Neal Summers "Bo Gator" Storter (October 3, 1890 – November 1, 1979) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for 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 ...

of 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 ...

. He was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the undefeated

1911 Florida Gators football team The 1911 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1911 college football season. The season was George Pyle's third as the head coach of the University of Florida football team. The University of Florida adop ...

and is one proposed originator of the

Florida Gator The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

mascot. Storter rebuked the story himself, though. Storter was picked as the center for an All-Time Florida Gators football team in 1927.

Background

Neal was born on October 3, 1890, in

Everglade Everglade may refer to: * Everglades, region of tropical wetlands in the US * Everglade Township, Stevens County, Minnesota, township in Stevens County, Minnesota, the United States * "Everglade" (song), a 1992 song by L7 * "Everglade", a song by ...

George W. Storter, Jr. George Washington Storter Jr. (July 1, 1862 – October 26, 1931) was a trader and founder of Everglades City. His grandfather George Sr. migrated in a covered wagon to Platt, Florida, from Eutaw, Alabama in 1877, making his first trip to th ...

and Nancy Waterson.

University of Florida

Storter was a member of UF's Alpha Eta chapter of

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...

Bo Gator Club

He was the "Chief Bo Gator" of the quasi-mythical "Bo Gator Club," started in 1907 at UF. Storter was at the

when students from the E section of Buckman Hall each chipped in a dime to purchase

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

; and with crushed rocks as ammunition, hauled two loaded

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s into place to fire upon a traveling

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

set across from the campus. The club seemed to involve telling tales about such events.

College football

Storter was also a prominent member of the university's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team,

of its

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

team. One of the school's best ever

s, Storter was selected for a position on its All-Time team in 1927. The 1911 team tied the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

, defeated

The Citadel Bulldogs The Citadel Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent The Citadel. All sports participate in the NCAA Division I except football, which competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Since 1936, varsity sports have ...

, Clemson and the College of Charleston, declared themselves to be the "champions of South Carolina," and finished their season 5–0–1—still the only undefeated football season in the Gators' history. The team was also the first to use the nickname " Gators." He is as such one reason given for the nickname. A former player Roy Corbett sent a letter to ''The Gainesville Sun'' congratulating the 1928 team and mentioned the nickname coming from Storter. Storter himself denied the above and stated the nickname 'Gators' came when a ''

Macon Telegraph ''The Telegraph,'' frequently called The Macon Telegraph, is the primary print news organ in Central Georgia, Middle Georgia. It is the third-largest newspaper in the State of Georgia (after the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' and ''Augusta Chron ...

'' reporter declared "Macon to be invaded by a bunch of alligators from Florida" before the game with

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

in 1910.

Steamships

He was once manager of

Lykes Brothers Steamship Company Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., also called Lykes Lines, was a cargo shipping company acting from the beginning of the 20th century to 2005 having its main business in the trade to and from the United States. History In 1898 the sons of Dr. Howell Tys ...

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, and was connected with the company for years as captain or port superintendent. Storter died on November 1, 1979, in Brownsville of congestive heart failure due to longstanding heart disease.Texas, Death Certificates, 1903–1982 atabase on-line/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Storter, Neal 1890 births 1979 deaths American football centers People from Collier County, Florida Florida Gators football players Players of American football from Florida Steamship captains People from Brownsville, Texas People from Galveston, Texas