Sam Bailey Passes: Sanibel Remembers

Most people will come and go in life without making a huge impact other than on their own family. That's a fact. Those who are outstanding obtain that rank because most of us are not.


Sam Bailey, who passed away at age 86 a few days ago, made an enormous impact on the island of Sanibel.


And when they hold his memorial on October 2 at the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village, there will be many stories to be told.


According to Bailey himself, he was most possibly the last person living on Sanibel who was born on the Island. In fact, Sam grew up long before a causeway linked Sanibel to the mainland.


As a boy in the 1930s, he played football with coconuts on the island. When it was time to attend Fort Myers High, he took a ferry to Punta Rassa and spent school weeks staying in Ma Alderman's boarding house, where breakfast cost 25 cents and dinner was 75 cents.


Bailey was best known in Southwest Florida as one of the owners of Bailey's General Store on Sanibel. The family run store has been open for more than a century.


Former Sanibel mayor Marty Harrity said every year, Bailey gave every island teenager graduating from high school a check for $100. He would tell them this is your home," Harrity said. "This is always going to be your home. Be proud of your home. Always be proud of it."



For the past 16 years, Sam Bailey arranged with the Fort Myers Miracle to buy tickets and distributed them free to Sanibel residents on what is billed as Island Night, a celebration that Sam and brother Francis started.

“Sanibel Sam”, as he was known, has a very rich and meaningful story, from his days of playing pro-football for the Boston Yanks in the now-defunct AFL, to his head football coaching and athletic director duties at University of Tampa for 60 years!

His interests in the historical preservation of Sanibel Island’s treasures has transformed the island to what it is today according to the many people who had the pleasure to know him.

The Bailey Family invites the Island community to join them in remembering Sam.


In true Sam Bailey form, according to the family,remembering him will not only be informative, but entertaining as well.