Carl Esmond "Tootie" Perry (February 4, 1896 – August 9, 1946) 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 ...

player. He played at the

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 ...

position and was the first All-Southern player for the

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

program 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 ...

Early years

Perry was born in

Rochelle, Florida Rochelle is an unincorporated community in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It was found in the 1830s on a former native settlement and mission site. and was built around the Plantation of Madison Starke Perry. History Rochelle was at a ...

, in 1896. His parents were Thomas Jefferson Perry and Laura Jane (Sparkman) Perry.

University of Florida

Perry twice enrolled in the

in Gainesville; first in 1916, and again in 1919. He initially played for coach

C. J. McCoy Charles James McCoy was an American college football and basketball coach. McCoy was the third head coach of the Florida Gators football team and the first head coach of the Florida Gators men's basketball team that represent the University of F ...

team in

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. * ...

, but returned at age 23 to play for coach

William G. Kline William Gordon Kline (June 21, 1882 – after 1942) was an American college football, baseball and basketball coach. At different times, Kline served as the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball, basketball and football teams, as we ...

's Gators teams from

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

. Perry was five feet, ten inches tall, and at his largest weighed 235 pounds while playing at the

and

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 ...

position for the Gators. In a 16–0 loss to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 1919, "through Perry's ability to handle

Day A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two so ...

, the Georgia star center, Florida outbucked Georgia..." In 1921, Perry was a first-team All-Southern selection of the ''Chattanooga News'', ''Columbus Enquirer-Sun'' and ''Nashville Banner'', becoming the first All-Southern player at Florida, and also the senior team captain on Florida's team. An account of the

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 ...

game reads "Capt. Tootie Perry was again the star on defense." The 1922 ''Seminole'', the University of Florida yearbook, called Perry the Gators' "jolly captain" and "Dixie's greatest guard" who played every minute of every game for two years and "developed into a wizard at blocking punts." While attending Florida, Perry worked during the summers shoveling coal as a

fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also a ...

on locomotives for the Atlantic Coast Line between

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 ...

and

Leesburg, Florida Leesburg is a city in central Florida. The population was 20,117 at the 2010 census. As of 2019, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 23,671. Leesburg is in Lake County, between Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head of the ...

. Shortly before Christmas in 1921, and after the football season had ended, he left school to return to his work on the railroad.

Later years

Perry later went into the ice cream and dairy business in Gainesville. He married, and he and his wife, Ethelyn, had two daughters, Mary Ethelyn (born c. 1924) and Elizabeth Carter (born c. 1926).1930 U.S. Census entry for Carl E. Perry, age 33, born in Florida, proprietor of an ice cream business. Census Place: Gainesville, Alachua, Florida; Roll: 306; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0015; Image: 349.0; FHL microfilm: 2340041. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-line1940 U.S. Census entry for Carl E. Perry, age 44, born in Florida, dairy owner. Census Place: Gainesville, Alachua, Florida; Roll: T627_573; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 1-17. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Perry also remained active with the Florida football program after graduating. In 1925, he moved back to Gainesville and became a fixture on the sidelines at Florida football games, serving as the team's

water boy In the United States, a water boy or water girl (sometimes spelled waterboy or watergirl) was someone who worked in the field, providing water to farm workers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, the name is given to those who work on the ...

. He gained national media notoriety as the "All-American Waterboy," and he also hosted an annual

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

barbecue and

Brunswick stew Brunswick stew is a tomato-based stew generally involving local beans, vegetables, and originally small game meat such as squirrel or rabbit, though today often chicken. The exact origin of the stew is disputed. The states of Virginia, North Caro ...

banquet for alumni. Perry died in 1946 at age 50 in Gainesville and was buried in the local Evergreen Cemetery. In 1949, the University of Florida named a new baseball field " Perry Field" in his honor, built on land donated to the university by his family. He was posthumously 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 ...

as a "Gator Great" in 1992. UF inducts seven into Hall of Fame
" ''The Gainesville Sun'', p. 2 (April 3, 1992). Retrieved September 2, 2014.

References

Bibliography

* * Douchant, Mike, ''Encyclopedia of College Basketball'', Gale Research, New York, New York (1995). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Tootie 1896 births 1946 deaths Florida Gators football players Players of American football from Florida People from Alachua County, Florida American football guards All-Southern college football players American football centers

Early years

University of Florida

Later years

See also

References

Bibliography