Former Gators running back and assistant coach Don Deal burst onto the scene in the 1958 season opener against Tulane. (Photo: Courtesy of Miami Herald via Newspapers.com)
Carter's Corner: Remembering Don Deal, A Long Ago Gators Speedster
Wednesday, November 4, 2020 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – He left this world during football season. Sounds about right once you learn more about Don Deal, a former Gators running back whose place in school lore was cemented in a win over Georgia Tech in 1960.
In an obituary that appeared earlier this week in the Northwest Florida Daily News, Deal's relationship with the game is referenced: Don loved football throughout his life, as a player, coach, and avid fan.
Sixty years after his final game at Florida, Deal is still remembered. Don Deal
In the third game of the 1960 season, the dominant storyline looming over the Florida-Georgia Tech matchup at Florida Field was the coaching battle between first-year Gators head coach Ray Graves and his mentor, Yellow Jackets legend Bobby Dodd. Graves was an assistant under Dodd for 13 years prior to his arrival at UF.
An additional subplot was that Bobby Dodd Jr., son of the Georgia Tech coach, was Florida's passing quarterback. Whenever a play called for starter Larry Libertore and his fun-first approach to stand on the sideline, Graves inserted Dodd Jr. Hence, with the Gators trailing 17-10 late in the fourth quarter and facing a third-and-16, Dodd Jr. dropped back to pass to keep Florida's hopes alive. He hit Deal for a 32-yard gain that gave the Gators a first down at Georgia Tech's 25.
A few plays later, with only 32 seconds left on the clock, Lindy Infante scored on a 3-yard run to trim Georgia Tech's lead to 17-16. What would Graves do? He went for two. On the two-point conversion, Libertore hinted at a run before rolling out and tossing a short pass to fullback Jon MacBeth in the end zone.
Final: Florida 18, Georgia Tech 17.
"When Graves was my assistant at Tech, he used to say a tie wouldn't hurt anyone,'' Dodd told the Miami Herald afterward. "I thought Ray would try for the two-point conversion and sent in word to watch for the attempt. We were ready for it, but we couldn't stop the pass conversion that licked us."
Deal's reception was the key play on Florida's game-winning 85-yard drive, but it wasn't his only contribution in front of 39,000 fans the afternoon of Oct. 1, 1960. He recovered a fumbled punt in the first half and scored on a 2-yard run, putting the Gators on the board in a victory that established Florida as an up-and-coming program under Graves. Some writers called the victory the most important in UF history up to that point.
The scene on Florida Field following Florida's 18-17 last-second win over Georgia Tech in 1960. (Photo: Courtesy of Miami Herald via Newspapers.com).
Deal had introduced himself to Gators fans in less dramatic fashion two years earlier in the 1958 season opener when he scored on a 67-yard end-around against Tulane. Newspaper reports from the day mention his blazing speed and how he ran track briefly for Gators track coach Percy Beard, clocking a 9.7 in the 100-yard dash.
A halfback from Corpus Christi, Texas, Deal earned praised from then-Gators coach Bob Woodruff for his performance.
"That broke the game wide open,'' Woodruff said. "Deal was on the freshman team of two years ago, then he redshirted last fall, took six months in the Marine Corps and now it looks like he's ready."
Deal played regularly over the next three seasons and finished his career in the fall of 1960, accumulating more than 500 yards rushing and almost 200 yards receiving during his career. After college, Deal made coaching stops at schools in Inverness and St. Petersburg prior to returning to Florida as a graduate assistant coach under Graves in 1968. He moved up to a full-time position on the coaching staff under Doug Dickey before leaving for Southern Mississippi after the 1972 season. He later settled in the Florida Panhandle and served as a longtime coach and administrator at schools in Okaloosa County.
Don Lee Deal, born in Alva, Okla., on July 8, 1937, died at his Niceville home Oct. 25 following a brief illness and complications from liver cancer. A Celebration of Life ceremony is planned for the summer of 2021 in Fort Walton Beach.
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