1949 Florida Gators football team

The 1949 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1949 college football season. The season was Raymond Wolf's fourth and last as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Wolf's 1949 Florida Gators finished 4–5–1 overall and 1–4–1 in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), placing tenth of twelve SEC teams,[2] and ending the Gators' "Golden Era."

1949 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record4–5–1 (1–4–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeT formation
CaptainJames W. Kynes
Home stadiumFlorida Field
(capacity: 22,800)[1]
1949 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Tulane $ 5 –1 –07 –2 –1
No. 11 Kentucky 4 –1 –09 –3 –0
No. 17 Tennessee 4 –1 –17 –2 –1
Georgia Tech 5 –2 –07 –3 –0
No. 9 LSU 4 –2 –08 –3 –0
Alabama 4 –3 –16 –3 –1
Vanderbilt 4 –4 –05 –5 –0
Auburn 2 –4 –22 –4 –3
Ole Miss 2 –4 –04 –5 –1
Florida 1 –4 –14 –5 –1
Georgia 1 –4 –14 –6 –1
Mississippi State 0 –6 –00 –8 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

The highlight of the 1949 season was the Gators' 28–7 upset of the Georgia Bulldogs.[3] Led by halfback Chuck Hunsinger, who rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns, and team captain Jimmy Kynes, who was the defensive star and played every minute of the sixty-minute game,[3] the Gators beat the Dawgs for the first time since 1940.

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 24The Citadel*
W 13–020,000[4]
October 1at Tulsa*
W 40–79,428[5]
October 8vs. Auburn
T 14–1411,750[6]
October 15vs. Vanderbilt
L 17–22[7]
October 22Georgia Techdagger
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
L 14–43[8]
October 29Furman*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 28–279,000[9]
November 5vs. Georgia
  • Gator Bowl Stadium
  • Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)
W 28–736,500[10]
November 12vs. No. 14 Kentucky
L 0–3520,000[11]
November 18at Miami (FL)*
L 13–2855,981[12]
November 26Alabama
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 13–3544,000[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

Mr. Two Bits

The otherwise lackluster season is notable for the beginning of the Mr. Two Bits tradition. Tampa insurance salesman George Edmondson, Jr., a former Citadel student, was in attendance at the season opening game against his former school and was struck by the lack of support shown by the fans at Florida Field. Feeling sorry for Florida's players, he began leading his section in the traditional "two bits" cheer. The Gators won, and the cheer was so well received that Edmonson returned to Gainesville later in the season to lead it again. This began a decades-long tradition, as Edmonson would continue to lead the cheer from the stands and (eventually) from the field as "Mr. Two Bits" until his retirement from the role in 2008.[14] Since then, Gator "celebrities" and selected students have filled the role.

Postseason

After Wolf left Gainesville, he returned to his alma mater, Texas Christian University, where he became a long-time administrator.

References
  1. The Department of Publicity and The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. "1949 Florida Football Facts 'n Figures" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  2. 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 110–111 (2015). Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  3. Noel Nash, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois, pp. 11–13 (1998).
  4. "Florida struggles to 13 to 0 victory over Citadel". Tallahassee Democrat. September 25, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Hurricane walloped by Florida 40–7". Okmulgee Daily Times. October 2, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Florida held to 14–14 tie by Auburn". The Courier-Journal. October 9, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Vanderbilt Commodores defeat Florida in 4th". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 16, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Speedy Georgia Tech rolls over Gators, 43–14". The Palm Beach Post. October 23, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Hurricane bows to Florida by 28–27 count". The Greenville News. October 30, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Gators hammer Bulldogs, 28 to 7". The Atlanta Constitution. November 6, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Kentucky wallops Florida team, 35–0, before 20,000 crowd". The Tampa Tribune. November 13, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Miami dumps Florida in 28–13 grid battle". News-Press. November 19, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Tide romps, 35–13, over Florida Gators". The Birmingham News. November 27, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Gators' Mr. Two-Bits to hang it up after 60 years at Florida – Orlando Sentinel
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