Remembering University of Florida Football [Paperback]

When the Florida Agricultural College in Lake City became the University of Florida and moved south to Gainesville in 1906, it had a very fledgling football team, although worthy opponents were difficult to find. Little by little, as the school increased in size and reputation, its football team attracted higher-performing athletes and sterner opponents until it was willing to play any team in the country. In 1966, the team had its first Heisman Trophy winner, but it was not until 30 years later that UF won its first national championship. Since then UF has chalked up two more Heisman Trophy winners and two more national championships. With a selection of fine historic images from his bestselling book, Historic Photos of University of Florida Football, Kevin McCarthy provides a valuable and revealing historical retrospective on the growth and development of University of Florida football. Remembering University of Florida Football chronicles the rise of one of the premier football programs in the country through over one hundred black-and-white photographs, each of them captioned and with introductions. The book includes photos of the university and the surrounding community to which the “Fightin’ Gators” have become so much an integral part.

Kevin McCarthy has written more than 40 books, mostly about the history and culture of Florida, but also about Saudi Arabia, Ireland, and English grammar. He has a bachelor’s degree from LaSalle College in Philadelphia and two degrees from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: an M.A. in English and a Ph.D. in Linguistics. He taught in Turkey in the Peace Corps for two years, in Lebanon for one year, in Saudi Arabia for two years, and at the University of Florida for 33 years. He has also given workshops on writing in Vietnam.