PUNTA GORDA — “Crazy” Jim Walzak was more than just a huge fan of Charlotte High School athletics; he also went above and beyond whenever the school needed him for something.
When he died during the past school year, it made sense for the Charlotte volleyball team to hold its inaugural preseason classic in his honor Thursday at the Wally Keller Gymnasium.
What nobody counted on was for a second Tarpon contributor to pass away this week. Dale Baker, a Charlotte High School Hall of Famer who also had a nice, cushy seat for all Tarpon basketball games along the baseline, passed away over the weekend.
The Charlotte faithful held a moment of silence before the final match of the evening for Baker, who along with Walzak left behind a lot of great memories.
Michelle Dill, Tarpons volleyball coach, said Walzak meant a lot to her program, ever since his daughter started playing volleyball for Dill, and got Baker interested in the sport.
“He was always here to help us in the hospitality room during tournaments, and give candy to the girls. He was the heart and soul of our program and a huge donor for us,” Dill said. “Dale was a huge basketball fan. Jim got him to start coming to the games and started to love volleyball. He always said he didn’t know if he would be able to come for the season, but he did.”
Charlotte athletics director Tom Massolio said it was weird setting up the gym and knowing that neither would be sitting in those nice chairs after all these years.
“It’s a sad moment, but we aren’t going to forget about those guys because they were so important to all the kids here and the programs,” Massolio said. “I remember many times Jim was there to lend a hand and usually took over. He was a huge supporter of all the programs.
“I’ve known Dale since I came back to Charlotte in 1995,” Massolio continued. “He’s a tremendous man, a family man. He was one of those adults I looked up to, but he became an unbelievable friend.”
Walzak was also known as “The Candy Man” because he passed out candy from a cooler to anyone who asked.
“He put up the signs around the football field and was here for 15 years. He did a lot of good volunteer work. He and Dale came to a lot of the games and even traveled on the road with them,” said Tarpons booster Bill Markstahler “Dale was around longer, but Jim made his presence felt. They’ll leave a great legacy.”
“Bunk” Hindman, who sat with the two at games, said Walzak was a great fan who would do anything anyone asked, especially when there was a major event, which Charlotte has always been great at.
“Jim was an all-around good guy. He’d be here with the food for big tournaments at daybreak,” Hindman said. “He would replenish the food, take care of it and clean it up afterward. He would bring chewing gum and give it to everyone.”
As for the actual matches, there were the usual preseason jitters as players made service errors and had communication issues, while coaches made sure every player got to play and tried different combinations to see if they could work.
The Tarpons played without top hitter Abbie Willis, who sat out with an ankle injury. They were able to come from behind against Out-of-Door Academy. After losing the first set 25-22, the Tarpons roared back to win the second 25-11 and the third, 15-10.
After the Thunder defeated Ida Baker 25-20, 25-23 in their match. Baker was swept by Charlotte, 25-11, 25-14.
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