Gatorade — And Gators' Connection — Turns 60
Tuesday, September 30, 2025 | Football, Scott Carter
The first time former Gators football player Chip Hinton laid eyes on Dr. Robert Cade 60 years ago, he was not impressed.
"He didn't have a great bit of credibility. He was of small stature. He didn't look athletic at all,'' Hinton told Voice of the Gators Sean Kelley recently. "We wondered by looking at him, as we were standing in a semi-circle around him and towering over him, whether he was someone who would know enough about football to give us a hand."
Cade gave the Gators more than a hand. He gave them a drink that changed everything. They call it Gatorade, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. UF is honoring one of its most famous connections this week, leading up to Saturday's game against Texas at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
On a sweltering day in preseason camp in 1965, when Hinton first met Cade, Cade stopped by to visit the UF freshman football team to share an idea he had to help the Gators recover and avoid a drastic reduction in performance due to sweat loss.
"We had a situation where people were passing out and some of them had to be carried to Shands [Hospital] for treatment," Hinton said.
It took time for the Gators to buy in and for Cade to perfect the formula, but by the end of that season, Hinton was a believer. In a scrimmage between Hinton's freshman team and the B Team late in the season, he said the drink (before it was known as Gatorade) made a massive difference in the game.
Soon, Gatorade's impact and notoriety began to grow, bolstered by Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier's 1966 season when the Gators became a national story and their use of this new sports drink started to ripple across the country.
And as they say, 60 years later, the rest is history.
Here's a look at some historic milestones for Dr. Robert Cade's innovative thirst-quencher on its 60th anniversary:
GATORADE TURNS 60 — A TIMELINE
1965: Dr. Robert Cade and a group of UF scientists develop Gatorade, operating in conjunction with the UF football team.
1967: Stokely-Van Camp acquires the rights to produce and sell Gatorade throughout the United States. Gatorade's debut commercial is released.
1969: Orange, Gatorade's second flavor, makes its debut.
1970: The Kansas City Chiefs, led by Coach Hank Stram and with Gatorade on their sidelines, upset the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.
1973: The long-standing Gatorade logo, with the stylized bolt, is introduced.
1982: Gatorade expands to international markets.
1983: Quaker Oats Company purchases Stokely-Van Camp and Gatorade. One of its first moves is to introduce a third flavor: fruit punch.
1984: New York Giants coach Bill Parcells is the recipient of the first Gatorade dunk in a 37-13 beating of the Washington Redskins (below). The Gatorade Exercise Physiology Lab (what would become the Gatorade Sports Science Institute) is founded.
1991: Michael Jordan, en route to the first of his six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, becomes the first Gatorade spokesman.
1995: The sports bottle launches, alongside the first of many new flavors.
1999: Soccer superstar Mia Hamm becomes the brand's first spokeswoman.
2001: PepsiCo acquires Quaker Oats and Gatorade.
2004: The Gatorade Endurance Formula launches.
2007: The low-calorie G2 line debuts.
2010: The G Series launches.
2014: Gatorade introduces the Recover Whey Protein Bar.
2015: Gatorade celebrates 50 years of fueling athletic performance.
2018: The 25,000-square-foot Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention, named after Dr. Cade, opens in Gainesville.
2021: Gatorade released its first wearable product, Gx Sweat Patch, a smart patch that measures a user's sweat and hydration levels during exercise.
2021: UConn women's basketball star Paige Buecker became the first college athlete to receive a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with Gatorade.
2024: Gatorade revived its "Is It In You?" marketing campaign with a commercial featuring prominent athletes and rapper Kendrick Lamar.
2025: Gatorade celebrates 60 years as the leader in fueling athletic performance across the globe.
