Fletcher, Kramer and Slater King, great grandsons of George Edmondson, get a laugh out of Albert on Sunday in Tampa. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
A Final Cheer for Mr. Two Bits
Monday, August 5, 2019 | Football, Scott Carter
Share:
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
TAMPA – On a hot summer afternoon with the kickoff to another Gators football season on the horizon, they spent time celebrating seasons gone by and how George E. Edmondson Jr. treasured this time of year.
Gators fans treasured Edmondson.
"George and Mr. Two Bits, that's our tradition,'' former UF Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said. "He loved the Gators. It's incredible what he meant to the fans, what he meant to the games."
A month since news broke of Edmondson's death 15 days shy of his 97th birthday, Foley was among those who gathered here Sunday afternoon at Palma Ceia Golf and Country to pay their respects to Mr. Two Bits. Foley, former Gators head coach Steve Spurrier, former UF quarterback Tommy Shannon and baseball player Matt LaPorta were among those who visited with Edmondson's widow, Jane, and his immediate family and friends.
Jane Edmondson at Sunday's service.
They shared old stories and told new ones. Is anyone surprised Edmondson requested to be buried in his familiar yellow dress shirt, orange-and-blue striped tie and Oxford saddle shoes?
"He was a great man,'' said Robert Edmondson, one of George's grandsons. "This is really a fitting tribute to him."
They looked through scrapbooks full of articles on Edmondson, who arrived on the scene by happenstance in 1949 when he began cheering for the Gators as others booed during a game against The Citadel, the school Edmondson coincidentally attended until leaving to join the Navy during World War II. A tradition was born that lasted 60 years until Edmondson officially retired at the end of the 2008 season. The University Athletic Association began inviting other Gators to perform the role in 2013.
The Gators announced Monday they are commemorating Edmondson's life and contributions to the program with a mural inside Gate 1 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Jane Edmondson went to Florida State and was married to George for 44 years. They met through mutual friends and by playing bridge together. Jane soon realized how life was going to change being married to Edmondson, who was born in Atlanta on July 17, 1922, and moved to Tampa the following year with his family.
"It didn't take me long to become a Gator fan,'' she said Sunday. "It's just been so much fun. It would take us about an hour to get from our seat [after games] to our car. I think everybody in Gainesville must have a picture or autograph."
George Edmondson will be commemorated inside Gate 1 at #TheSwamp.
Two of Edmondson's grandsons – Kevin King of Marietta, Ga., and Robert Edmondson of Tampa – spoke at Sunday's celebration of life ceremony. Edmondson died July 2.
His grandsons recalled what a day with Edmondson was like on game day at Florida Field.
"We were getting up early in the morning and going to the game,'' King said. "He never turned anybody down for a picture or an autograph. That said, he ran pretty fast. He knew he couldn't stop and talk to every person. It was pretty crazy. It really was like being with a movie star when you were walking around with him."
While King went to Valdosta State to play tennis, Robert Edmondson attended UF as an undergraduate from 2006-10 and got to go down to the field with his grandfather as he performed his iconic cheer before a game at midfield.
Robert remains amazed at his grandfather's commitment and endurance, performing the role well into his 80s. Edmondson stayed in shape by becoming an avid golfer and staying active in the community. A Hellcat pilot in the Navy, Edmondson survived a crash landing in the Atlantic in 1944 and impressed his family and friends by his upbeat nature.
"Most people don't do anything for 60 years and he was doing this,'' Robert said. "It was really breathtaking to have 90,000 people staring down at you. I was huffing and puffing trying to keep up and he was fine."
Both his grandsons wore yellow dress shirts and orange-and-blue striped ties Sunday in honor of Edmondson. While Florida fans know Edmondson primarily as Mr. Two Bits, they knew another side that included fishing trips and football games, beach vacations and Christmas celebrations.
"Just a great, fun-loving guy is how I remember him,'' King said.
Spurrier shared how during his stint as Florida's coach, if the Gators were winning comfortably in the fourth quarter, he would try to scan the crowd in the fourth quarter and check out Edmondson performing his famous cheer in the stands.
A display honoring George Edmondson during Sunday's celebration of life service in Tampa. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Two bits! Four bits! Six bits! A dollar! All for the Gators, stand up and holler!
"So many fond memories of Mr. Two Bits,'' Spurrier said. "Nobody will ever do what he did. He is one of a kind. If they have a Hall of Fame in heaven for fans, he'd be the first guy in."
As Spurrier and others spoke, Jane Edmondson sat listening, a smile spread across her face. Florida mascots Albert and Alberta stood nearby, dressed in yellow tops in honor of the Gators' most famous fan.
Mr. Two Bits is gone, but his spirit is thriving with another season upon us.
"George has always told me that when he passed away, he didn't want anything sad,'' Jane said. "He wanted a party, so that's what he got."
