Fergie Ferguson Award

Last updated
Fergie Ferguson Award
Awarded for"Senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage"
Location University of Florida,
Gainesville, Florida
CountryUnited 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.

Contents

Namesake

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]

Award

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:

Award winners

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), 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)
2022 Ventrell Miller (LB)
2023 Ricky Pearsall (WR)

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 2014 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2014-09-12 at the Wayback Machine , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 71 & 94 (2014). Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  2. Grantland Rice, "The All-America Football Team," Collier's, p. 78 (December 13, 1941). Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  3. 1 2 MilitaryTimes.com, Hall of Valor, Forest K. Ferguson. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  4. Associated Press, "Funeral Rites Held For Forrest Ferguson, Gator Grid All-America," St. Petersburg Times, p. 14 (May 20, 1954). Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  5. "Malcolm Hammack Gets First Forest Ferguson Award," The News-Tribune, p. 13 (November 13, 1955). Retrieved September 28, 2014.