Archive Diver: Long Live Dr. Cool, International Rag Popping Champion of the Universe

The Fourth Annual Florida State Rag Popping Championship took place July 28, 1988 at Tobacco Road. The competition was presided over by the International Rag Popping Association. According to the 1988 issue of New Times promoting the event, "rag popping is an eclectic mix of dance, rhythm, and juggling, all...

By Jacob Katel

July 28, 2009

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The Fourth Annual Florida State Rag Popping Championship took place July 28, 1988 at Tobacco Road. The competition was presided over by the International Rag Popping Association. According to the 1988 issue of New Times promoting the event, "rag popping is an eclectic mix of dance, rhythm, and juggling, all involving a shoeshine rag." The champion of the sport is a dude named Dr. Cool, a South Beach via Georgia legend, who threw the annual event to raise money for charity.

In 1997, Dr. Cool was found dead in a canal in Hialeah, an apparent suicide. Click here for the Greg Baker article about it. New Times online archives only go back as far as 1990, so the following is appearing for probably the first time ever in a digital format.

Later, in August of 1988 Dr. Cool made the cover of the New Times in an article by Renee McGaw called "The Soul Of Soles."

Feel free to leave your Dr Cool memories as a comment to this blog post. Dr. Cool lives.

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