George White's Local History Runs Deep

It's easy to know where you stand with Sebring's George White. He pulls no punches, and if you want his opinion, well, just stick around. He'll give you that, too. For those who know White, it's a part of what makes him special and a fixture around the city he's called home from the beginning.

White, 61, can be seen at football and baseball games, nearly every Sebring Firemen function, and just about anywhere you can hear a powerful engine revving. All of those things play a big part in his life, but they're all a distant second to his family and friends.

"You never have to worry about George not having an opinion on anything," said Gary Rapp, a longtime friend and retired coach.

Rapp has known White since the sixth grade. They later played football together in high school and White assisted the now-retired coach when working with young players.

Anyone who knows White can recall something he gave to young athletes. It could have been a chewing out, or it might have been words to instill confidence.

Sports has been a huge part of his life, and one of his sons pitched in the Major Leagues, but that's not all he's about. His life has been rich and filled with pride for all his children - Charlie, Gabe and Wendy. And, he says, his wife of nearly 40 years is the love of his life.

In The Beginning

White grew up in the Highlands Homes area of Sebring. The housing area that served as military barracks during World War II was considered a low-income part of town, but White didn't mind. In fact, he hardly noticed.

"We were one-pair-of-shoes people," White said with a smile. "If you don't have something, and no one else does either, you don't feel like you're poor."

He spent his days playing in the streets, exploring the woods that surrounded his neighborhood and building huts with his buddies. They played games and even enjoyed having BB gun fights, dodging from tree to tree and into thickets.

"I only knew one kid who lost an eye," he said with a laugh.

A Sporting Life

Although he later became known as a coach and mentor to young athletes, sports didn't play a huge role in his life. He pitched a no-hitter in Little League when he was 12, and played some football. It was his senior year when he finally walked into the office of Sebring's intimidating football coach and said he wanted to play ball.

"Coach, I really want to play football," White said to the coach.

"You do?" the coach replied.

"Yes sir, I do." White answered.

The coach looked at White's buddy, Rapp, who was the star linebacker on the team and asked him if White was a tiger or a pussycat.

Rapp didn't answer, White recalled, so he made sure the coach knew.

"Coach, I'm a tiger."

White showed up on a Wednesday and started in the Friday night game as nose guard. He didn't know the plays, so the coach told him to tackle anyone who came within arm's reach on either side of him.

"I would have tackled the referee if he came through there," White said.

He said working up the courage to face the coach and earning the trust of his teammates was a life-changing experience.

"To this day, that was probably one of the best decisions I ever made, as far as affecting my life. Playing as a team, gaining the respect of teammates. It was unique."

Family Man

White had his eye on his future wife, Pam, in high school, but couldn't get the nerve to ask her out. She had boyfriends, and when they'd break up he'd finally convince himself to ask her out, but by then she had either reunited with the old boyfriend or met someone else. Finally, though, after she returned from business school, he asked her out. She said yes.

"She's been my true love forever," White said without hesitation.

They started their family with Charlie the first to join the couple. Gabe came next and finally Wendy.

Eventually White went to work at his father-in-law's transmission shop. It's there that Charlie, then about 13, would come by after school and help his dad tear down and reassemble transmissions. It was sign of things to come for Charlie, who now owns White's Transmission in Sebring.

"Charlie was a really hard worker," White said. "He picked it up fast. Just lay it out and he'll figure it out. That made him a career."

White's done a lot of different jobs over the years, including owning a barbecue restaurant, a trucking company and now he's expanding into airboats.

And he's always had a love for speed - on land or water. He's raced cars most of his life, and, along with his sons, enjoys fast Fords and skittering across lakes in water crafts of all kinds. The Whites have had a successful drag racing team for several years.

Coaching A Major Leaguer

White had an inkling early on that Gabe had special athletic ability. Even when he coached T-ball when Gabe was 5, something was different.

"He'd pick up a rock and throw it, and, you know, little kids shouldn't be able to throw like that," White said. "He could throw a baby bottle and knock you out at 50 feet. You'd go, 'That's not normal.'"

Gabe's talent was recognized in high school and he was drafted into the Majors, where he spent nearly 10 years pitching for teams like the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies and the Montreal Expos, to name a few.

White's proud of Gabe's accomplishments, but no more so than the success realized by all of his children.

"I was very strict," White said of his parenting style. "And I was hard on my children. With Charlie, it was working on transmissions, or Gabe's baseball. If I saw down the road that there was a something that could happen for them, I pushed them hard in that area."

A Good Friend

Through his life, White has collected nearly as many friends as he has memories. He remains close to many of those long-time buddies, while making new friends along the way.

"He's like a big brother," said Tommy Lovett, Sr., who has known White for 25 to 30 years. "He's a wonderful friend. He's the type of person that if anything is on your mind and you want to talk, he's there."

Lovett enjoys White's quick wit, and also has been on the receiving end of his humorous jabs.

"If you ever try to get his goat, he'll come back and torture you every time," Lovett said with a laugh.

Rapp called White "a pistol," and marveled at White's ability to land, and keep, such a wonderful wife.

"Pam deserves a trophy and a medal," Rapp quipped. "There's already a place in heaven reserved for her."

White laughs off his buddies' comments, and to Rapp's joke about his wife, he only says "touché."

"The most important thing to me is my wife, my children and my family," White said. "My friends, I care about them and love them. The Firemen, we're like a brotherhood."

As for the young people he's mentored through the years, he's gained more joy seeing the look on their faces when they succeeded than they probably felt by becoming winners.

"The reason I get along with kids is because although I got older, I never grew up," White said.

Richard Hensley can be reached at 386-5843 or rhensley@highlandstoday.com