Rick Casares the Gator, ca. 1951-53

Earlier this year, the Tampa Bay History Center received a large gift of original drawings, prints, and materials from the family of the late Tampa Tribune artist Lamar Sparkman. Among the countless wonderful artifacts in the collection are a few hundred photographs that Sparkman took of his subjects prior to drawing them for the newspaper.

Some gems recently uncovered include a series of photographs taken of local football star Rick Casares. The Jefferson High School standout led the Dragons to two city titles (1947, 1949) playing fullback while earning All-American, All-State and All-Southern honors as a senior. He went on to star as a two-sport athlete at the University of Florida in football and basketball from 1951-1953. The Chicago Bears drafted Casares in 1955, and he eventually became the team’s all-time leading rusher before being eclipsed by Walter Payton.

In this photograph, Casares is joined at Florida Field by University of Florida head football coach Bob Woodruff, who coached the Gators from 1950-1959. The highlight of both of their careers at Florida came in the Gator Bowl on January 1, 1953. Casares scored the first touchdown of the game on a two-yard run and kicked two extra points as the Gators defeated Tulsa 14-13 for their first-ever bowl game victory.

Gator/Spartan Twin-Bill at Stadium, 11/14/70

In 1969, Tampa Stadium hosted a doubleheader featuring the University of Florida against Tulane, followed by the University of Tampa against Tulsa. A total of 55,553 fans turned out for the "Super Saturday" games, and the event proved to be so successful that organizers tried the concept again on November 14, 1970.

This time, the 6-3 Florida Gators would square off against the 2-7 Kentucky Wildcats. The Wildcats were technically the home team since the game was moved from Lexington, thanks in large part to the efforts of local attorney Tom MacDonald of the West Coast Bowl Association. This would be the first Southeastern Conference game played in Tampa since the two teams faced each other at Phillips Field in 1949, a contest won 35-0 by the Paul "Bear" Bryant coached Wildcats.

As in 1969, the game would be a homecoming for Florida's starting quarterback John Reaves. Against the Green Wave the previous year, the Robinson High graduate led the Gators to a late come-from-behind 18-17 victory.

In the nightcap, the 8-0 University of Tampa Spartans would play host to the 5-4 Bengals of Idaho State. The Spartans -- ranked No. 1 in the nation among small colleges -- entered the game in pursuit of a school-record ninth consecutive victory. Running back Leon McQuay had something special to play for as well, coming into the game with 72 total points on the season.

After scoring five touchdowns the previous week against Southwestern Louisiana, McQuay needed only two touchdowns to break the record for points scored by a Spartan in a single season held by Charlie Harris (84 points in 1952).

The Gators and Wildcats opened the day of football at Tampa Stadium with an early afternoon kickoff. In front of 44,312 fans, the Gators and Wildcats both got off to slow starts.
Jim Getzen put the Gators on the board in the first quarter with a 29-yard field goal to give Florida an early 3-0 lead. Kentucky answered back with three of their own, courtesy of a 33-yarder by Bob Jones to even the score at 3-3 in the second quarter.

Gator partisans must have felt nervous later in the second when Kentucky running back Houston Hogg scored from eight yards out to put the Wildcats up by a touchdown.
With 17 seconds left in the half, Reaves put his Gators back in the game by connecting with Willie Jackson on a 70-yard touchdown strike. The Gators and Wildcats went into the locker room tied 10-10.

In the third quarter, the Gators kept Kentucky out of the end zone with a huge goal line stand, forcing the Wildcats to settle for a field goal. Kentucky took a 13-10 lead, but it would be short-lived.

Reaves tossed his second touchdown of the day -- this time to Jim Yancey from 10 yards out -- to give Florida their first lead of the game, 17-13.

With the game's outcome still in doubt, Reaves led Florida on an 80-yard, fourth quarter drive to put the game out of reach. Reaves' second touchdown pass of the game to Yancey, a 14-yarder, capped the drive and gave Florida a 24-13 lead which would end up as the final score.

Reaves' three touchdown passes allowed him to tie former Gator Steve Spurrier for the school record of 36 career touchdown passes. Like Reaves, Leon McQuay of Tampa would also have a record-setting day.

In the evening contest, the Spartans had a far easier time putting away their opponent than Florida did with Kentucky. In front of very respectable crowd of 20,238, the Spartans put on a clinic for the team from Idaho.

As a team, the Spartans rushed for 465 yards and scored 10 touchdowns en route to a 68-7 shellacking of the Bengals.

"We just did everything right," said Spartan head coach Fran Curci.

McQuay carried the ball only 16 times, but he ran for 213 yards and scored three touchdowns, enough to propel him into sole possession of first place for most points scored in a season by a Spartan.

The enjoyment of the day for the event organizers and fans of the Gators and Spartans became subdued later in the evening, however, as the news came out that a plane carrying the Marshall University football team had crashed in West Virginia, killing all 75 people on board. Dave and Rick Bankston, who played linebacker for the Spartans, had an older brother on Marshall’s freshman football coaching staff. They were relieved to find out that their brother -- who sometimes traveled with the varsity team -- had not been on the trip.

Gators Tackle Golden Bears, 9/13/80

For “Gator Nation,” the last two decades have been like something out of a dream. The homecoming of Steve Spurrier in 1990, eight Southeastern Conference Titles, three National Championships, and iconic players such as Heisman Trophy winners Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow.

None of the current players who will suit up this weekend against the University of South Florida Bulls, however, are old enough to remember a time when the Gators spent a season as the dregs of college football. In 1979, the Gators finished with a dreadful 0-10-1 record under first-year head coach Charley Pell. That season is still the university’s standard for futility, rivaled only by a 0-9 mark in 1946.

The opening of the 1980 season offered new hope, however, and a showdown at Tampa Stadium against the University of California Golden Bears on September 13 presented the first opportunity for the Gators to wash the taste of the 1979 season from their mouths.

Sophomore Bob Hewko – in his first-ever start – got the nod at starting quarterback from Pell over incumbent Larry Ochab.

“Ochab will be our backup and we’ll use him as the situation warrants,” Pell said. “We’re starting Hewko and we’re prepared to go with him the entire game. We have all the confidence in the world in Bob.”

On the other side of the ball, the Gators had to contend with Cal’s senior quarterback Rich Campbell, one of the most prolific passers in all of college football. Pell admitted that it would be almost impossible to stop Campbell, but that the Gators simply hoped to keep the ball away from Cal’s offense.

“If we can do that,” he said, “not give up the big play and have a sound kicking game, we’ll do alright.”

In front of 41, 388 at Tampa Stadium, the Gators did more than just alright: they managed to steal the show from Campbell and the Golden Bears.

Living up to the hype that accompanied his appearance in Tampa, Campbell set a then-NCAA single-game pass completion record by connecting on 43 of 53 attempts for 421 yards. Still for all Campbell’s passing heroics, the Gators were the better team on this day.

Florida jumped out to a fast start in the first quarter. On Florida’s first possession of the game, tailback Doug Kellon capped a seven-play, 52-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give his team the early lead. The defense forced California to punt and recovered a fumble, setting up two Brian Clark field goals, and at the end of the first quarter, the Gators held a 13-0 lead.
Just as Florida dominated the first quarter, Cal took the game over in the second on the strength of Campbell’s arm. On one of his record-tying 19 second quarter pass completions, Campbell connected on a 24-yard touchdown strike to Dave Lewis, and Mike Luckhurst added field goals of 42 and 30 yards to even up the score 13-13 at the half.

Despite having squandered the early advantage, Pell commented after the game that the Gators were in a pretty favorable position.

“I had told them we might even be behind at the half,” Pell said, “but when it was tied, heck, that we like being ahead.”

The Gators came out in the second half playing like a team determined to win, while the Golden Bears played like a team determined to give the game away.

Florida capitalized on three Cal turnovers in the quarter – converting all three into touchdowns – and turned the game into a rout. Hewko connected with tight end Chris Faulkner for a nine-yard touchdown pass with 5:49 left in the third to give the Gators a 20-13 lead. In the next five minutes, the Gators added two more touchdowns, a 3-yard run by James Jones and a 20-yard pass from Hewko to Curt Garrett to widen their lead to 34-13.

Fullback Terry Williams added the game’s final insult to Cal on a 2-yard touchdown run just two minutes into the fourth quarter for the deciding 41-13 margin.

After 13-consecutive losses, the Gators not only snapped the streak but did so in decisive fashion. Although Campbell moved down the field with easy, the Florida defense forced four fumbles, intercepted one pass, and generated 17 points off Cal mistakes.

As for the offense, the Gators managed to generate more points in one afternoon (41) than they did through the first six weeks of the 1979 season (40). While Hewko did not dazzle when compared to Campbell, he turned in an efficient start, completing 10 of 16 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

Pell called the game the “greatest single victory” he’d ever been associated with.

There were many more victories to come for Pell in his time at the University of Florida, particularly in 1980. The Gators would win six of their first seven games en route to an 8-4 finish, capped by a Tangerine Bowl victory in Orlando over the University of Maryland. This marked the first time in college football history that a team followed a winless season with a bowl appearance the next season.

Super Saturday in Tampa, 10/11/69

Ever since the University of South Florida began playing football in 1997, local fans have become accustomed to having the Bulls and Tampa Bay Buccaneers play home games on the same weekend. See the Bulls on Saturday, go see the Bucs on Sunday and have a nice football doubleheader.

On a warm fall Saturday 40 years ago, football fans experienced something even better than two games in two days. That's because on October 11, 1969, Tampa Stadium played host to two college football games on the same day, a mega-event that became known as Super Saturday. Prior to the playing of Super Bowl XVIII in 1984, this arguably ranked as the biggest sporting event in Tampa history.

The West Coast Bowl Association, sponsors for the first half of the twin-bill featuring the University of Florida and the Tulane Green Wave, anticipated a sellout crowd approaching 52,000.

Meanwhile, University of Tampa Athletic Director Sam Bailey anticipated a crowd of 23,000 for the nightcap between his Spartans and the University of Tulsa Hurricanes, which would approach the school’s single-game attendance record of 23,865.

Just how did this event come together? For starters, the West Coast Bowl Association purchased the game from Tulane, which had been scheduled to host the Gators in New Orleans. Tulane earned a payday of $105,000, or $610,000 in today’s dollars, while Tampa Stadium reaped the financial rewards that accompanied a local appearance by the Gators.
Some boosters of the University of Tampa, however, saw the Gator game as an intrusion that would overshadow their game. UT simply could not match Florida in terms of prestige, fan support, or sponsorship dollars. Still, hosting both games would be a winning proposition as a whole for the city of Tampa.

There was plenty of off-field entertainment and festivities to go along with the football games as well. Prior to the 2 p.m. Florida-Tulane game, the Florida Alumni Club of Greater Tampa hosted a lunch pep rally at Al Lopez Field. The Columbia Restaurant catered the event, called the “Futbol Fiesta-Dos,” which featured performances by the Gator band and cheerleaders, the Plant High School German band and an appearance by Florida head coach Ray Graves.
Between games, fans could return to Al Lopez Field for the “Super Supper,” an event featuring the Miss Tampa Quarterback beauty contest and a concert by recording artist and Florida orange juice pitchwoman Anita Bryant. For her part, Bryant predicted a Florida win but the Oklahoma-native stopped short of saying Tampa would defeat Tulsa.

“I’m sorry Tampa, but old school ties are there,” she said.

Despite Bryant’s protestations, the Spartans were motivated in this game to avenge a 77-0 thrashing at the hands of the Tulsa Hurricanes two seasons earlier. The Gators, who came into their contest against the winless Green Wave undefeated and ranked 12th in the nation, simply hoped to avoid an upset.

“Tulane always gives us fits,” Graves warned prior to the game.

The “host” Green Wave indeed gave more than fits to Florida - they nearly stole the show.
It took a touchdown in the game’s final minutes by Florida to avoid a huge upset. With 2:10 left, tailback Tommy Durrance scored from 1 yard out to pull Florida within a point of Tulane, 17-16.

Urged on by the partisan crowd of 49,102, Graves signaled that the Gators would go for the win rather than settle for a tie. Robinson High product and Gator quarterback John Reaves tossed a pass to Carlos Alvarez in the end zone for a successful two-point conversion, giving Florida an 18-17 lead. An interception on the ensuing drive preserved the heart-stopping victory for the Gators.

The Spartans had no such difficulties in handling the Hurricanes. Before a below-projected but still healthy crowd of 20,179, the Spartans thoroughly outplayed Tulsa on both sides of the ball. Running backs Bruce Brown and Leon McQuay paced Tampa on the ground, combining for three touchdowns en route to a 31-14 victory.

In all, nobody could ask for a better day. The Gators and Spartans each won, the “Futbol Fiesta” and “Super Supper” were both huge hits, and a total of 63,281 fans turned out at Tampa Stadium on the day. In its own way, the day billed as “Super Saturday” helped set the stage for the many Super Sundays awaiting Tampa’s future.

Gators Top the Terps, 9/21/74

While detractors of the University of Florida like to claim the Gators never play non-conference teams on the road, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, 35 years ago the Gators packed their bags to play a road game against the University of Maryland ... in Tampa.

Yes, on Sept. 21, 1974, the Terrapins and Gators squared off at Tampa Stadium in a contest that served as a University of Maryland home game. How did this happen?

After the 1965 season, the two schools signed an agreement to play home-and-home contests. The West Coast Sports Association, the sponsors responsible for bringing Gator games to Tampa, later contacted Maryland about moving the game to Tampa Stadium.

When the agreement between the schools was originally signed, the Gators had just made a Sugar Bowl appearance and the Terrapins were coming off a losing season and head coaching change.

The first game in the series (although the 12th overall) came in 1971, when the Gators barely escaped with a 27-23 win at The Swamp in Gainesville.

Coming into the 1974 meeting, however, the Gators were facing a Maryland team tied with them for the No. 14 ranking in the United Press International poll. The Terrapins finished 1973 with an 8-4 record -- the school's first winning record since 1962 -- and a berth in the Peach Bowl.

Maryland, 0-1 after a close opening loss to top-ranked Alabama, was clearly a favorite to challenge for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Installed as a six-point favorite against Florida, the Terps figured to give the 1-0 Gators a run for their money.

"I'd have to say when we signed Maryland," said Florida athletic director Ray Graves," the idea was for a breather. Now look what I've gotten (Florida head coach) Doug Dickey into."

The late-arriving crowd of 41,410 knew from the get-go that the game would be no breather for the Gators. On the third play of the game, Florida quarterback Don Gaffney fumbled and Maryland's Harry Walters recover the ball at the Gator 27.

The defense stiffened, however, and limited the Terps to a 31-yard field goal attempt. The kick by Steve Mike-Mayer was good and the Gators quickly trailed 3-0.

The game then settled into a defensive struggle for most of the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, freshman running back Tony Green energized the Gators with two big carries. Running from his own 35-yard line, Green sprinted 35 yards into Maryland territory at the 30-yard line. Just two plays later, Green again broke loose on a marvelous run, breaking two tackles en route to a 26-yard touchdown run. A successful extra point gave Florida a 7-3 lead.

Maryland answered right back with a touchdown of its own. A halfback pass by future Tampa Bay Buccaneer Louis Carter to Walter White set up the Terps at the Florida 7-yard line. John Schultz punched it in two plays later to give his team a 10-7 lead heading into the half.

The third quarter belonged to Florida. The Gators were able to march down the field on their opening drive of the half. Walk-on kicker David Posney attempted a 49-yard field goal -- the longest of his career -- into a strong wind and just barely cleared the uprights to tie the game at 10-10.

Although he missed a 41-yard try later in the quarter, the Gators were imposing their will defensively and a Wayne Fields interception set up Florida in Maryland territory at the 28.

Quarterback Jimmy Fisher of Tampa led the Gators on what would be the deciding scoring drive of the game. On 3rd-and-12 from the Maryland 17, Fisher connected with Plant High product Lee McGriff at the 2-yard line. McGriff then shed two tacklers and found his way into the end zone for the score. Following the successful extra point, Florida took a 17-10 lead into the final quarter.

The teams both played a tight fourth quarter, and Maryland had one quality chance to tie the game late. Facing 3rd-and-2 at the Florida 17, Richard Jennings gained the first down but fumbled after a jarring hit by Tyson Sever. Glenn Cameron recovered for the Gators at the 12 to all but seal the game for Florida with three minutes left in the game.

The win sent the Gators to a 2-0 mark, while the Terps fell to 0-2 on the young season. Maryland would recover, however, and go on to win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. The Gators, meanwhile, slumped later in the season en route to an 8-4 mark and a Sugar Bowl berth.

The Terrapins would ultimately avenge the defeat in Tampa one season later, as the two teams met in the 1975 Gator Bowl, a game Maryland would win 13-0.

Kosar, Hurricanes Triumph in Tampa, 9/1/84

The Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes once enjoyed a rich tradition of gridiron competition against each other. Until 1988, the schools met every year beginning in 1938, with the lone exception of 1943, when Florida did not field a team. While the Gators had a history of playing games in Tampa dating back to 1912, their meeting on Sept. 1, 1984, would be the only time these two teams would square off here.

The week leading up to the game found the Gators embroiled in controversy. On Aug. 26, coach Charley Pell announced he would resign at the end of the season. Pell's decision came as the result of an NCAA investigation into Florida's program concerning various significant rules violations.

On the field, the Gators had to cope with the loss of starting quarterback Dale Dorminey, out for the season with a knee injury. The team would turn to a redshirt freshman, Kerwin Bell, to lead the team against a stifling Miami defense.

The Hurricanes, under first-year coach Jimmy Johnson, simply wished to keep up their momentum following an opening week victory over the top-ranked Auburn Tigers. Besides, it wasn't as if they would need any extra motivation against their long-time rival.

"It's a deep hate that goes way, way back,” said Miami defensive end Kevin Fagan. “Us not be up for the Gators? You gotta be kidding."

In front of a sold-out Tampa Stadium crowd of 72,813 - the stadium's second-largest gathering at the time - the Gators and Hurricanes put on a terrific show.

The teams exchanged first-quarter field goals before the action heated up in the second quarter.

Lake Wales native Lorenzo Hampton registered the first big play of the game, a dazzling 64-yard touchdown run. The raucous pro-Florida crowd reveled in their team's 10-3 lead, but the Hurricanes answered with scores on their next three possessions.

Following a Greg Cox field goal, Miami converted a recovered fumble in Gator territory into a touchdown. Running back Darryl Oliver's 21-yard touchdown gave the Hurricanes the lead, 13-10.

Cox added his third field goal of the night after a Miami drive stalled at the Florida 10-yard line, and the Hurricanes took a 16-10 lead into halftime.

Both teams continued playing strong defense in the third quarter, as a pair of field goals were all either offense could muster. Holding onto a tenuous 19-13 lead in the fourth quarter, Miami would soon need to rely on its greatest weapon, quarterback Bernie Kosar.

The second-year signal caller who led his team to a national championship as a freshman showed no signs of going through the so-called "sophomore slump." Facing a thin Florida secondary, Kosar was 25-33 for 309 yards. He would save his best moments, however, for last.

Driving late in the fourth quarter, the Gators seemed to have evened up the game when Kerwin Bell found Frankie Neal in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass. The extra point gave Florida a 20-19 lead with 41 seconds left, still more than enough time for Kosar to work his magic.

After the kickoff, the Hurricanes started at their own 28. On the first play of the drive, Kosar found tight end Willie Smith for a 36-yard gain to the Florida 36. One play later, Kosar completed a 16-yard strike to Eddie Brown that put the ball on the Florida 20, well within Greg Cox's field goal range.

The Hurricanes gained eight yards on their next two plays, the last a handoff designed to center the ball in the middle of the field for the wining kick. With his team facing a third down and time rapidly expiring, Kosar called a timeout. Kosar, in consultation with coach Jimmy Johnson, pleaded for one more offensive play.

"Bernie said he felt we could score a touchdown," Johnson said after the game. "It was a unanimous decision on the part of our coaches."

With just seven seconds left, Kosar fired a perfect strike to Eddie Brown in the end zone to cap a five-play, 76-yard drive that encompassed all of 29 seconds to give Miami a 26-20 lead.
Miami would add to the margin on the final play of the game, as Tolbert Bain intercepted Bell's desperation pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown, giving the Hurricanes a 32-20 win over the Gators.

"Words can't describe the feeling," Kosar said after the comeback victory. "We never lost our confidence."

Neither did the Gators. Despite blowing the late lead, Florida in 1984 turned out to be a team good enough to push Miami to the brink. Following a tie with LSU and a victory over Tulane, Florida fired Charley Pell and replaced him with offensive coordinator Galen Hall.

The Gators didn't miss a beat, as Hall led Florida to eight consecutive wins and a 9-1-1 finish. Still, because of NCAA rules violations, the Gators forfeited their SEC championship and were deemed ineligible for postseason competition.

The Hurricanes would not enjoy 1984 nearly as much as Florida. The 'Canes would drop four regular-season games, including two of the most infamous losses in school history: a 42-40 defeat to Maryland in which they blew a 31-point lead, and of course, the Hail Mary loss to Doug Flutie and Boston College.