1911 Florida Gators football team

Origins of the nickname

The 1911 Florida football team was the first to officially use the "Gators" nickname, though the exact timing and rationale behind the choice is unclear. The squad was captained by Neal "BoGator" Storter, and according to university lore and former UF historian Carl Van Ness, the team simply adopted his nickname. However, Storter himself denied the story and stated the mascot originated when a reporter for the Macon Telegraph wrote "Macon to be invaded by a bunch of alligators" before Florida arrived in town to play the Mercer Bears in 1910.

Alternatively, the university's official athletics website says that the nickname had originated in 1908, when a local Gainesville merchant ordered school pennants to sell at his store and thought that the reptile made a suitable mascot since "no other school had adopted it and because the alligator was native to the state". The choice proved popular enough that the school officially adopted the mascot a few years later, perhaps at least partially due to the football captain's similar nickname.

Schedule

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Game summaries

The Citadel

The season opened with a 15–3 victory over The Citadel Bulldogs

South Carolina

• Sources: In the second week of play, Florida fought the South Carolina Gamecocks to a 6–6 tie. Earle Taylor scored in the first quarter and the Gamecocks matched in the second.

The starting lineup was Swanson (left end), Coarsey (left tackle), Lawler (left guard), Storter (center), Hancock (right guard), Bullock (right tackle), Buie (right end), Shackleford (quarterback), Davis (left halfback), Taylor (right halfback), Tenney (fullback).

Clemson

Calhoun, SC

• Sources: Florida upset the Clemson Tigers by a single point, 6–5, in the two school's first-ever meeting. "The game as a whole, was a poor exhibition of football." Clemson scored in the first six minutes when Webb took it over.

On the winning extra point, the holder Sam Buie recalled "Doc Walker of Jacksonville bet Captain Hill of Georgia Tech, the referee, that Dummy would make it. They bet, and Dummy kicked it." "It was on the South Carolina trip that the Florida team was dubbed the ‘Alligators,’ and the battle that took place . . .between the Clemson Tigers and the Florida Alligators is one long to be remembered!" declared the Florida Pennant.

The starting lineup was Bonus (left end), Bullock (left tackle), Wilson (left guard), Storter (center), Baker (right guard), Hancock (right tackle), Buie (right end), Shackleford (quarterback), Davis (left halfback), Taylor (right halfback), Tenney (fullback).

Columbia College

Florida beat Columbia College 9–0. Taylor kicked three field goals. The starting lineup was Buie (left end), Hancock (left tackle), Wilson (left guard), Storter (center), Aker (right guard), Coarsey (right tackle), Swanson (right end), Shackleford (quarterback), Gavis (left halfback), Taylor (right halfback), Tenney (fullback).

Stetson

• Sources: Florida beat Stetson 26–0. The Stetson Weekly Collegiate called it "the greatest football game ever played in the state of Florida." Taylor drop kicked a 45-yard field goal and ran for two touchdowns.

The starting lineup was Swanson (left end), Coarsey (left tackle), Baker (left guard), Storter (center), Wilson (right guard), Bullock (right tackle), Buie (right end), Shackleford (quarterback), Tenney (left halfback), Taylor (right halfback), Pound (fullback).

Charleston

Florida closed the season with a 21–0 defeat of Charleston. "Florida should have made at least three more touchdowns."

Postseason

Due to their 3–0–1 record against opponents from the state, the Gators proclaimed themselves to be "champions of South Carolina" as well as Florida.

Earle "Dummy" Taylor, the only five-letter winner in team history, scored 49 of the season's 84 points (including a school-record eight field goals). He scored 25 points on the ground and points-after, and 24 on field goals. He also threw two touchdown passes.

Personnel

Linemen

Backfield

Subs

Scoring leaders

Coaching staff

• Head coach: George E. Pyle
• Manager: Roswell King

References

Bibliography

References

1. (September 8, 2017). "Fleming Field: Gainesville's forgotten sports venue". Gainesville Sun.
2. Carl Van Ness. (2006). "The Cannon Incident of 1909". Florida: News for Alumni and Friends of the University of Florida.
3. Pat Dooley. (2013-09-01). "33. How the Gators Got Their Name". 100 Things Florida Fans Should Know & do Before They die.
4. Olivia Ormos. (February 1, 2006). "Good Ol' Boys".
5. "The Birth of a Nickname". University of Florida Athletic Association.
6. ''[http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2015/media_guide.pdf 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide] {{webarchive. link. (2015-12-08 '', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.)
7. at the first football game played at [[Fleming Field (Gainesville)
8. "1911".
9. (October 21, 1911). "Florida Meets South Carolina". The Evening Chronicle.
10. (October 28, 1911). "Florida-Clemson game". The Tiger.
11. Towards the end of the fourth quarter, the Gators' [[Earle Taylor. Carlson. 2007
12. {{Harvnb. Carlson. 2007
13. "Times Daily - Google News Archive Search".
14. {{Harvnb. McEwen. 1974
15. (November 3, 1911). "Columbia College Meets Florida U.". The Charlotte News.
16. "Stetson Weekly Collegiate, Vol. 24, No. 05, November 16, 1911 :: Central Florida Memory".
17. {{Harvnb. Carlson. 2007
18. (December 1, 1911). "Florida 21, Charleston 0". The Atlanta Constitution.
19. ''The Seminole'', 1912 approx p. 86
20. "Sports: 100 things about 100 years of Gator football".
21. The Times-Union. (September 1, 2006). "10 top 10 lists".
22. "Florida Gators History".
23. ''The Seminole'', 1912 approx p. 84