Florida Gators
Lady Gamecock Classic (Day 1)
A Gators historian, a glass top, a mad scientist and Gatorade make for a colorful story
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 | Football, Women's Tennis, Scott Carter
If you have followed the Gators for many years, you probably have heard of Norm Carlson. I've mentioned Carlson a few times previously here on Carter's Corner.
Carlson is now UF's official sports historian. If you have a question about Steve Spurrier's Heisman season in 1966, Norm is the guy to ask. If you want to know the buzz around campus when the O'Connell Center opened more than 30 years ago, Norm can fill you in.
Carlson served as Florida's primary sports information director for more than three decades and went to school at UF in the 1950s.
Somehow we started to talk about the history of Gatorade earlier today, which led to Carlson showing me a circular scar on his right hand.
Yep, there's a story there.
In March of 1968 a Sports Illustrated writer came to town to profile UF professor Dr. Robert Cade, the inventor of Gatorade.
The photographer envisioned a mad scientist at work in Cade's laboratory in the basement of Shands Hospital. Somewhere along the way Carlson was asked to remove a large glass top from his office desk and carry it over to Cade's lab at Shands.
Carlson almost made it the whole way without a scratch but as he walked down steps on the final leg toward Cade's lab, the glass top hit a step, broke and cut Carlson's hand open.
More than 40 years later the scar remains visible but not nearly as messy as that memorable day.
“It took a big chuck of skin right off my hand,'' Carlson said. “There was blood everywhere and Cade grabbed the skin, covered it with cotton and wrapped it up. I had to have all kinds of stitches.''
Did you know that before Cade hit it big with Gatorade that he created a drink called Hop-n-Gator? He even gave Carlson some shares in the company. The drink never took off.
“I wish I had saved some of the bottles,'' Carlson said. “They might be worth something now.”
Back to that Sports Illustrated story. It appeared in the July 1, 1968 edition and is worth a read if you want a history lesson. Carlson gives me one nearly every time I stop by his office.
My favorite part of today's is learning that Cade once got arrested for riding a bicycle while intoxicated, reportedly while drinking Hop-n-Gator with some kind of special additive. Who knew the story of Gatorade was so interesting.
