Walter Thomas "Tiger" Mayberry (March 14, 1915 – by March 5, 1944) 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, and later a U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot. Mayberry was a casualty of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; dying in a Japanese prisoner of war camp after his plane was shot down. Mayberry was a prominent

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for 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 ...

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 ...

team. A

triple-threat man In gridiron football, a triple-threat man is a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player. Triple-threat men were the norm in the early day ...

, he also passed and punted. When punting he excelled at placing balls in the " coffin corner." As was typical in the 1930s, he played both offense and defense, posting multiple school records for

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s. Mayberry was selected as a sixth round pick of the 1938 NFL Draft, but never played in the NFL. He was the first Gator drafted into the league.

Early years

Mayberry was born on March 14, 1915, in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

, and attended

Mainland High School Mainland High School is a public high school located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. It is attended by 1,979 students of grades nine through twelve. The mascot is a Buccaneer and strongly resembles the old logo of the Tampa Bay Buccane ...

in his hometown. His father Tom operated a small grocery store. His mother was Helena Marie Murphy of

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...

. He played for the Mainland Buccaneers high school football team, and suffered a broken neck while playing.

University of Florida

In the fall of 1934, Mayberry enrolled as a freshman and attended the

in Gainesville, Florida. He was a member of the

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College (now the University of Richmond), and its national headquarte ...

fraternity.

Football

After playing freshman football for a season, he played for the varsity

team from

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

. His first coach head coach was

Josh Cody Joshua Crittenden Cody (June 11, 1892 – June 17, 1961) was an American college athlete, head coach, and athletics director. Cody was a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where he played several sports. As a versatil ...

, and his next was

Dutch Stanley Dennis Keith Stanley Sr. (April 14, 1906 – May 29, 1983), nicknamed Dutch Stanley, was an American education professor, university administrator and intercollegiate sports coach. Stanley was a native of England, but graduated from high school i ...

. Stanley called Mayberry the best player he ever saw. In three seasons of college football, he amassed 2,019 yards of total offense, including 713 yards passing and 1,306 yards rushing; on defense, he accumulated eleven interceptions. As a junior in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Mayberry played at halfback and substitute

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He returned a kick for 75 yards for a touchdown in a victory over 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, ...

. Mayberry also provided most of the yardage in an 18–7 win over the

Sewanee Tigers The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 Province 4 of the Epis ...

. He earned second-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

honors at the conclusion of the season. As the senior team captain in 1937, Mayberry ranked second in the country with 818 rushing yards; only

Byron White Byron "Whizzer" Raymond White (June 8, 1917 April 15, 2002) was an American professional football player and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 until his retirement in 1993. Born and raised in Color ...

exceeded Mayberry's rushing total that year. During the 1937 season, Mayberry also intercepted six passes when the Gators' opponents only threw 57 balls, and was a first-team All-SEC selection by the conference coaches and sportswriters on behalf of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

. The 1937 team defeated the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

in their annual

rivalry game Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both ...

for the first time in eight years. Mayberry rushed for 83 yards against Georgia. He also starred in a close loss to coach

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and mascot for Temple University since its founding in the 18 ...

, keeping the 10,000 spectators "in an uproar for nearly three periods." In fall 1937, scout Henry McLemore of the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

wrote in a piece on Southern football: "And when the time comes to pick the outstanding players of the year it wouldn't be a bad idea to mention "Tiger" Mayberry, captain and halfback of Florida's team . . . given a stronger eleven to work with, and Mayberry would be in the headlines Saturday after Saturday." McLemore later added: "I have not seen a better back in six years than Mayberry . . .

Wallace Wade William Wallace Wade (June 15, 1892 – October 7, 1986) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Alabama fro ...

Bernie Moore Bernie Hawthorne Moore (April 30, 1895 – November 6, 1967) was an American college football, basketball, track and field coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Mercer University (1926–1928) and Louisi ...

, and

Harry Mehre Harry J. Mehre (September 18, 1901 – September 27, 1978) was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Georgia (1928–1937) and the University of Mississippi (1938–1945), ...

all told me that Mayberry was the best back in the South, one of the best they have seen in half a dozen years and certainly the best that Florida has produced in a decade." Another sportswriter quipped, "The south says: All-America scouts should keep an eye on "Tiger" Mayberry, Florida back ... The guy has it."

NFL

In the 1938 NFL Draft, Mayberry was taken with the 61st overall pick, the first of the eighth round, by the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 194 ...

. He said he would play professional football if the Rams made him an offer he considered "worthwhile." He went on to say: "If the offer is right I will sign to play pro football next year." After entertaining an offer, and another for a potential coaching position at Florida, he declined both. During this same time he was a tire salesman and District Commissioner of the National semi-pro Baseball Congress.

World War II

During the run-up to the United States' participation in

, Mayberry enlisted in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

at Atlanta on May 23, 1941, and was assigned to naval flight training. He transferred to

Pensacola Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

as an aviation cadet near the end of 1941, and joined the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...

as a fighter pilot on July 2, 1942. He was later sent to San Francisco, and from there to the Pacific Theater of Operations to fight against enemy Japanese forces. Mayberry served with Marine fighter squadron

VMF-123 Marine Fighter Squadron 123 (VMF-123) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps during World War II and later in the Marine Forces Reserve. Known as the “Flying Eight Balls,” the squadron fought at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, an ...

, flying

F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...

fighter aircraft, and was credited with shooting down three Japanese planes in battle over

Vella Lavella Island Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group. To its west are the Treasury Islands. Environmen ...

; some sources also say it was four, with a fifth as probable. Mayberry last radioed as he piloted his aircraft over a stretch of water between two

Solomon islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

, and was shot down near

Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is ...

on August 30. He was subsequently captured by Japanese forces, and died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp at

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

some time after September 6, 1943. Japanese records indicate that he died in an Allied air raid on March 5, 1944, but other records suggest he was executed by the Japanese at an earlier date. He has buried at the

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery is an American military cemetery located in St. Louis County, Missouri, just on the banks of the Mississippi River. The cemetery was established after the American Civil War in an attempt to put together a for ...

Awards and decorations

Posthumous honors

Mayberry 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 ...

as a "Gator Great." He was also inducted into the

Florida Sports Hall of Fame The Florida Sports Hall of Fame (FSHOF) is an association dedicated to honoring athletes with outstanding achievement in sports in Florida. It has expanded its goals to include encouraging physical fitness among Florida's citizens through the examp ...

in 1964. Gator alumni from Daytona Beach created an athletic scholarship in his honor.

Notes

References

Books

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayberry, Walter 1915 births 1944 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel killed in World War II American prisoners of war in World War II Players of American football from Florida American football halfbacks Florida Gators football players People from Daytona Beach, Florida American football punters American football defensive backs Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Navy reservists United States Marine Corps reservists United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II American football quarterbacks Shot-down aviators World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Deaths by airstrike during World War II