Bill Carr Gets First 2015 'Mr. Two Bits' Call
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 | Football, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Bill Carr was an integral part of University of Florida athletics for 30-plus years, the bulk of which he spent focusing on football.
When he first saw George Edmondson do his “Mr. Two Bits” thing, it was as a UF freshman, alongside classmate (and eventual roommate) Steve Spurrier.
“I certainly remember watching George do his deal, which I guess goes back like 100 years -- or close to it,” Carr said Monday. “Half a hundred, anyhow.”
For accuracy's sake, the “Two Bits” cheer, courtesy of the fellow in the yellow shirt, khaki pants and white oxford shoes, was introduced in 1949. So we're talking going on 70 years.
But as far as Carr is concerned, the “half a hundred” reference is significant. Carr is a decorated member of the “Silver 60s,” a cherished group that encompasses all Florida football players of the 1960s. And he was as good as any.
Carr was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference and first-team All-America center for the Gators during the '60s, a decade during which Ray Graves both coached and served as athletic director while helping guide UF to unchartered heights, including Spurrier's 1966 Heisman Trophy-winning season and victory over Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
Graves died April 10 at the age of 96 and Carr (pictured above) was there in June, along with a lengthy list of former UF stars, to eulogize the coach at his memorial service. In Graves' memory, the 2015 Gators will wear an “RG” decal (below) on the back of their helmets this season. And to usher in the Jim McElwain era and all its anticipation, Carr has been summoned to represent those wonderful Silver 60s and their beloved coach as the honorary “Mr. Two Bits” for Saturday night's opener against New Mexico State at “The Swamp.”
“I'm one of the many Gator fans that feel that sense of expectation and hopefulness and excitement about getting on the field again,” said Carr, now 69 and still active in the work force with his collegiate management/sports administration consulting business. “Every summer, when it's hot and I smell fresh cut grass, it brings back the days when I was wearing a helmet and shoulder pads. Literally, there's an association with those senses -- sight and smell -- this time of year. I'm excited about this season, so when the [Mr. Two Bits] invitation came it was something I wanted to do.”
[Note: While Carr will be one of the oldest to get the pre-game ceremonial call since the new salute to Edmondson's storied tradition was introduced in 2013, the “Two Bits” assignment for the Sept. 12 home game against East Carolina will go to one of two current UF students -- Chris Yates and Michael Cizek -- pending results of this poll. Deadline to vote here is Friday.]
Carr was a fourth-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in the 1967 NFL Draft, but his professional football career was derailed by a different draft of those days. After fulfilling his military service obligations, Carr joined then-UF coach Doug Dickey's staff as a graduate assistant coach, later moved into administration in 1975 and four years after that was named Florida athletics director at the age of 33, becoming the youngest Division I AD in the country.
He replaced Graves, his coach and administrative mentor, and remained in that position until 1986. 
To this day, when the Silver 60s gather for their annual reunion in June, they remember what Graves meant for the Gators; and what he meant to each of them.
In fact, the Silver 60s will be invited onto the field Saturday -- along with the members of Graves' family -- to form an exterior tunnel and cheer on the Gators as they storm Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the first time this season.
“I have a great deal of appreciation for the things I learned from Coach Graves,” Carr said. “He's had a huge impact on the University's athletic program and posterity. His impact on his players and the program is profound.”
And that impact -- in the form of "RG" -- will be there with this newest group of Gators all season.
