By Clay Waldron – Originally published in the 2017 Founder’s Review
For the past 22 seasons, QT has helped with the Belleview High football program and has only missed two games for weddings.
Over the years, QT has been called a few different names. It started with Larry, then during his time in the service, he picked up QT. The sergeant said his name was too long, so he took out some letters and left QT, which has stuck over the years. Before long, he was called Dad by his three children, Larry, Danielle, and Daniel. Now he hears Pops from his ten grandchildren as they call to him.
QT was the oldest in his family with four younger sisters: Patty, Anita, Linda, and Lisa. They were living in New York as children, and the family moved to Ocala in 1971. QT had graduated high school already, where he played football, basketball, baseball, and wrestled. After high school, he played semi-pro baseball for three years and college baseball for one year. Seven of his semi-pro teammates signed contracts, and two went on to the major leagues.
Baseball and sports are in the Quartararo blood, as his father, Larry Sr., played for the New York Yankees as a catcher. His children played as they were growing up, and now the grandchildren can be seen playing at the Belleview Sports Complex.
Once QT finished playing semi-pro ball, he joined the Marines. But before he became an official Marine, the Army drafted him. Not wanting to go into the Army, he tried to enroll in the Navy with no luck. He went to the Air Force, which would not take an Army man. Then he went to the Marine recruiting office on a Wednesday. They said, “We can fix this,” and had him fill out some paperwork, do another physical, and by Friday, he was on the way to Parris Island.
When boot camp was over, he started Jet School, then transferred to helicopters. By the time he finished his schooling, President Nixon was pulling the troops out of Vietnam. Out of the 69 graduates of his class, ten went into special training, and 30 never came back from Vietnam.
In 1975, QT left the Marines after four years and moved to Ocala to be with his family. His three younger sisters were still in school, and QT would give them rides to school. QT continued to play baseball until he was 42 years old but has never left the game. He has been coaching baseball before his kids were old enough to play and still coaches some with the American Legion Teams. “I have coached three generations of kids over the years,” stated QT. When he first began helping at the Belleview Ball Park, it only had three little league fields and one softball field. “I helped build the concession stand and learned real fast that I did not want to be a roofer,” said QT.
“I started my kids playing when they were 4 or 5 because the kids wanted to play. Now my granddaughter Gabriel does not want to take her uniform off and wears it all the time. Keeping the kids involved kept my kids out of trouble, and they were never bored,” said QT. “I have made some good connections over the years and got some good jobs, got help with my car, Daniel got an education, and I have met some great people. We have always enjoyed it, and it kept us in shape, but the kids really love the overnight trips.”
Danielle, his oldest and only girl, was an outstanding softball player. She was on one of the very first softball teams to play at the Belleview Ball Park. Over the years, she continued to improve her skills on the field. In her senior year at Lake Weir High School, she led the county in batting average, home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases.
Larry had a lot of firsts during his time at Belleview. He was on the first district champion team and did it two years in a row.
“I had the opportunity to go on a Boy Scout trip with Larry to New York City. My sister Anita, the Scout Master Frank Almeida, and I took a bunch of boys to see the big city. I was a little worried that I was going to go crazy trying to keep up with everyone. But the trip turned out to be a lot of fun, and everything went smoothly.”
Daniel, his youngest child, had a great career in baseball. His team won the state tournament when he was 10 years old. In junior college, his team won state and played in the World Series with the Central Florida Renegades. I traveled a lot to watch Daniel play; he has played in NY, Notre Dame, Clemson, and South Carolina, to name a few.
“Sometimes it gets frustrating, and I have wondered why I keep doing it. Then I see people who thank me for helping with the kids or have a kid who is grown up and tells me how much they appreciate what I did for them. That is what makes it rewarding for me. Things were easier back in the day when I was just coaching my kids. Nowadays, I’m trying to keep up with all the grandkids.”
“I have had coaches from other high schools ask me what it would cost to have me come help their football program like I help Belleview. I tell them they can’t pay me enough to do what I do at Belleview for free,” he said.
“Over the years, I have had a lot of good volunteers help me with the football field, and it has been rewarding. When I go to other fields, I look at how they are painted. I like hearing the coaches say, “Well, we know QT did not paint this field.” It takes about 3-4 hours to re-stripe the whole field. “I painted the field one year at 2 am after work due to bad weather during the week. I remember former Belleview High School Head Football Coach Michael Bowe being asked before a game, “How did you get QT to do all the things for the program?” His response was, “I can’t stop him from doing it.” “I do what I can to help the coaches so they can focus on the kids and the game,” stated QT.
QT says he has no plans to leave as long as things are done right and the attitude is right. Some of his best memories at Belleview High are when the football team beat Vanguard, who was ranked #4, to force the shootout for the state championship in 1998 and when the basketball team went to the Final Four in 2000. QT’s father passed away at Belleview High School in the gym while watching a game. His mother still enjoys coming out and watching the kids play. She is 86 now and has 21 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
