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How Did Jimmy Buffett Wind Up in an Alabama Swimming Shirt on a Post-Card?

American singer/songwriter superstar and lifestyle mogul Jimmy Buffett died on Saturday from lymphoma, a secondary cancer that developed from a Merkel Cell skin cancer that he was diagnosed with four years earlier. He was 76 years old.

Buffett was a rare breed among music superstars. He’s sold more than 20 million albums worldwide, yet somehow managed to arrive at the finish line without major scandal. He parlayed his success on the guitar to a business empire that includes a record label, restaurant chain, and a number of other business ventures that left him as a billionaire and one of the world’s richest musicians.

An everyman’s billionaire, Buffett loved people, music, cheeseburgers, beer, football, and swimming. So much so that he even wrote a song called “Beautiful Swimmers” on his 2009 album Buffet Hotel, released when he was 63 years old. In the song, he marvels at the way beautiful swimmers are able to glide across the water, where he says that “life is just a water ballet.”

Upon news of his death, teacher and swim coach Kevin Ahearn remarked that in Key West one time, he stumbled upon a postcard that featured Buffett wearing a University of Alabama swimming t-shirt.

This picture has floated around a few times in the past, but it begs the question: how did a guy who learned to play guitar as a freshman at Crimson Tide mega-rivals Auburn University wind up in an Alabama swimming shirt?

Buffett started his career at Auburn before transferring to Southern Mississippi, where he graduated in 1969 with a degree in history.

As with most things in American swimming in the last 50 years, especially in the SEC, Brian Gordon had the answer. University of Alabama swimming & diving team manager David Bannister gave Buffett the shirt when he played a concert in Tuscaloosa “around 1981 or 1982.” His SetList.fm listing shows regular appearances there, with a confirmed show in 1979.

Gordon is a former Alabama coach, among many, many other appointments in the sport, including most recently as the NCAA Swimming & Diving rules editor and as a public address announcer for SEC Swimming & Diving.

Buffett obviously thought enough of the gift to keep it and wear it in his daily life, among the myriad of gifts he likely received during his career.

Buffett was born in Mississippi (his father was in the Army Corps of Engineers) and spent much of his childhood in Mobile and Fairhope, Alabama.

Swimming was a recurring theme in Buffett’s life. In 1994, he crashed his seaplane in Nantucket, but was able to swim to safety — meaning that swimming literally saved his life.

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Joe Y.
1 year ago

Jimmy Buffett was a giant in the music industry- he seemed so mellow and he seemed to sing from the heart he is truly missed

Richard Edwards
1 year ago

He played shows in Tuscaloosa in 1977 and 1979. I was in school then and attended both shows.

Ande
1 year ago

Very cool how swim shirts sometimes are part of pop culture https://youtu.be/63ZIf2H9S0E?si=bEXzDb50mcnIV9iz

justanopinion
1 year ago

There’s also a picture out there of him with a Georgia Swimming shirt on also.

Roots Woodruff
Reply to  Braden Keith
1 year ago

Perhaps he was just following Roots and his schools https://x.com/rootsw/status/1698340774612521140?s=46&t=YNtP59VIOq8CYNd_xUKoFA

Bupwa
1 year ago

Taylor Swift was. seen on Instragram sporting an Auburn Swimming t-shirt! Very cool!

coach1111
1 year ago

Buffett
(2 t’s)

Guy
1 year ago

The Margo Effect

Hswimmer
Reply to  Guy
1 year ago

😭😭😭😭

Kelly
Reply to  Guy
1 year ago

I’m curious about this. I stopped following when my son stopped swimming there when she was announced as coach.

Joel Lin
1 year ago

That is one soulful ode to a good person who had to say goodbye far too soon. Thank you Braden.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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