Charlie LaPradd
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Charles W. LaPradd (August 24, 1927 – February 1, 2006) was an American
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 ...
player during the early 1950s. He played
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 ...
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 ...
and was recognized as an All-American as a defensive lineman. He later served as the president of St. Johns River Community College in northeast Florida.


Early years

LaPradd was born and raised in
St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabit ...
, in a family of nine children and modest means. He attended Ketterlinus High School in St. Augustine, where he lettered in football, baseball and basketball, but left school to join the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
before graduation. After serving in the U.S. Army
paratroops A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...
, he returned to Ketterlinus to finish his remaining high school diploma requirements.Marcia Lane,
Charles LaPradd, Gator great, dies at 78
," ''St. Augustine Record'' (February 2, 2006). Retrieved March 10, 2012.


College career

LaPradd attended 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 ...
in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach
Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
's
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 from
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
to
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 87, 90, 96, 112, 123, 183 (2011). Retrieved March 10, 2012.
He had hitch-hiked to Gainesville for a chance to try out for the Florida Gators football team. He initially played for the Gators as a freshman
walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...
in 1949, after convincing the coaches to permit him to try out for the squad, and later earned an athletic scholarship. As was typical of college football in the 1950s, when the rules required athletes to play both offense and defense and permitted only limited substitutions, he played tackle on both the offensive and defensive lines. He was a third-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 ...
(SEC) selection as a sophomore in 1950, and a second-team All-SEC pick following his junior season in 1951. He was married and had an infant son during his senior year, and was a member of
Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi (), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston ...
Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
(
Alpha Epsilon Alpha Epsilon () is a scholastic honor society recognizing academic achievement among students in the fields of Agricultural, Food, and Biological Engineering. History Alpha Epsilon Honor Society was founded at the University of Missouri on May ...
chapter). At six feet, three inches tall and 215 pounds,Associated Press,
La Pradd Is Second Gator All-American
" ''Miami Daily News'', p. 7C (December 7, 1952). Retrieved March 12, 2012.
he was the lightest tackle on the team as a senior in 1952. Nevertheless, he was described by his teammates as a "man among boys," stronger and more physically mature at 25 years old than most opposing players. He was one of two senior team captains and the defensive leader of the Gators. The Gators' 1952 season was a season of firsts for the team. Led by LaPradd, the Gators dominated the rival
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 ( ...
33–0 in the annual
Florida–Georgia football rivalry The Florida–Georgia football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the University of Florida Gators and the University of Georgia Bulldogs, both members of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conferenc ...
game in Jacksonville, which would remain the Gators' largest victory over the Bulldogs for almost forty years. Afterward, the team received its first-ever NCAA-sanctioned invitation to a bowl game, the 1953
Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...
, in which the Gators defeated the
Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of Tu ...
14–13 on January 1, 1953. The Gators finished their season 8–3, their first eight-win season since 1928, and ranked No. 15 in the country by 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 ...
, their first-ever national ranking in the final
AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
. Following the season, LaPradd was a first-team All-SEC selection and received first-team All-American honors from the Associated Press and the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
''. He was the Gators' only All-America first team member since
Dale Van Sickel Dale Harris Van Sickel (November 29, 1907 – January 25, 1977) was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years. Van ...
in 1928. Coach Woodruff would later recall LaPradd, the former walk-on who had to plead for a chance to try out for the team, as the Gators' greatest lineman of the 1950s. The
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
selected LaPradd in the
1952 NFL Draft The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952, at Hotel Statler in New York. Selections made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans. This was the sixth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick de ...
, but he injured his legs in a car accident on the day he graduated from college and never had the opportunity to play in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. Top 100 Athletes of the Century: Charlie LaPradd
" ''Florida Times-Union'' (November 28, 1999). Retrieved March 10, 2012.
He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1953. Dr. LaPradd, All-American at UF, Dies
" ''The Gainesville Sun'' (February 3, 2006). Retrieved March 10, 2012.


Life after football

While earning his master's degree in secondary school administration and his doctoral degree in higher education administration from
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
in Tallahassee, Florida, he worked as a graduate assistant coach for the
Florida State Seminoles football The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of American football. The Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Colle ...
team. Afterward, he served as an assistant coach for the Seminoles for four seasons from 1957 to 1961, and the FSU dean of men for two years. He later served as the president of the three-campus St. Johns River Community College in Orange Park, Palatka and St. Augustine from 1966 to 1972. After resigning from SJRCC in 1972, he went into private business and established a regional beer distributorship based in Gainesville.


Legacy

LaPradd was a "Gator Great" member of 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 ...
, and was inducted into the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2006, ''The Gainesville Sun'' ranked LaPradd twenty-first on its all-time list of the 100 greatest Florida Gators football players from the team's first 100 years of play. LaPradd died February 1, 2006; he was 78 years old. He was survived by his son and daughter. After his death, friends, teammates and admirers endowed the Dr. Charles W. LaPradd Ph.D. Fellowship Fund at the University of Florida for the benefit of doctoral candidates in the university's College of Health and Human Performance.University of Florida, Endowed Scholarships and Fellowships
Dr. Charles W. LaPradd Ph.D. Fellowship Fund
Retrieved March 10, 2012.


See also

*
1952 College Football All-America Team The 1952 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1952. The eight selectors recognized by the ...
*
List of Florida Gators football All-Americans This list of Florida Gators football All-Americans includes those members of the Florida Gators football team who have received All-American honors from one or more selector organizations. The Florida Gators represent the University of Florida i ...
*
List of Florida State University people This list of Florida State University people includes notable graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Florida State University (FSU). Florida State alumni are generally known as Seminoles. Florida State University is a ...
* List of Pi Kappa Phi alumni *
List of University of Florida alumni This list of University of Florida alumni includes current students, former students, and graduates of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Honorary degree recipients can be found on the List of University of Florida honorary degree ...
*
List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members 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 d ...


References


Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * 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:LaPradd, Charlie 1927 births 2006 deaths Sportspeople from St. Augustine, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football defensive tackles Florida Gators football players All-American college football players United States Army soldiers Coaches of American football from Florida Florida State Seminoles football coaches Florida State University alumni Heads of universities and colleges in the United States United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Florida Paratroopers 20th-century American academics