It was a Rhode Island tradition unlike any other. It began in 1958 and unfortunately came to an abrupt end in 1997.

Now, the once nationally-famous, national record-holding Rhode Island Tuna Tournament – a multi-million dollar sport fishing extravaganza – is only a distant memory.

The fact that no giant bluefin tuna were taken from the 29th event in 1986 until the 40th go-round in 1997 led to the most unfortunate end of the RITT.

One reason to remember the RITT was that it brought together people from all walks of life who shared unmatched camaraderie and helped develop the giant bluefin event into the world’s oldest, largest and most successful big-game sports fishing tournament.

Roadside signs, erected by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, once proclaimed the historic seaport of Galilee and Rhode Island as “The Tuna Capital of the World.”

One year, in fact, the RITT extended an invitation to President Dwight D. Eisenhower to attend the tournament. “Ike” frequently visited Rhode Island and played golf at the Newport Country Club and stayed in a house on the Alton Jones Campus of URI but was unable to attend. The White House actually wrote back to apologize.

There were other legends – like Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams – who fished the RITT. The “Splendid Splinter” reeled in a huge giant bluefin in 1961 while fishing aboard Captain Don Slater’s Invader. In its heyday, the RITT would feature 125 luxury sport fishing craft that carried upwards of 400 anglers for the three-day extravaganza that was held Labor Day Weekend.

The RITT also provided entertainment for thousands of Rhode Islanders who would jam into the Port of Galilee to watch those giant bluefin being weighed by the famed Ed Fisher and to watch the colorful and exciting “Boat Parade” that was led by the Southland Tour Boat and United States Coast Guard.

And then there was the fact that the RITT – unlike any other amateur sporting event of its time – provided a huge boost to the state’s economy. Sport fishing buffs, their families and fans would travel to Rhode Island from up-and-down the Atlantic Seaboard to fish or attend the RITT.

The man at the RITT’s helm was the late Daniel G. “Dan” Head Jr., a private investigator who wrote his famous Gone Fishin’ column for the Warwick Beacon and Cranston Herald newspapers.

Head was known for ruling with an iron hand and big heart. He was, people used to say, “ahead of his time in regards to sports fishing” and “no one knows the waters in and around Rhode Island better” than this legend on the bay.

Head, a Warwick resident for more than 40 years and a one-time Kent County Sheriff, kept the RITT going without interruption. That wasn’t always easy, especially when it came to finding docks and moorings in-and-around Galilee for out-of-state boats. He also put together a contingency plan if a hurricane were to hit the Ocean State.

Of course, there were things other than the Main Event; monthly meetings; printing; patches; putting boat numbers together; tag kits; mailings; contacting the Coast Guard; State of Rhode Island authorities; federal agencies; Bacardi; and Penn Fishing and Stratus Boats.

Head, people close to the RITT emphasized, would undertake all those duties.

“Dan wanted to make sure things ran smoothly,” said Skip Pettis, a Warwick boatyard owner who won the tourney in 1985 with an 853-pound tuna. “This was his baby and nothing was going to stand in its way.”

Head was so protective of the RITT, which donated the money from the sale of the tuna to the Unit for Crippled Children at Rhode Island Hospital, he twice hung up on a possible sponsor that he felt didn’t fit.

But soon thereafter, Bacardi hooked up with the RITT and became the sole corporate sponsor. Bacardi products, in fact, turned the highly popular Captain’s Meeting into one of the RITT’s most popular events.

“That’s probably one of the things you remember most about the tournament,” Pettis said. “We formed a lot of friendships at the Captain’s Meeting.”

The Captain’s Meeting was actually a rules briefing, replete with food and refreshments sponsored by Bacardi.

“People even looked forward to and talked about the Captain’s Meeting during our off-season meetings,” said Bernie Johnston of Warwick, who won the RITT in 1984. “We were all equal. Some of our greatest memories came out of that meeting.”

Bacardi treated every angler at the Dutch Inn in Galilee. The first-ever Captain’s Meeting, without a sponsor, was held at the now defunct Lighthouse Inn adjacent to the Coast Guard Station.

The rum company presented specially designed T-shirts to every person that entered the tourney and, in some cases, angler’s families. The company also donated the spiffy sterling silver Bacardi Cup, which went to the first angler to boat a big blufin.

“Bacardi created a lot of lasting memories for many of us,” said Johnston, whose 374-pound tuna won in 1984. The prestigious Governor’s Cup was donated by the State of Rhode Island. Around labor day, “you can’t help but think of how great the RITT was; and also the people that ran it and those great folks you fished with,” said Johnston.