Jake Gaither

Last updated
Jake Gaither
Jake Gaither portrait.jpg
Biographical details
Born(1903-04-11)April 11, 1903
Dayton, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedFebruary 18, 1994(1994-02-18) (aged 90)
Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Playing career
?–1927 Knoxville
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1937–1944 Florida A&M (assistant)
1945–1969 Florida A&M
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1945–1973 Florida A&M
Head coaching record
Overall204–36–4 (.844)
Bowls12–13–1 (.481)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 AP small college national (1962)
8 black college national (1950, 1952–1954, 1957, 1959, 1961–1962)
20 SIAC (1945–1950, 1952–1965)
3 SIAC Division A (1967–1969)
Awards
NAIA Coach of the Year (1969)
Walter Camp Man of the Year (1974)
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1975)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1975 (profile)

Alonzo Smith "Jake" Gaither (April 11, 1903 – February 18, 1994) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Florida A&M University (FAMU) for 25 years, from 1945 to 1969, compiling a record of 204–36–4. His won–loss record is among the best of any college football coach.

Contents

Biography

Gaither was born in 1903 in Dayton, Tennessee. His father was a preacher, and as a youth Gaither expected to also become a preacher. He graduated from Knoxville College, where he played football as an end in 1927. Gaither's father died around that time, and Gaither became a high school football coach to help support his family. Gaither later completed a master's degree at Ohio State University in 1937.

Coach Jake Gaither (standing, middle, white shirt with whistle) in the locker room with his Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) football team: Tallahassee, Florida, 1953 Coach Jake Gaither (standing, middle, white shirt) in the locker room with his Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) football team.jpg
Coach Jake Gaither (standing, middle, white shirt with whistle) in the locker room with his Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) football team: Tallahassee, Florida, 1953

Gaither went to work as an assistant to head coach William M. Bell at Florida A&M College for Negroes (as it was called then) in 1937. [1] [2] The FAMC Rattlers had an undefeated (8–0) season that year, and won their first black college football national championship. The school won the national title again in 1942. Bell left to enter military service in 1943. After two years of problems in the football program, Gaither was hired as the head football coach for Florida A&M College in 1945. One story is that the president of the college could not find anyone else to take the job.

Gaither worked very hard to motivate his players. He would say, "I like my boys to be agile, mobile, and hostile." It is reported that he would hide an onion in his handkerchief to work up tears in his pre-game pep talks. He built up an effective recruiting network; in the days of Jim Crow, he had the pick of every good black high school player in Florida. Indeed, by the 1960s did not even bother to recruit players from outside the state. Gaither was dedicated to his job. After retiring, he told his biographer, "I run into so many people who have no deep sense of morals—people who got a price tag on them, who'd sell their soul. I want to find the man who has no price tag on him. I'm not for sale."

Gaither instituted an annual coaching clinic at FAMU in the late 1950s. He recruited major college coaches, including Paul "Bear" Bryant, Frank Broyles, Darrell Royal, Woody Hayes and Adolph Rupp, among others, to staff the clinics.

Gaither introduced the Split-T formation in 1963, and it was soon adopted at other colleges. In 1969 Florida A&M defeated the Spartans of the University of Tampa, 34–28, in the South's first football game between a white college and a historically black college.

Gaither also coached basketball and track in his early years as football coach. He later became Director of Athletics and Chairman of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at FAMU. He continued to hold the last two positions after he retired as coach until his retirement from teaching in 1973.

When Gaither retired from coaching in 1969, his Florida A&M teams had a 204–36–4 record, for a .844 winning percentage. Thirty-six players from Gaither's teams were All-Americans, and 42 went on to play in the National Football League (NFL). Gaither was named Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Decade. He was named College Division Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association in 1962, and was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975. He also received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award that year, and the Walter Camp Man of the Year award in 1974. The Jake Gaither Trophy has been awarded to the best Black collegiate football player each year since 1978. The Jake Gaither Gymnasium is located on the FAMU campus.

Gaither died in Tallahassee, Florida in 1994. The Jake Gaither House where he lived is now a cultural center. [3]

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs AP#UPI°
Florida A&M Rattlers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1945–1969)
1945 Florida A&M 9–16–01stL Orange Blossom Classic
1946 Florida A&M 6–4–16–01stL Orange Blossom Classic, T Angel Bowl
1947 Florida A&M 9–15–01stW Orange Blossom Classic
1948 Florida A&M8–2L Orange Blossom Classic
1949 Florida A&M 7–2L Orange Blossom Classic
1950 Florida A&M 8–1–16–01stL Orange Blossom Classic
1951 Florida A&M 7–1–14–13rdW Orange Blossom Classic
1952 Florida A&M 8–24–11stW Orange Blossom Classic
1953 Florida A&M 10–16–01stL Orange Blossom Classic
1954 Florida A&M 8–14–01stW Orange Blossom Classic
1955 Florida A&M 7–1–16–01stL Orange Blossom Classic
1956 Florida A&M 8–15–01stL Orange Blossom Classic
1957 Florida A&M 9–05–01stW Orange Blossom Classic
1958 Florida A&M 7–25–01stL Orange Blossom Classic
1959 Florida A&M 10–05–01stW Orange Blossom Classic 14
1960 Florida A&M 9–15–01stW Orange Blossom Classic 5
1961 Florida A&M 10–05–01stW Orange Blossom Classic 46
1962 Florida A&M 9–1T–1stL Orange Blossom Classic 12
1963 Florida A&M 8–23–01stW Orange Blossom Classic 76
1964 Florida A&M 9–13–0W Orange Blossom Classic 912
1965 Florida A&M7–3L Orange Blossom Classic
1966 Florida A&M7–3W Orange Blossom Classic
1967 Florida A&M8–2(Division A)L Orange Blossom Classic
1968 Florida A&M8–2(Division A)L Orange Blossom Classic T–19
1969 Florida A&M 8–1(Division A)W Orange Blossom Classic 16
Florida A&M:204–36–4
Total:204–36–4
      National championship        Conference title        Conference division title or championship game berth

See also

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The 1961 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M University as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1961 NCAA College Division football season. In their 17th season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled a perfect 10–0 record, including a victory over Jackson State in the Orange Blossom Classic for the black college football national championship, and shut out six of ten opponents. The team was ranked No. 4 in the final 1961 AP small college poll and No. 6 in the final UPI coaches poll. The team played its home games at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

The 1959 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M University as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1959 NCAA College Division football season. In their 15th season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled a perfect 10–0 record, including a victory over Prairie View A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic for the black college football national championship. The team was ranked No. 14 in the final UPI coaches small colleges poll. The team played its home games at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

The 1957 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M University as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1957 NCAA College Division football season. In their 13th season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled a perfect 9–0 record, including a victory over Maryland State in the Orange Blossom Classic for the black college football national championship. The team played its home games at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

The 1954 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M University as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1954 college football season. In their 10th season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled an 8–1 record, including a victory over Maryland State in the Orange Blossom Classic. The team played its home games at Bragg Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

The 1953 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M University as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1953 college football season. In their ninth season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled a 10–1 record. The team's sole loss was to Prairie View A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic. The team played its home games at Bragg Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

The 1945 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M College as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1945 college football season. In their first season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled a 9–1 record and won the SIAC championship. The team's sole loss was to undefeated black college national champion Wiley in the Orange Blossom Classic. The Rattlers played their home games at Sampson-Bragg Field in Tallahassee, Florida.

The 1947 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M College as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1947 college football season. In their third season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled a 9–1 record, including a victory over Hampton in the Orange Blossom Classic. The Rattlers played their home games at Sampson-Bragg Field in Tallahassee, Florida.

The 1938 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M College as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1938 college football season. In their third season under head coach William "Big Bill" Bell, the Rattlers compiled a perfect 8–0 record, defeated Kentucky State in the Orange Blossom Classic, outscored opponents by a total of 189 to 7, and were recognized as the black college national championship. The Rattlers played their home games at College Field in Tallahassee, Florida.

The 1937 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M College as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1937 college football season. In their second season under head coach William "Big Bill" Bell, the Rattlers compiled a 7–1–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 132 to 74. In post-season play, the Rattlers defeated Hampton in the Orange Blossom Classic and then lost to Prairie View A&M in the Prairie View Bowl on New Year's Day. The Rattlers played their home games at College Field in Tallahassee, Florida.

The 1946 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M College as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1946 college football season. In their second season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled a 6–3–1 record, and won the SIAC championship, and appeared in two post-season games, losing to Lincoln (PA) in the Orange Blossom Classic and tying Wiley in the Angel Bowl.

References

  1. ↑ "Rattlers To Open Season Saturday". The Tallahassee Daily Democrat. October 1, 1937. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Florida Rattlers Win First Battle". The Tallahassee Daily Democrat. October 3, 1937. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Jake Gaither House". The Jake Gaither Memorial House Foundation. 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2019.

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