1916 Florida Gators football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 1916 Florida Gators football Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association SIAA 0–5 0–4 C. J. McCoy 3rd Rex Farrior Fleming Field The 1916 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 1916 college football season. The season was C. J. McCoy's third and last as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. While the Gators had never had a losing campaign in the program's ten seasons to date, key injuries, a lack of depth, and a challenging slate of opponents saw McCoy's squad post a 0–5 record (0–4 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) while scoring a total of three points, leading to the head coach's dismissal. The disappointing season was notable for Florida's first meetings with future Southeastern Conference rivals Tennessee and Alabama.Roger Saylor, " Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association https://web.archive.org/web/20110523072320/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv06/CFHSNv06n2g.pdf 2011-05-23 ," College Football Historical Society, The LA84 Foundation (1993). Retrieved September 11, 2010. 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide https://web.archive.org/web/20151208143532/http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2015/media_guide.pdf 2015-12-08 , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015. Before the season Florida had posted a 9–5 record over the previous two seasons under Coach McCoy. Believing that he had the makings of a great squad, he abandoned Florida's usual practice of playing against mostly in-state opponents mixed with a few out-of-state foes and instead assembled the most challenging schedule the program had ever faced. The slate included several established football programs, including future conference rivals Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Auburn along with a cross-sectional game at Indiana, with only one of those difficult contests to be played at Florida's on-campus home of Fleming Field.McEwen 1974 59 Season recap McCoy's grand ambitions were stymied when his team's lack of quality depth was exposed by a series of key injuries and other defections, starting when triple threat quarterback Rammy Ramsdell broke his leg playing for Florida's baseball team and missed the entire football season.Joey Johnston, " Tampa Bay's All-Century Team: No. 98 Rammy Ramsdell https://web.archive.org/web/20120307083655/http://tampabayonline.net/reports/top100/no98.htm 2012-03-07 ," The Tampa Tribune (September 22, 1999). Retrieved August 25, 2010. The squad lost two starting linemen before the opening game when Ham Dowling transferred and Everett Yon was called to serve in the National Guard, and nagging injuries saw several other key players miss playing time as the season progressed, with team captain and starting center Rex Farrior forced to move to fullback because of a lack of options in the offensive backfield.McEwen 1974 60note Rex Farrior became a name partner in a prominent Tampa law firm with 1910 quarterback Bob Shackleford, and remained one of the biggest boosters of the Gators sports program until his death.https://footballfoundation.org/roster.aspx?rp_id=156 National Football Foundation Rex Farrior Adding to the season's woes, what was potentially the best chance for a Florida win was dashed when Mercer administrators declared that several of their players were "behind in their studies" and cancelled their trip to Gainesville one week before the scheduled game.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5974325/the_atlanta_constitution/ Game With Florida Cancelled By Mercer The Atlanta Constitution 6 October 30, 1916 July 23, 2016 Newspapers.com Between the difficult schedule and the lack of available talent, the 1916 Gators set a remarkable program record for offensive futility by failing to score a single touchdown over the course of the season. His players insisted that McCoy should not be blamed for the winless campaign, but he was not retained as Florida's head football coach.McEwen 1974 62 Schedule October 14 l y Georgia Sanford Field Athens, GA rivalry 0–21 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-georgia-beat-florida/148509131/ The Atlanta Journal Georgia beat Florida, 21–0 October 15, 1916 June 1, 2024 Newspapers.com October 21 l y Alabama Fleming Field Gainesville, FL rivalry 0–16 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71294829/alabama-too-strong-for-gator-eleven/ The Tampa Tribune Alabama too strong for Gator eleven October 22, 1916 June 1, 2024 Newspapers.comGators are Defeated by Alabama https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028291/00627/images The Florida Alligator October 24, 1916 October 28 l y Tennessee Plant Field Tampa, FL rivalry 0–24 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montgomery-advertiser-tennessee-elev/140870066/ The Montgomery Advertiser Tennessee eleven clearly outclasses that of Florida October 29, 1916 June 1, 2024 Newspapers.com November 5 n Mercer Fleming Field Gainesville, FL cancelled n/a Mercer Cancels Saturday's Game https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028291/00628/images The Florida Alligator October 31, 1916 November 11 l y Auburn Barrs Field Jacksonville, FL rivalry 0–20 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal-auburn-crushes-flo/148509395/ The Commercial Appeal Auburn crushes Florida November 12, 1916 June 1, 2024 Newspapers.com November 18 l y y Indiana Jordan Field Bloomington, IN 3–14 5,000 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-fort-wayne-journal-gazette-indiana-i/148509524/ The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette Indiana is winner over Florida, 14 to 3 November 19, 1916 June 1, 2024 Newspapers.com Game summaries Georgia Florida at Georgia Florida Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 14 October 14 Sanford FieldAthens, GA Streit Sources: The season opened with a 21–0 loss to Georgia in Athens. The contest was scoreless in the first half. Georgia had to send in two stars who were resting with dislocated shoulders.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5851743/the_atlanta_constitution/ 3 October 15, 1916 July 10, 2016 Newspapers.com The Atlanta Constitution Florida Eleven Worried Georgia Walter Neville scored the game's first touchdown. The starting lineup was F. Henderson (left end), Baker (left tackle), Duvan (left guard), Robles (center), Golsby (right guard), Perry (right tackle), Wilkinson (right end), Fuller (quarterback), Wilson (left halfback), Hatcher (right halfback), Farrier (fullback). Alabama Alabama at Florida Alabama Florida 0 7 0 9 0 0 0 0 October 21 Fleming FieldGainesville, FL Street Sources: Florida's defense kept the game close into the final period but finally wore down, leading to a 16–0 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first ever meeting between the programs.http://grfx.cstv.com/schools/alab/graphics/docs/16-m-footbl-recaps.pdf 1916 Recap 2016-07-08 2016-03-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070136/http://grfx.cstv.com/schools/alab/graphics/docs/16-m-footbl-recaps.pdf dead McEwen 1974 62 Alabama quarterback Cecil Creen was the star of the game, scoring the Tide's two offensive touchdowns and making key defensive stops of Gator players "with a clear field ahead". Postgame accounts commented on Florida's "rather crude attempts at offensive play" in the loss, which was the program's first setback at five year old Fleming Field. It would also be the only game of the season to be played in Gainesville. Tennessee Tennessee at Florida Tennessee Florida 7 7 0 10 0 0 0 0 October 28 Plant FieldTampa, FL Stricker Coles Sources: The SIAA champion Tennessee Volunteers blanked the Gators in Tampa 24 to 0 in the two rivals first-ever meeting. Buck Hatcher's punts were the feature of the contest.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5184289/the_atlanta_constitution/ 5 Atlanta Constitution Tennessee 24, Florida 0 October 29, 1916 May 7, 2016 Newspapers.com The starting lineup was F. Henderson (left end), Baker (left tackle), Perry (left guard), Robles (center), O. DeVane (right guard), Goldsby (right tackle), Wood (right end), Fuller (quarterback), Sparkman (left halfback), Wilson (right halfback), Farrier (fullback). Auburn Auburn at Florida Auburn Florida 6 7 0 7 0 0 0 0 November 11 Barrs FieldJacksonville, FL John Counselman Sources: The Auburn Plainsmen beat the Gators 20–0. Auburn's fullback Scott was the star of the contest. The second touchdown was a 50-yard interception return by Godwin.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5851684/the_atlanta_constitution/ 3 November 12, 1916 July 10, 2016 Newspapers.com The Atlanta Constitution Auburn Is Victor Over Florida Team The starting lineup was F. Henderson (left end), Bankston (left tackle), Rosenthal (left guard), Robles (center), Stockton (right guard), Goldsby (right tackle), Wood (right end), Fuller (quarterback), Sparkman (left halfback), Hatcher (right halfback), Farrier (fullback). At Indiana Florida at Indiana Florida Indiana 0 3 0 0 0 0 7 7 November 18 Jordan FieldBloomington, IN 5,000 Hamm (Kenyon) Sources: The Gators closed out their 1916 schedule with a trip to Bloomington for what was their first (and only, as of 2025) gridiron contest with the Indiana Hoosiers. Florida scored its first points of the season with a second quarter field goal by freshman Paul Baker and held a 3–0 halftime lead.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3076120/the_indianapolis_star/ D. C. Miller The Indianapolis Star 33 November 19, 1916 August 23, 2015 Florida Put Out 14-3, by Stiehm Men Newspapers.com However, an on-field altercation early in the third period resulted in the ejection of Gator lineman Orryl Robles, and the team's lack of depth once again became a factor. The Hoosiers scored two unanswered second half touchdowns to take a 14–3 lead, and Florida capped off the ignominious campaign by seeing captain Rex Farrior break his leg in the final two minutes of the contest. The starting lineup was F. Henderson (left end), Baker (left tackle), Rosenthal (left guard), Robles (center), Stockton (right guard), Goldsby (right tackle), Wood (right end), Fuller (quarterback), Sparkman (left halfback), Hatcher (right halfback), Farrier (fullback). Postseason Though several players and the school yearbook expressed support for McCoy's program building skills, he was not retained as Florida's head football coach. He finished his three-year tenure at the school with an overall record of 9–10. Personnel Line Florida Gators Player Position Gamesstarted High school Height Weight AgeBake BakerTackle4 6'2"20522Paul CollinsLine 5'10"18524Fats DeVaneGuard, center2 6'0"20523Jack GoldsbyTackle 4 5'9"18523W. B. HendersonEnd4 5'9"15523Tootie PerryGuard 2 5'8"23521Liza RoblesCenter 4 5'11"18023Jew RosenthalTackle 2 5'10"17621Stock StocktonGuard2 5'9"16023Tuck TuckerEnd 6'1"15819Rowdy Bill WilkinsonEnd 1 5'8"14524G. P. WoodEnd 3 6'1"17021 Backfield Florida Gators Player Position Gamesstarted High school Height Weight AgeBush BushnellHalfback 5'8"15021Rex FarriorFullback 4 Hillsborough5'8"17020Artie FullerQuarterback 4 5'11"15821Fritz HatcherHalfback 3 5'8"15522Raymond RoodHalfback 6'0"15520Jim SparkmanHalfback 3 5'8"16722Leo WilsonHalfback2 5'9"15520 Coaching staff Head coach: Charles J. McCoy Manager: W. D. PayneUniversity of Florida 1917 94–101 Notes note References 30em Bibliography McEwen Tom The Gators: A Story of Florida Football The Strode Publishers Huntsville, Alabama 1974 0-87397-025-X https://archive.org/details/gatorsstoryofflo0000mcew/page/58/mode/2up http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00022765/00008/104j The Seminole 8 1917 University of Florida Florida Category:Florida Gators football seasons Category:College football winless seasons Florida Gators football