Great Teams and Eras: First Bowl Team
Thursday, August 24, 2006 | Football
As part of the celebration of the 100th season of Florida football, gatorzone.com will run a series of historical features throughout the preseason and the 2006 campaign. The series will give Gator fans an appreciation and understanding of the past teams and players that helped build the Gator football program.
During preseason practice, readers can learn about ground-breaking Florida teams of the past on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the “Great Teams and Eras” series. In addition to those stories, each Friday from the beginning of preseason practice until the season's first game will feature a look at one of Florida's legendary players as part of the “Gator Greats” series.
Once the season is underway, the look back in time will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays with “Rivalries and Series” and “Great Games” entries relevant to the week's opponent. Occasionally, additional stories will be unveiled on Wednesday of game weeks when the opportunity arises.
As the 2006 football season approaches, take some time to sit back and reflect on the teams, players and moments that all lead up to this, the 100th season of Florida Gator football.
Gator Football History 1952
By: Norm Carlson
The Class of '52, as it pertains to Florida football history, is best known as the group which produced the first bowl team in school annals.
Perhaps of more significance than their on-field records are the accomplishments of these men as citizens and leaders.
We all know of Doug Dickey, quarterback of the '52 team, who went on to become an outstanding college football coach and sales manager of Florida Tile Company.
However, it is probably not common knowledge that even the managers on that team went on to exceptional status. Maurice Edmonds became a Brigadier General in the army, stationed at Fort Monroe, Va., and Hill Brannon became a highly-successful manufacturing agent for an auto parts concern.
Several went into coaching at the prep level where they could be involved in guiding young men. Jack O'Brien went to Titusville, David Hurse went to Bradford County High in Starke, Fred Robinson went to Seminole High in Largo and Bubba Ware became a prep coach in Miami.
In addition to Edmonds, many of these Gators became involved with the military. Ross Winnie is a retired Army Colonel, Jimmy Hatch a retired Marine Colonel and Mickey McClelland became director of public works for Volusia County after retiring from the Army as a Colonel.
The citrus industry was the route traveled by Arlen Jumper and Curt Haygood, who lives in Plymouth, Fla. Jumper, best remembered for getting in a fight with Georgia star end Harry Babcock which resulted in ejection from the game for both of them, was a long-time member of the Florida Citrus Commission.
Tommy Haddock became a Ford dealer, Hubert Brooks a Dodge dealer and ace running back Buford Long became a tractor dealer, banker and general all-around business tycoon in Wauchula.
Dan Hunter is the former mayor of Winter Park and is currently an attorney there, while J. (Poppa) Hall, the great track and football athlete, is a circuit judge in Tallahassee.
John Hammock smiles often in November handing out speeding tickets to Bulldogs eagerly racing to Jacksonville. He's Lt. Hammock of the Georgia Highway Patrol in Brunswick.
Billy Morris is an executive with a geological firm in Midland, Texas. Bobby Lance went to a public relations firm in Nashville, Tenn., and Jim Schwartzburg migrated from his native Miami to Lawrence, Kan., where he owned a plastics company.
Larry Scott became a banker in Pennsylvania, Jack Nichols a retired motel and restaurant owner in Niceville and Tommy Ives owns a clothing store in Lake City.
Mike Karaphillis went on to education administration in Tampa Bay and Jack Taylor, who was one of the top prep football coaches in the state at Fletcher High in Jacksonville Beach, moved up to assistant principal at that school.
Sonny May went to Badcock Furniture in Lakeland and Arch Cassidy became an executive insurance agent with Equitable Life in Jacksonville.
Then, there is All-America tackle Charles LaPradd, who was a football coach, president of a junior college and a distributor of Miller beer in the Gainesville area.
That is a look at many of the members of the Class of '52, an outstanding group on the field and off.
Coach Woodruff's coaching staff included Hobe Hooser, John Mauer, John Eibner, Dale Hall, Hank Foldberg and John Rauch on the varsity level and Dick Jones, Dave Fuller and Bubba McGowan with the freshman team.
It was a talented group of coaches. Hall went on to become head coach at Army, Foldberg at Texas A&M and Rauch at the Oakland Raiders.
The 1952 team produced All-SEC players in LaPradd, guard Joe D'Agostino and fullback Rick Casares (Chicago Bears), Dewayne Douglas (New York Giants), Mal Hammack (St. Louis Cardinals), Buford Long (New York Giants) and Jack O'Brien (Pittsburg Steelers).
The Gators went 8-3 in 1952, routed Georgia, 30-0, beat Miami, 43-6 and handed Coach Bear Bryant's Kentucky team a 27-0 defeat. They beat Tulsa in the Gator Bowl, 14-13, with J. (Poppa) Hall being named the game's most outstanding player.
