Old Three Toes

Surely over the years, you have read tons of stupid "Florida Man" headlines. The tales of Florida Man's exploits are colorful to say the least. For me, when I think of dumb Florida Man stunts and stories, my mind goes straight to the tale of "Old Three Toes."

Strange Tracks

The story of Old Three Toes goes back to 1948, when Clearwater residents began spotting large three-toed tracks on the beaches. As time went on, the tracks showed up in neighboring communities. It did not take long for the fourteen-inch-long, eleven-inch-wide tracks to attract national attention.

One of my favorite Fortean authors and investigators, Ivan T. Sanderson, traveled to Florida to investigate the mysterious tracks for the New York Herald Tribune. Sanderson spent two weeks interviewing witnesses and examining plaster casts of the tracks. Around this time, more three-toed tracks appeared about 100 miles to the north along the Suwanee River. While flying over the Suwanee, Sanderson spotted the creature making the tracks. He said it twelve feet long, grayish-yellow, with large arms resembling flippers. As it moved, it created large waves “as if kicking with powerful legs.”

Sanderson believed a species of giant penguin had made its way to Florida. This massive penguin, about fifteen feet tall, continued leaving tracks until 1958.

***Florida Man has entered the chat***

As it turns out, the whole three-toed tracks saga was nothing but a hoax perpetrated by Florida men Tony Signorini and Al Williams. Williams was a noted prankster. Signorini worked for him in a Clearwater auto repair shop. After seeing three-toed dinosaur tracks in an issue of National Geographic, Williams came up with a clever Florida Man idea. Williams thought it would be funny to leave “mysterious” tracks in the area. So, the pair designed a set of three-toed tracks and cast them in iron. They bolted a pair of high-top tennis shoes to the tracks, and Signorini went about leaving tracks on the nearby beaches.

In true Florida Man fashion, Signorini put an admirable effort into the prank. The tracks weighed an astonishing thirty pounds each, and Signorini walked great distances in the iron shoes—sometimes up to a couple of miles. He kept the stunt alive for ten years. That’s a lot of work for a joke, if you ask me.

In 1988, Signorini confessed to the hoax, and even showed the customized shoes to a reporter. For me, the sad thing about the story is that Signorini and Williams fooled  Ivan Sanderson, a hero of mine. But I guess all of us who believe in undiscovered animals and various strange phenomena are susceptible to hoaxers—even a legend like Sanderson.

Thanks a lot, Florida Man.

I discuss Old Three Toes and a number of other strange stories in my book Adventures as a Florida ManSearching for Skunk Apes, Water Monsters, Lost Treasure and More, the sixth book in my Detours Into the Paranormal travel series.

    

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