1928 Florida Gators football team

1928 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record8–1 (6–1 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive schemeNotre Dame Box
CaptainGoof Bowyer
Home stadiumFleming Field
Uniform
Seasons
← 1927
1929 →
1928 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Georgia Tech $ 7 0 0 10 0 0
Tennessee 6 0 1 9 0 1
Florida 6 1 0 8 1 0
VPI 4 1 0 7 2 0
Alabama 6 2 0 6 3 0
LSU 3 1 1 6 2 1
Clemson 4 2 0 8 3 0
Vanderbilt 4 2 0 8 2 0
Tulane 3 3 1 6 3 1
Ole Miss 3 3 0 5 4 0
North Carolina 2 2 2 5 3 2
Kentucky 2 2 1 4 3 1
South Carolina 2 2 1 6 2 2
Maryland 2 3 1 6 3 1
VMI 2 3 1 5 3 2
Georgia 2 4 0 4 5 0
NC State 1 3 1 4 5 1
Mississippi A&M 1 4 0 2 4 2
Virginia 1 6 0 2 6 1
Washington and Lee 1 6 0 2 8 0
Sewanee 0 5 0 2 7 0
Auburn 0 7 0 1 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Dickinson System

The 1928 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 1928 Southern Conference football season. The season was future Hall-of-Famer Charlie Bachman's first of five as the team's head coach. The Gators finished 8–1 overall,[1] and 6–1 in the Southern Conference (SoCon), placing third of twenty-three teams in the conference, behind the national champion Georgia Tech Golden Tornado (7–0 SoCon), and the Tennessee Volunteers (6–0–1 SoCon).[2]

The Gators led the nation in scoring with 336 points, and were remembered by many sports commentators as the best Florida football team until at least the 1960s. The large scores were mostly due to its "Phantom Four" backfield which included: quarterback Clyde Crabtree, halfbacks Carl Brumbaugh and Royce Goodbread, and fullback Rainey Cawthon.[3][4] Other backs who were key contributors included: captain Goof Bowyer, sophomore halfback Lee Roy "Red" Bethea, alternate-captain and halfback Tommy Owens, and fullback Ed Sauls. One account reads: "There were twelve backs on the squad. Six of them can do the hundred in 10.1 seconds. Eight of them are fine punters and ten of them are great passers. And all of them are good receivers."[5]

At ends were future coach Dutch Stanley, and Florida's first-ever, first-team All-American, Dale Van Sickel. Van Sickel and quarterback Crabtree, who was ambidextrous and could throw passes with either hand, or punt with either foot, while on the run or stationary, were both unanimous All-Southern selections.

Among the many football highlights of 1928 were the Gators' 26–6 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs, which ended a six-game losing streak versus the Bulldogs, and the controversial loss to Tennessee ending their bid at an undefeated season and possible Rose Bowl berth.

  1. ^ 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 108 & 115 (2015). Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  2. ^ 2009 Southern Conference Football Media Guide, Year-by-Year Standings, Southern Conference, Spartanburg, South Carolina, p. 74 (2009). Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  3. ^ McEwen 1974, pp. 98–99
  4. ^ Chastain 2002, p. 25
  5. ^ "No Uniforms For the Other Good Ones". Mount Carmel Item. December 15, 1928. p. 5. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon