10th Shamrock Shiver features signed photo of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams

Bradenton’s Liza Gorin created a commotion Thursday morning when she walked into a restaurant on Cortez Road holding a large framed photograph of baseball legends Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees and Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox in their uniforms.

“I know those guys,” said restaurant customer and senior citizen Charles Copley who gazed reverently at the signed photograph from about 10 feet away, seemingly too awed to come closer.

“I saw them both play at Tiger Stadium in Detroit when I was a kid growing up,” said fellow restaurant customer Doug Bradman, who, like Copley, is a senior citizen and immediately was transfixed by the sight of two of the biggest sports celebrities from his time. “Hard to say who was the better player. That’s a tough one.”

The reaction was thrilling to a woman sitting nearby in the shadows.

Rayma Stowe, co-owner with her husband, Mel, of Clancy’s Irish Sports Pub & Grill, is hoping the photograph will fetch a large sum for the less than fortunate children in Manatee and Sarasota counties when it is auctioned off to the highest bidder during a live auction set for 4 p.m. Monday at the pub at 6218 Cortez Road W., Bradenton.

“We received the photograph from Margie Poulson, one of our regular customers and long-time supporters of the Shamrock Shiver, who found the photograph in her father’s collection,” Stowe said.

The DiMaggio/Williams picture auction is part of an historic 10th Annual Shamrock Shiver Charity Plunge, an all-day event that begins when people plunge into the Gulf of Mexico on New Year’s Day for donations which will then go to charity.

The 10th Shamrock Shiver Charity Plunge is expected to lift the charity to more than $200,000 raised for needy children over its 10-year run, adding to the current total of $195,911, Stowe said.

The Plunge is scheduled at around noon Monday following an 11:15 a.m. costume contest on Bradenton Beach at Gulf Drive and Seventh Street South. It will also be true to its shivery name in 2018, said Dan Noah, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

“They may think about wetsuits this year,” said Noah, who is forecasting Monday to be cloudy and cold with Gulf of Mexico water temperatures at 64 degrees, a 40 percent chance of rain, 10 mph winds and an air temperature of 58.

“In the nine years we have had the Plunge this will be the third year it will be cold,” said Stowe, who always takes the Plunge with her husband, Mel. “We will go in the water as planned at noon.”

The Plunge is directly followed by Clancy’s Post Plunge Party at the pub, which features door prizes, raffles, live music by Souls on Soul and a goal to raise $25,000 this year, Stowe said.

It’s not too late for people to sign up to take the plunge, said former Clancy’s employee Krissy Bilbrey, who is passionate about the Shiver and has become a community spokeswoman for it.

“This year is special to sign up because it’s the 10th anniversary and you can help top $200,000 in charity dollars,” Bilbrey said.

“This is a great opportunity to give something back to the community,” added Sara Stiles, a bartender at Clancy’s for 13 years. “Everything goes back 100 percent to Manatee and Sarasota counties. And it’s super fun. So, you do something great and come back and have fun. It’s a great cause.”

Photograph valued at $1,700

The DiMaggio/Williams photograph has been appraised online at roughly $1,700, said Gorin, a Clancy’s patron who, every year, takes the responsibility to make sure Caring For Children Charities, a fund-raising arm of the Florida Winefest & Auction, a 501 (c) 3 organization, receives 100 percent of proceeds from all the Shiver events.

Plunge proceeds in 2018 will go to The Haven, Children First, Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County, Family Partnership Center, Family Promise Sarasota, Foundation for Dreams, Inc., HOPE Family Services, Just for Girls, Manatee PAL, Healthy Start Sarasota, SMART, Take Stock in Children, Tiny Hands Foundation, Teen Court of Sarasota, Turning Points and The ManaTeen Club, among others, Gorin said.

“When this idea was conceived it was just a bunch of friends hanging out on the beach,” said Gorin, who, herself, has gone in the water every year but one. “We decided that we loved our paradise so much that we wanted to make sure we were all together on the first of January. Afterwards, we went to our favorite hangout, which is Clancy’s, and Mel and Rayma Stowe got involved and it became this awesome fundraiser.”

This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 3:16 PM with the headline "10th Shamrock Shiver features signed photo of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams."