| Fergie Ferguson Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | "Senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage" |
| Location | University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Florida Gators football coaching staff |
| Website | Florida Gators football |
The Forest K. Ferguson Award, commonly known as the "Fergie Ferguson Award," is presented annually to a senior member of the Florida Gators football team in memory of one of the University of Florida's greatest athletes.
The award takes its name from Forest K. Ferguson, known as "Fergie" to his teammates, who was one of the University of Florida's greatest all-around athletes. [1] Ferguson received first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and honorable mention All-American honors as a football player in 1941. [2] He was also the State of Florida collegiate boxing champion, and won the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national championship in the javelin throw in 1942. [1] As a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Ferguson led an infantry platoon during the D-Day landings in Nazi-occupied France on June 6, 1944. His platoon was pinned down by a machine gun being fired from a nest on a high bluff, so Ferguson climbed the cliff and eliminated the danger but was severely wounded in the process. [3] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest medal, for "extraordinary heroism" in combat. [3] Ferguson never fully recovered from his wounds, and died from complications related to his war-time injuries in 1954. [4]
The Forest K. Ferguson Award was established in Ferguson's honor by several of his former Gators teammates in 1955. The award is given annually in the form of a trophy, which remains in the permanent possession of the university. The recipient is the Gators' "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage," and is selected by the Florida Gators football coaching staff and players. [1] Former Gator and NFL fullback Mal Hammack was the first recipient in 1955. [5] The recipients to date are listed below:
1954– Malcolm Hammack (FB)
1955– Steve DeLaTorre (C/LB)
1956– Larry Wesley (T)
1957– Jim Rountree (HB)
1958– Jimmy Dunn (QB)
1959– Asa Cox (G)
1960– Pat Patchen (E), Vic Miranda (T)
1961– Jim Beaver (T)
1962– Sam Holland (E)
1963– Jimmy Morgan (LB), Hagood Clarke (HB)
1964– Larry Dupree (FB)
1965– Charles Casey (E)
1966– Steve Spurrier (QB)
1967– Richard Trapp (E)
1968– Guy Dennis (G), Larry Smith (RB)
1969– Steve Tannen (DB)
1970– Jack Youngblood (DE)
1971– John Reaves (QB)
1972– Fred Abbott (LB)
1973– David Hitchcock (NG)
1974– Lee McGriff (SE)
1975– Jimmy DuBose (FB)
1976– Jimmy Fisher (QB)
1977– Wes Chandler (SE)
1978– Mike Dupree (DE)
1979– Chuck Hatch (DB)
1980– David Little (LB)
1981– Brian Clark (PK)
1982– James Jones (FB)
1983– Dwayne Dixon (WR)
1984– Gary Rolle (WR)
1985– Neal Anderson (RB)
1986– Ricky Nattiel (WR)
1987– Kerwin Bell (QB)
1988– Louis Oliver (DB)
1989– John Durden (OT)
1990– Kirk Kirkpatrick (TE)
1991– Cal Dixon (C)
1992– Lex Smith (DE)
1993– William Gaines (DT)
1994– Michael Gilmore (DB)
1995– Ben Hanks (LB)
1996– James Bates (LB)
1997– Dwayne Thomas (LB)
1998– Willie Cohens (DE)
1999– Cheston Blackshear (OG)
2000– Jesse Palmer (QB)
2001– Rob Roberts (FB)
2002– Byron Hardmon (LB)
2003– Daryl Dixon (FS)
2004– Ciatrick Fason (RB)
2005– Jarvis Herring (S)
2006– Jemalle Cornelius (WR)
2007– Andre Caldwell (WR)
2008– Louis Murphy (WR)
2009– Ryan Stamper (LB)
2010– Justin Trattou (DE)
2011– John Brantley (QB), LB Lerentee McCray (LB)
2012– Sharrif Floyd (DL), Jon Bostic (LB), Frankie Hammond (WR), Josh Evans (DB)
2013– Jeremy Brown (DB), Kyle Koehne (OL), Darrin Kitchens (LB)
2014– Max Garcia (OL)
2015– Jon Bullard (DL)
2016– Jarrad Davis (LB)
2017– Duke Dawson (DB)
The Jacksonville Bulls were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League (USFL) during its final two seasons, 1984 and 1985. They played their home games in the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville.
The 2002 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 49th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 45th Canadian Football League season.
The 2000 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 47th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 43rd Canadian Football League season.
The 1999 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 46th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 42nd Canadian Football League season.
The 1998 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 45th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 41st Canadian Football League season.
The 1997 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 44th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 40th Canadian Football League season.
The 1996 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 43rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 39th Canadian Football League season.
The 1977 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 24th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 20th Canadian Football League season.
The 1976 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 23rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 19th Canadian Football League season.
The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is a Canadian football award recognizing the most outstanding football player of the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RESQ)
The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Tennessee entered the 1998 season coming off an 11–2 record in 1997. The Volunteers were given a preseason ranking of No. 10 in the AP Poll.
The 1964 Boston Patriots season was the franchise's 5th season in the American Football League. The Patriots ended the season with a record of ten wins, three losses, and one tie, and finished second in the AFL's Eastern Division.
Malcolm Eugene Hammack was an American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve years during the 1950s and 1960s. Hammack played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago and St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL.
Dwayne Keith Dixon is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football League. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, and the Washington Commandos and Detroit Drive of the Arena Football League. Dixon has been a college football coach since 1990.
The Atlantic Coast Conference honors players and coaches upon the conclusion of each college football season with the following individual honors as voted on by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
Coaches and media of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) bestow the following individual awards at the end of each college football season.
Coaches of the Big 12 Conference bestow the following individual awards at the end of each football season.
The 1972 CFL Draft composed of nine rounds where 70 Canadian football players that were chosen exclusively from eligible Canadian universities. The Montreal Alouettes, who had the worst record in the Eastern Conference in the previous season, had the first overall selection.
Mr. Football USA also known as ESPN RISE National Player of the Year, formerly EA Sports Mr. Football USA, is an award presented to the United States high school football National Player of the year by ESPN HS. In 2013, the award was given by the StudentSports.com.
