Anthony P. "Tony" Pizzo - Ybor City,FL
N 27° 57.669 W 082° 26.340
17R E 358454 N 3093732
Located in Centennial Park in Ybor City
Waymark Code: WM1WWA
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 07/22/2007
Views: 89
Anthony P. Pizzo was born to Italian parents in Tampa on September 22, 1912. A graduate from Hillsborough High School, he demonstrated early leadership abilities in organizing the Latin community's most popular teenage social club, taking part in debate clubs and rallying behind the Hillsborough High Terriers as head cheerleader. Pizzo studied for two years at the University of Florida before transferring to Stetson University in Deland, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and studied law, education, and history.
Industrious at an early age, Pizzo sold newspapers on Ybor City's streets to earn spending money. At Stetson University, he worked his way through college by waiting on tables, working in the library and selling shoes. In college, he was elected into the Ye Mystic Krewe Fraternity, the most outstanding organization on the campus, membership in which is based on scholarship, leadership and honorary achievements.
A successful businessman after college, Pizzo was the Tampa agent for the Fidelity Mutual Life Assurance Company and served with the military at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland from 1942 to 1944. Then, back in Tampa, he started his own company, International Brands, and later went to work with Tampa Wholesale Liquors and the House of Midulla Inc. He was a founder and first president of the Tampa Bay International Trade Council; Ybor City Junior Chamber of Commerce.
He was the founder of the Tampa Historical Society and credited with the erection of more than 80 historical markers in Ybor City. Pizzo wrote several books, including Tampa Town 1824-1886 and The Italian Heritage in Tampa. He also coauthored Tampa-The Treasure City with history professor Gary Mormino of the USF. 1912 - 1994
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