Do you know Jack? That is, Tybee Jack. Your burning desire to visit and experience Tybee Island will be enhanced by knowing Tybee Jack.
Tybee Jack was born Jack Clifton Boylston, Jr. in Savannah, Georgia on July 19,1948. He spent most of his formative years in South Carolina, but traveled to Tybee Island , Savannah, Georiga during the summers. After graduating from Newberry College in 1970 (and later receiving an M.Ed from the University of South Carolina) he began a career in teaching high school mathematics and coaching football in Augusta, GA, Columbia, SC, and Greenville, SC. In 1983 he came to Savannah to teach at Windsor Forest High. It was at WFHS that Tybee Jack was born. All the WF Knights (students) knew that the “laid back” teacher raced out of the parking lot before the end of the school day to get on back to the beach. Soon this guy was hosting a morning radio show (morning announcements) called “The Morning Knightly News”. Every morning they could hear “GOOOOOD moanin Windsor Forest & welcome to the Morning Knightly News”, followed by entertaining announcements, birthday wishes, and the song of the day. So out of this he became known as Tybee Jack.
It was in 1987 when Tybee Jack and a few of his cocktail buddies decided that they would like to start getting a little exercise while they met for drinks. From this clever idea the Desoto Beach Bums softball team was formed. TJ, being a former coach, became the coach. The slogan for the team was “we want to play real bad” & they did. Winning at all cost was not their mission, fun & fellowship was the priority. There are many zany stories that came out of this team’s behavior, but the one thing that has stayed as part of the Beach Bum’s story is the annual Beach Bum Parade. Tybee Jack and his long time Beach Bum buddy, Jiggs Watson, have kept the parade alive, and it keeps growing bigger every year.
The Beach Bum legacy has continued through the years & what happened back in 1987 was just the start of Tybee Jack’s mission to make Tybee Island an even more fun place for everyone. Leaving education and becoming the sports marketing director at Candler Hospital and then onto Memorial Hospital from 1994-2006 gave him a lot of opportunity to get well connected in the community of Tybee and Savannah.
Through the years he has been the primary organizer or took part in organizing Tybee events, such as: a professional men’s beach volleyball tournament, professional offshore power boat races, professional jet ski competition, outdoor music concerts, and outdoor music festivals. As a former member of the Tybee Island Tourism Board he has always felt events such as these would help the island businesses while providing entertainment for tourists and locals. Tybee Jack has run for political office a number of times, but never won. His colleagues wouldn’t vote for him because they felt he would get too serious.
If you really want to know Jack, that is Tybee Jack, come to Tybee Island. Any police officer can direct you to his house. If he’s not home try the Back River sandbar at low tide or one of his favorite establishments that are on his website. Make your vacation so much more like Jack did. Come see him at:
Latitude N 31* 59'
Longitude W 80* 51'
Attitude ?'
I'm trying to tell you, as Jimmy Buffet says, "I'm growing older, but not up!"