Southpinellas: A community's mascot dies

A community's mascot dies

He was a force of support for St. Petersburg High School and other community causes.

By CRAIG BASSE

ST. PETERSBURG -- Robert A. "Bob" Pfeiffer, St. Petersburg High School's "Mr. Green Devil" mascot and an inspiration for the newsboy statue that graces the bayfront near The Pier, has died at age 86. Mr. Pfeiffer, whose photograph was used as a model for the sculpture dedicated Sept. 9, died Wednesday (Oct. 4, 2000) at home.

Before a stroke about a year ago, he caught a glimpse of the design for the statue and was delighted with it, said his wife, Ruth.

But illness prevented him from attending the dedication. His wife "gave a little talk for him," she said Thursday.

Devoted to St. Petersburg High, he made his final trip there June 7 to view the Pfeiffer Yard project, built by the class of 2000, parents and friends in honor of his long portrayal of the school's symbol.

To wrap himself in the school's colors, the retired postal worker dyed his gray hair and pointed beard green, donned a white tail coat and horned top hat to appear with a stylized pitchfork at games, pep rallies and parades.

Off the field, he was known as a hard-working, devoted alumnus who was the school's coordinator of alumni affairs for many years.

He went to all reunions for another good reason: For almost a half century some member of his family attended SPHS. His two brothers, sister, late wife and three daughters all were graduates.

Why was he the school mascot? In a 1978 interview he explained it simply: "I get such a kick out of doing this, I keep right on."

Treasuring the school's history, Mr. Pfeiffer amassed a collection of 63 class rings and five pins, one of them gold. When the entire collection was stolen in 1986, the dauntless Mr. Pfeiffer started over to build his collection.

A member of the class of 1933, he also worked almost full-time on preserving the history and lore of his alma mater, which can trace its roots to 1888. At the current building, built in 1926, he helped establish the SPHS Archives Room, which contains artifacts dating back to the school's earliest years.

"This is my hobby. This is my thing," Mr. Pfeiffer said in 1998. "I don't play golf. I don't own a yacht."

Beginning in about 1990, he pushed for a statue of Maj. Lew B. Brown, former editor and owner of St. Petersburg's Evening Independent newspaper and originator of the famous "sunshine offer" of a free newspaper any day the sun did not shine in the city.

Mr. Pfeiffer and other local activists wanted a statue in a local park of Brown, sitting on one of the city's famed green benches and reading the Evening Independent.

Plans to honor the visionary newspaper editor later were scrapped amid concerns that Brown, though he did much to promote the city, was a racist. Supporters turned to the idea of a bronze statue of an old-fashioned newsboy hawking the paper, with a city bench nearby.

Mr. Pfeiffer was just a boy when he arrived in 1921 from his native Cincinnati with his parents and siblings. For years, he and his brothers sold newspapers on city street corners. He loved the Evening Independent and admired Maj. Brown.

Other causes drew Mr. Pfeiffer's support. He was on the board of the March of Dimes for 31 years. He was an area captain for the Cancer Society, a worker for the Heart Association and a block captain for Neighborhood Crime Watch. He delivered Meals on Wheels, tapes for shut-ins and worked for the Christmas Toy Shop.

A mail carrier for 26 years, he received the first Superior Achievement Award given to an employee in St. Petersburg's post office for helping to organize the Salk polio program for employees and their families. He retired in 1976 from the Euclid station.

Mr. Pfeiffer was a noted gardener and loved growing flowers. Pansies were his favorite.

He was an Army veteran of World War II and a member of the Over the Hill Gang and St. Petersburg School Pioneers.

His wife of 49 years, Eleanore J. Pfeiffer, a retired teacher and civic volunteer, died July 1, 1994.

In addition to Ruth Pfeiffer, his wife of 51/2 years, survivors include three daughters, Nancy Fuell, Harrison, Ohio, Sally Baynard, St. Petersburg, and Helen Raczkowski, Jesup, Ga.; two stepsons, Gary Harvey, Fort Myers, and Dan Harvey, Arlington, Texas; two stepdaughters, Rosie Haney, Fort Myers, and Coni Lefferts, Long Branch, N.J.; a sister, Helen Van Duyne, St. Petersburg; a brother, William, St. Petersburg; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Friends may call from 4 to 7 p.m. today at John S. Rhodes, East Chapel, 635 Fourth St. N. A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church, 212 Third St. N. The family suggests memorial contributions to Hospice Foundation of the Florida Suncoast, 300 East Bay Drive, Largo, FL 33770, or the SPHS Archives Room Account, Pinellas Educational Foundation, 12090 Starkey Road, Largo, FL 33773.

- Information from Times files was used in this obituary.