27th Street Benches
If you’ve been north of town on the bike path you’ve probably seen the two benches facing out to a
nice view of Charlotte Harbor. They were put there to honor two men – Sam Murphy and John Gambling.
Gambling was the founding member and first commodore of the Boca Grande Pass Yacht Club, an
organization that is still going strong today. He was also the 31-year host of a radio program in New York
called “Rambling with Gambling.” Two more generations of John Gamblings took the mic on the program,
making the show the longest running in history. John Gambling, Sr. died in 2004.
Sam Murphy played a vital role in the Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association
(president of the organization in 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996) and was a prolific local environmentalist.
Sam Murphy
Pocket Park
As we said above, Sam Murphy
was a friendly face around the island
for many years, and served on the
board of the Gasparilla Island
Conservation and Improvement
Association for several years. The
Sam Murphy Pocket Park was
created by the GICIA in 2002 in
honor of his loyalty to our
environment.
The park is located in the heart of
the downtown area, at 350 Park
Avenue, and is part of the GICIA
Land Conservancy. The canopy of
trees and palms, the soft sounds of
the wishing pond and waterfall and
the insulated peace provided by the
lower plantings make this lovely park
a quiet haven.