The 1908 Florida football team represented the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

during the

1908 college football season The 1908 college football season ran from Saturday, September 19, to November 28. The Penn Quakers and the Harvard Crimson each finished the season unbeaten but with one tied. The LSU Tigers went unbeaten and untied against a weaker opposition. ...

. The season was

Jack Forsythe James Adger "Jack" Forsythe Jr. (August 4, 1882 – April 3, 1957), nicknamed "Pee Wee" Forsythe, was an American college football player and coach. Forsythe has an important place in the history of college athletics in the U.S. state of Florida ...

's third and last as the head coach of the University of Florida football team. Forsythe's 1908 Florida football team posted a record of 5–2–1 in their third varsity season.

Before the season

The team was captained by veteran transfer William Gibbs. It was the first season for a talented Gainesville product,

Dummy Taylor Luther Haden "Dummy" Taylor (February 21, 1875 – August 22, 1958) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1908 who was deaf. He played for the History of the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants and Clevela ...

. The backfield also included Charlie Bartleson Jim Vidal, and

William A. Shands William Augustine Shands (July 21, 1889 – January 20, 1973) was an American politician and elected officeholder. Shands was a long-time Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Florida Senate and an advocate for the establ ...

, future state senator and namesake of

Shands Hospital UF Health Shands Hospital is a teaching hospital of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It is one of seven hospitals in the University of Florida Health system, and one of two campuses for UF's Health Science Center, the other bei ...

. One story of Florida becoming the "

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

" originates in 1908. Gainesville shop owner ordered orange and blue pennants with a gator emblem from the

Michie Company LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer informa ...

, drawing inspiration from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Schedule

2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.

Season summary

Mercer

The Florida football team opened the season with a loss to the Mercer Baptists for the third consecutive season, 24–0. Mercer outweighed Florida by 20 pounds. The starting lineup was Malhorton (left end), Rader (left tackle), Vanfleet (left guard), Parker (center), Videll (right guard), J. Taylor (right tackle), Shands (right end), Thompson (quarterback), Bartleson (left halfback), E. Taylor (right halfback), Gibbs (fullback).

Riverside A. C.

Florida beat the Riverside Athletic Club of

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

twice. The first win was 4–0. Former Gator Roy Corbett coached and played right halfback for Riverside.

Gainesville A. C.

The Gainesville Athletic Club fell to Florida 37–5.

Columbia College

Columbia College of Lake City was beaten 6–0.

Rollins

Florida lost to the state champion

Rollins Tars The Rollins Tars are the athletic teams that represent Rollins College, located in Winter Park, Florida, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Tars—an archaic name for a sailor—compete as members of the Sunshine State Conference (S ...

5–0. Rollins' Harman broke away for a 30-yard touchdown in the second half.

Stetson

Florida also played the

Stetson Hatters The Stetson Hatters are composed of 18 teams representing Stetson University in intercollegiate athletics. The Hatters compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the ASUN Conference for most sports, ...

for the first time, beating them 6–5 on the Orange and Blue's home field in Gainesville.

's extra point decided the win over Stetson, after a Charlie Bartleson touchdown run.

Riverside A. C.

The second win over Riverside was 37–0.

Stetson

Florida tied Stetson 0–0 in a rematch on the Hatters' home field in DeLand, Florida. The starting lineup was Moody (left end), Taylor (left tackle), Shands (left guard), Parker (center), McMillan (right guard), Rader (right tackle), Haughton (right end), Bartleson (quarterback), Gibbs (left halfback), E. Taylor (right halfback), Vidal (fullback).

Postseason

Forsythe finished his three-year tenure as Florida's football coach with an overall record of 14–6–2.

References

Bibliography

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Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

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