Carlson’s Gator Tales: Hunsinger a Household Name in Florida
Thursday, November 20, 2014 | Football
By Norm Carlson
Assistant Athletics Director/Gator Historian
Charlie Hunsinger, the great All-SEC Gator halfback in the 1940s, is one of the few college football players to have a song written about him that became a household tune in the State of Florida. It was called “Hunsinger the Humdinger.”
Zipp Newman, sports editor of the Birmingham News, wrote it after watching him run wild against both Auburn and Alabama for a couple of seasons. The chorus was “No player is torrid-er than this lad from Florida… Hunsinger the Hum-dinger you ought to see him go.”
Hunsinger played on mediocre Florida teams for the most part and was a marked man by opposing defenses, and still ran up some imposing statistics. He was the leading rusher in school history with 2,017 yards from 1949 until Larry Smith ran up 2,186 yards from 1966-68.
His best statistical afternoon came against Furman in 1949 with 199 yards rushing, the best figure in school history until the likes of folks like Tony Green, Neal Anderson and Emmitt Smith came along. That's lofty company there.
Several of Hunsinger's best outings came against the giants on the Florida schedule. His favorite whipping boy was Georgia. He averaged over eight yards a carry in his career against the Dawgs and capped it with a sensational effort in his final outing against them in 1949, a 28-7 Gator triumph. He carried 18 times for 174 yards (9.7 per carry), scored three touchdowns and personally outgained the entire Bulldog offense.
In the first quarter, he ran 21 yards for a touchdown, then another 21 yards for a score with seconds remaining in the first half. Early in the third quarter, Florida put the game away on a long drive spearheaded by runs of 41 and 17 yards and his TD plunge from the two-yard line. He rambled for 83 yards on the possession.
Florida outrushed Georgia, 274-64, that day, dominating the two-touchdown favorite and breaking a seven-game losing streak against them.
Veteran Atlanta Journal columnist Ed Danforth called him “the best running back in the SEC.”
Hunsinger played on a Gator team in 1949 that only won four games. He was a first-round draft choice by the Chicago Bears after that season. That tells the story of his ability.
Bob Woodruff took over as the UF football coach in 1950, the year after Hungsinger's career was over, and the Gators finished 5-5. Woodruff was later quoted saying if Hunsinger had been around one more season in his run-oriented offense Florida would have won at least three more games.
“Hunsinger the Humdinger” was one of the finest Gators of all-time.
