Genelle & Mochine - DeSoto Park & Ybor City Sportswomen & Family

Mark Corbett sits down with Genelle Garverick to explore the rich sports history of Tampa's Palmetto Beach, Ybor City, and DeSoto Park communities, with a special focus on Genelle's legendary mother, Mochine Mercedes Fernandez.

Growing Up in Palmetto Beach, DeSoto Park & Ybor City

• Genelle attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH), a K-12 Catholic school in Ybor City
• Began playing city/playground sports around age 6
• OLPH fielded competitive girls' volleyball and basketball teams despite small rosters (10-12 players)
• Memorable road trip to St. Leo to play on a sloped outdoor cement basketball court; missed shots rolled downhill

Tampa's City Playground Sports System

• Tampa Parks Department ran a highly competitive playground league with citywide championships in softball and basketball
• Kids traveled across the city to compete at other playgrounds
• Summer championship days featured a wide variety of sports: baseball, softball, marbles, and more
• Genelle reflects that this community-centered model was one of the best environments for children's development

**Mochine Mercedes Fernandez | A Legendary Sports Leader

• Served as Park Director at DeSoto Park for approximately 20 years
• Multi-sport athlete: basketball, volleyball, softball; played into her 40s
• Mochine named Tampa Bay Sportswoman of the Year (1963)
• Earned all-state honors in basketball
• Played on the Sea Breeze-sponsored softball team
• Competed against retired professional men baseball players at Al Lang Field on Sundays
• Known for her tenacity at home plate as a catcher; once tagged out a sliding player and then got a congratulatory hug
• Compared to legendary catchers-turned-leaders like Al Lopez and Kevin Cash

The Trip to Havana, Cuba (~1953)

• Mochine organized and funded a trip for a girls' softball team to compete in Havana
• Raised $1,000 (no small feat in 1953) entirely through community donations; businesses had their names printed on the team's uniforms
• The team stayed in private homes in an affluent Havana neighborhood, free of charge while traveling in Havana
• Defeated all the Cuban girls' teams, and then beat the boys' teams too
• For most players, it was their first time on a plane and outside of Florida

Community Pillars: Spicola Family & Sea Breeze Restaurant

• The Spicola family lived across from DeSoto Park; they sponsored a softball team and supported community families in need
• Sea Breeze Restaurant (Licata family) was a beloved neighborhood seafood spot, famous for fresh shrimp and devil crabs
• Genelle's family had a standing Friday dinner-and-drive-in tradition at Sea Breeze

Jean Cerra Connection

• Jean Cerra (previous podcast guest) and Genelle attended OLPH together
• They reunited by chance in a Columbia, Missouri grocery store years later
• Cerra became head of physical education at Stephens College, then the first Associate Women's Athletic Director at the University of Missouri
• Cerra was instrumental in early Title IX organization efforts at the national level

Women's Sports Then & Now

• Genelle worked in women's athletics administration at Purdue University post-graduate school
• Attended a pivotal early meeting in Colorado where women's sports leaders debated joining the NCAA; concerns centered on losing autonomy
• Title IX marked a turning point, but Genelle believes women's sports still needs greater investment, media coverage, and professional opportunities
• Reflects fondly on the Tampa Tribune's extensive coverage of local playground sports, a contrast to today's fragmented media landscape

The Garverick Family's Athletic Legacy

• Genelle and her husband Alan have three children: two daughters and a son (Phil)
• All three became competitive swimmers due to their oldest daughter's asthma treatment
• Phil swam on scholarship at University of Missouri and now coaches a swim team in Canada
• Allison was accepted at Duke; Stacy swam for Washington University in St. Louis

Notable Mentions

- Senaida "Shoo Shoo" Worth | Ybor City native who played for South Bend Blue Sox

- Margaret Magadan Piniella | Lou Piniella's mother; also appeared frequently in Tampa sports archives

- Olympia Diaz | another Tampa-area sports woman who became a park director elsewhere

- Al Lopez | Tampa native catcher who managed the White Sox and Cleveland Indians to the World Series

- Sue Zipay | organized a women's baseball showcase in Sarasota featuring Olympic-caliber women baseball players

Resources mentioned in show

• Article about Mochine Fernandez by Janet Ball Watts, published in Cigar City Magazine
• Previous episode featuring Jean Cerra
• USA Women's Baseball Tournament | Rockford, Illinois (home of the Rockford Peaches)

Closing Thought Mochine Fernandez exemplified community leadership through sport: feeding families, funding travel, coaching reluctant players out of bed, and opening doors for girls who had never left Florida. Her legacy lives on through the women she inspired, including Jean Cerra's Title IX work and Genelle Garverick's own career in collegiate sports administration.