"[2] In 1980, a handful of Jacksonville businessmen including Bob Gipson, Walt Murr and Pete Loftin resolved to create a fishing contest like the ones offered in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

That changed drastically in 1996, when the tournament was moved to Sisters Creek Park, a much larger area but more remote.

[1] By the tenth year of the tournament, the event was firmly established and had grown so large that a legal entity was needed to take responsibility for signing contracts and handling finances.

Jacksonville Marine Charities, Inc. (JMC) was founded in 1991 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to run the tournament and distribute the proceeds.

[6] Current and past projects have included: For the 25th tournament in 2005, special events were added to the week's activities.

The GJKT invited all the previous first, second and third-place winners to participate in a Tournament of Champions on Monday, and offered a $10,000 cash prize.

His entry was moved into the Ultra category due to "a clerical error on our part" by the tournament official present.

The next morning, executive director Mike Wheeler erroneously stated that 2nd-place finisher Don Combs had filed a protest, and the rules committee would meet in the afternoon.

Jeff Royer, tournament director, called Senecal to inform him that he had been disqualified for an improper application form by leaving his boat length blank.

[10] After witnessing public outrage on Sunday and Monday, the GJKT acknowledged some responsibility for the problem, and on Tuesday gave Senecal a prize equal to the one he had lost.

[4] The second controversy occurred in 2019, when Randy Howell's 52.56-pound fish was initially accepted at the late weigh in despite a large bite from a shark.

[11] Jim King was a popular and powerful Florida senator from Jacksonville, but he always found time for the GJKT and was the voice of the tournament for more than 25 years.

The tournament had not covered expenses since 2004 and had spent $200,000 of their reserve fund to compensate, so in 2009 the board of directors made drastic changes to daily activities to ensure the future of the event.

[14] This event was always held the first day of the tournament week, matching celebrities, politicians & big contributors with knowledgeable fisherman for a one-day fun outing.

The honoree is selected by the board of directors upon recommendation from the current tournament chairman and vice chairmen.