Florida Gators football, 1906–09

The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The University of Florida (then known as the "University of the State of Florida") fielded its first official varsity football team in the fall of 1906, and has fielded a team every season since then, with the exception of 1943. During the early 1900s, the Florida football team competed in the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS), but was not affiliated with an athletic conference. The University of Florida did not adopt the "Florida Gators" nickname for its sports teams until 1911, and the early Florida football teams were known simply as "Florida" or the "Orange and Blue." The Florida football teams played their home games in a variety of locations, including the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.

This article includes a game-by-game list of the Florida football team's first four football seasons from 1906 to 1909. During the early 1900s, the Florida team was coached by Jack "Pee Wee" Forsythe (1906–1908) and George E. Pyle (1909–1913). Forsythe and Pyle compiled an overall record of 20–7–3 (.717) during the decade.

1906

1906 Florida Gators football
Conference	Independent
1906 record	5–3
Head coach	Jack Forsythe
Offensive scheme	Minnesota shift
Captain	Thomas Guy Hancock

Background

After the Buckman Act in 1905, the modern University of Florida (still in Lake City) hired coach C. A. Holton and was ready to play its first season. The team played merely one half of football against the Julia Landon Institute of Jacksonville. The season was described by Tom McEwen as "lame duck, confusing, and troubled." Players were banned by Andrew Sledd from playing as they were behind in their studies. Also, a state championship with Stetson never materialized due to disputes over location. It was scheduled to take place in Palatka. The captain of the 1905 team was William M. Rowlett. Of all the players from the earlier predecessor teams of the Florida Gators, only tackle William Gibbs of the 1905 Lake City team is known to have played for the new university's team in Gainesville in the fall of 1906.

Season overview

The 1906 Florida football team was the first official varsity team fielded by the new University of the State of Florida (now known as the University of Florida). The 1906 Florida gridders were known as "Pee Wee's Boys" in honor of their coach, Jack "Pee Wee" Forsythe, a former Clemson Tigers lineman who played for coach John Heisman from 1901 to 1903. "Pee Wee's Boys" beat the Rollins College Tars 6–0 in their first game played in Gainesville, Florida on October 26, 1906, and finished their inaugural season with a winning record of 5–3. Forsythe employed the Minnesota shift and played on the team as an end.

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
10–26–1906	Rollins	The Baseball Park • Gainesville, Florida	W 6–0
11–2–1906	Riverside Athletic Club	Gainesville, Florida	W 19–0
11–4–1906	Savannah Athletic Club	Savannah, Georgia	L 2–27
11–9–1906	Rollins	Winter Park, Florida	L 0–6
11–16–1906	Mercer	Macon, Georgia	L 3–27
11–18–1906	Athens Athletic Club	Athens, Georgia	W 10–0
11–24–1906	Gainesville Athletic Club	Gainesville, Florida	W 6–0
11–30–1906	Riverside Athletic Club	Jacksonville, Florida	W 39–0

Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide.

1907

1907 Florida Gators football
State Co-Champion
Conference	Independent
1907 record	4–1–1
Head coach	Jack Forsythe
Offensive scheme	Minnesota shift
Captain	Roy G. Corbett

Season overview

The 1907 college football season was Jack Forsythe's second as the head coach of the University of Florida football team. The Orange and Blue lost to the Mercer Bears for the second season in a row, beat the Rollins College Tars in Gainesville, Florida, and tied the Tars on their home field in Winter Park, Florida. Forsythe's 1907 Florida football team posted an overall record of 4–1–1 in their second varsity season.

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
10–13–1907	Columbia Athletic Club	Savannah, Georgia	W 6–0
10–20–1907	Mercer	Gainesville, Florida	L 0–6
10–27–1907	Jacksonville Athletic Club	Jacksonville, Florida	W 21–0
11–3–1907	Rollins	Gainesville, Florida	W 9–4
11–10–1907	Jacksonville Athletic Club	Gainesville, Florida	W 17–0
11–22–1907	Rollins	Winter Park, Florida	T 0–0

Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide.

1908

1908 Florida Gators football
Conference	Independent
1908 record	5–2–1
Head coach	Jack Forsythe
Captain	William W. Gibbs

Season overview

The 1908 college football season was Jack Forsythe's third and last as the head coach of the University of Florida football team. The Florida football team lost to the Mercer Bears for the third consecutive season. Florida also played the Stetson College Hatters for the first two times, beating them 6–5 on the Orange and Blue's home field in Gainesville, and tying them 0–0 on the Hatters' home field in DeLand, Florida. Forsythe's 1908 Florida football team posted a record of 5–2–1 in their third varsity season, and Forsythe finished his three-year tenure as Florida's football coach with an overall record of 14–6–2. In his first season, Dummy Taylor's extra point decided the win over Stetson.

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
10–10–1908	Mercer	Macon, Georgia	L 0–24
10–17–1908	Jacksonville Athletic Club	Jacksonville, Florida	W 4–0
10–21–1908	Gainesville Athletic Club	Gainesville, Florida	W 37–5
10–24–1908	Columbia College	Lake City, Florida	W 6–0
11–1–1908	Rollins	Winter Park, Florida	L 0–6
11–7–1908	Stetson	Gainesville, Florida	W 6–5
11–21–1908	Jacksonville Athletic Club	Gainesville, Florida	W 37–0
11–26–1908	Stetson	DeLand, Florida	T 0–0

Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide.

1909

1909 Florida Gators football
Conference	Independent
1909 record	6–1–1
Head coach	George E. Pyle
Captain	Ralph Rader

Season overview

The University of the State of Florida officially shortened its name to the University of Florida in 1909, and the 1909 college football season was George E. Pyle's first as the head coach of the University of Florida football team. The 1909 Florida football team played the Stetson College Hatters twice in the same season for the second year, losing 0–26 on the Hatters' home field in DeLand, Florida, and tying them 5–5 on the Orange and Blue's home field in Gainesville. Florida also defeated the Rollins College Tars twice, and Pyle's 1909 Florida football team finished its fourth varsity football season 6–1–1.

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
10–8–1909	Gainesville Athletic Club	Gainesville, Florida	W 5–0
10–23–1909	Olympics	Jacksonville, Florida	W 9–0
10–30–1909	Rollins	Gainesville, Florida	W 14–0
11–6–1909	Stetson	DeLand, Florida	L 0–26
11–15–1909	Rollins	Orlando, Florida	W 28–3
11–20–1909	Olympics	Gainesville, Florida	W 11–0
11–24–1909	Stetson	Gainesville, Florida	T 5–5
11–28–1909	Tallahassee Athletic Club	Gainesville, Florida	W 24–0

Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide.

See also

• Florida Gators
• History of the University of Florida
• List of Florida Gators head football coaches

Bibliography

• 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida (2015).
• Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
• Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
• Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
• McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
• McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). ISBN 0-87397-025-X.
• Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196-X.
• Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida, South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). ISBN 0-938637-00-2.

External links

• College Football Data Warehouse, Florida Yearly Results: 1906–1909. Retrieved July 29, 2015.