'Macho Man' Recalled by Northeast High Football Coach

When news of the death of local resident, ex-wresting star, pro baseball player and actor "Macho Man" Randy Savage spread like wildfire across the area Friday morning, it shook Northeast High School football coach Mike Jalazo.

While Savage's wrestling character was over-the-top with both boasts and threats, in real life Randy Poffo -- his given name -- was a sweetheart of a Teddy Bear, and Jalazo was once an indirect recipient of Savage's kindness.

In 2001, Jalazo was then the head football coach at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, a small, private school. Savage, who was friends with one of Jalazo's assistants, Bo Vespi, visited the school and was appalled at the paltry set of weights the team had to use.

So Savage saw to it that a state-of-the-art weightroom was established for the team, and Savage made sure that the weightroom had the name of his father, Angelo Poffo.

"He was a neat guy, a good guy, down to earth," Jalazo said of Savage. "I was really sorry to hear this [about Savage's passing].

Savage died Friday after the Jeep he was driving swerved across the median and eastbound traffic and ran into a tree head-on. Savage, who was with his wife, is believed to have had a heart attack. He was pronounced dead at Largo Medical Center.

Savage, who then was a resident of Treasure Island, became a friend of the football program at Admiral Farragut and once spoke to the team on a scorching hot day, which Jalazo will never forget.

"It was burning out, it was broiling," Jalazo remembered as his team sat in the bleachers, paying rapt attention to Savage. "And Randy was wearing leather from head-to-toe and he spoke for 45 minutes in the heat. He sweated so much we thought he was going to fall out there."

Savage came to the area from the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove when he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, who then had their minor league headquarters and spring training facilities in St. Petersburg. He fell in love with the area and for years made Treasure Island his home until recently when he moved to Seminole.

Savage played four years in baseball's minor leagues, three with the Cardinals who had both a Gulf Coast League team and a Florida State League team in St. Petersburg. Savage was a catcher but a shoulder injury pretty much doomed his career when he chose wrestling, a sport which is father excelled at.

Savage was best known for his garish attire, his signature "Ooohhh, yeah!" slogan and his manager, an attractive, leggy brunette named "Miss Elizabeth," who happened to be his first wife.  His second wife, Barbara, 56, was a passenger with Savage Friday and she was transported to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg for minor injuries. Earlier this month the couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary

In the original Spiderman movie released in 2002, Savage co-starred and played the role of -- what else? -- a wrestler named "Bonesaw McGraw." After the movie's release he retired from both show business and professional wrestling.

Savage was 58.