Jewel Rex Farrior Sr. (October 5, 1896 – January 17, 1993) was an American
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
and
baseball player and coach 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,
as well as a lawyer. He became a founding partner in a prominent
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
-based law firm, and remained one of the biggest boosters of the Gators sports program until his death.
Early years
Farrior was born October 5, 1896, in
Chipley, Florida
Chipley is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Florida, Washington County, Florida, United States, located between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pensacola. Its population was 3,605 in the 2010 U.S. Census ...
, to Joseph R. Farrior and Gussie Brown. His father was a
physician.
Farrior attended
Hillsborough High School in Tampa, where he played football and baseball, graduating in 1913. Future Gator teammate
Rammy Ramsdell
Ashley Wakefield "Rammy" Ramsdell (November 6, 1894 – April 14, 1977) was a college football, baseball, and basketball player and track athlete for the Florida Gators of the University of Florida. Ramsdell's athletic career was prematurely ended ...
was in the same class.
University of Florida
Farrior is the namesake of Farrior Hall on the UF campus.
Football
Farrior was a prominent
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
and
center for the
Florida Gators football team from
1913
Events January
* January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...
to
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled.
* ...
.
[ His first ever game was the 144–0 victory over the ]Florida Southern Moccasins
The Florida Southern Moccasins (also shortened to Florida Southern Mocs) are the athletic teams that represent Florida Southern College, located in Lakeland, Florida, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Moccasins compete as members of ...
.
Farrior 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 football team in his senior year. In that season the Gators lost all their games, suffering multiple injures and transfers, requiring Farrior to shift to fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to:
Sports
* A position in various kinds of football, including:
** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position
** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
. He broke his ankle that year in the Indiana game. A member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity at UF, the ''Kappa Alpha Journal'' reads "J. Rex Farrior of the University of Florida has been for several seasons the 'Gators most brilliant performer."
He was nominated though not selected for an ''Associated Press'' All-Time Southeast 1869-1919 era team. As a football player, he was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...
. The "Rex Farrior Award" was once given to the most "team-oriented" player. Originally the award was given to the defensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
who showed the most effort.
Return to UF and coaching
Farrior to Florida in 1921 after serving in World War I to earn his law degree, graduating in 1924.[
]
Gainesville High
From 1920 to 1922, Farrior coached the Gainesville High School Purple Hurricane football team. The 1922 team was his best and won a state title. Athletes who played for him include Jack McDowall
John Witherspoon McDowall (June 26, 1905 – May 25, 1969), known as "Spindle Legs", was an American football, baseball, basketball player and track and field, track athlete at North Carolina State University. McDowall was recognized as an Coll ...
, Lamar Sarra
Ernest Lamar Sarra (September 11, 1904 – May 24, 1995) was an American football and basketball player and coach. Sarra was a prominent center for coach Tom Sebring's Florida Gators football team, captain of the 1926 team. He was a three-year ...
, and Goof Bowyer
Ernest J. "Goof" Bowyer (October 2, 1903 – May 19, 1988) was an American football and basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Florida Southern College from 1931 to 1932.
Early years
Bowyer ...
.
Florida
Farrior coached the 1924 baseball team. In his one-season the team posted a 5–14 record.
Cigar Bowl
Farrior was chairman of the selection committee for the Cigar Bowl
The Cigar Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game held in Tampa, Florida, featuring small college teams. The nine editions of the bowl were held from January 1947 (following the 1946 season) through December 1954 (following the 1954 se ...
.
Law practice
Farrior became a partner in Shackleford and Farrior, which evolved into one of Tampa's largest law firms.[ Law partner Bob Shackleford was a former Florida Gator quarterback. Farrior was elected president of the Florida Bar in 1975.][The Florida Bar, History]
List of Past Presidents
Retrieved July 7, 2015.
See also
* List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
References
External links
Interview with J. Rex Farrior, Sr. (September 6, 1980)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrior, J. Rex
1896 births
1993 deaths
20th-century American lawyers
American football centers
American football guards
American football fullbacks
Florida Gators baseball coaches
Florida Gators baseball players
Florida Gators football coaches
Florida Gators football players
High school football coaches in Florida
People from Chipley, Florida
Players of American football from Tampa, Florida
Baseball players from Tampa, Florida
Florida lawyers