a longshoreman for another 30 years.
At the time, Coxe was a young prosecutor with the State Attorney’s Office. He tried the case, the man was found guilty and sentenced to 114 years. He didn’t last two weeks. According to Coxe, the judge in the case sent a letter to the Department of Corrections urging the DOC not to send the guilty man to Union Correction Institute. Word had spread quickly that the black inmates were ready for him.
“They sent him there anyway,” said Coxe. “Less than two weeks later he was beaten to death. To this day, the case has never been solved. No one knows how many did it or how it happened. Sammy and I have been friends ever since.”
Coxe represented White one other time. It was a divorce case — Coxe’s one and only. White and his wife had been separated for 26 years, yet the judge still ruled the marriage could be reconciled.
Since then, the relationship has remained personal and basketball is always a topic of conversation. White is a huge Celtics fan while Coxe is a big New York Knicks fans. The friendly banter always revolves around which franchise is better.
When Coxe found out White turned 80 in December, he and Bedell attorney Michael Whalen began the process of getting the ball signed. First, they downloaded an autographed photo of Pierce from the Internet. Then, Coxe composed a letter to Pierce. He then realized the letter would likely get lost in the shuffle “with the other 50,000” said Coxe, who then enlisted the help of fellow attorney and sports agent Michael Huyghue.
“He took the original letter and sent it to the Celtics. The ball arrived yesterday (Wednesday),” said Coxe.
White said he’ll cherish the ball, put it on his mantel and call a few friends over to brag a little.
“I don’t want to hear about the Celtics anymore,” said Coxe.