- Jun 14, 2014
- 25,397
- 29,513
Founding Member
I don't mean to brag or anything, but I got most improved in our Oaks Mall bowling league.
Pulled yourself out of the gutter, ehh.
I don't mean to brag or anything, but I got most improved in our Oaks Mall bowling league.
David Hitchcock was an outstanding player from Winter Haven and played well for the Gators, just not an All American. He did become captain his senior year. There was a smallish player from South Central Florida who was great in high school and started a few games in the middle of the defense for UF in the 60's, Tom Abdelnour. He played with the heart of a lion but I felt was too small to compete in the SEC.
I dug a little and found this old press guide from 1979. Fernando is a freshman. Also, David Mabardy is in there as a guard. His weight at the time wasn’t as much as I remembered:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/gatorzone.com/documents/2016/8/19/1979_fb_media_guide.pdf
Yancey Sutton was a good LB. Even more incredible was that he was deaf. I did hear that if he could ever see the QB’s lips when he called the play, he knew what was coming! Didn’t realize you attended APG as they now call it. I believe Yancey graduated from Leon, however.wow... there were some impressive names in the media guide:
David Little, David Galloway and ...
At the time, legendary Alabama Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant called Yancey Sutton "the finest linebacker that we faced in 1978." Sutton now owns a landscaping business in his native Tallahassee."
If I'm not mistaken, he went to my Alma Mater - Godby High school.
Oh, and some dude who was the director of tickets.
This would have been a good reason to ramp up the DeLorean to 88mph and go back to '79 and find Foley another job, or possibly plant some heroin in his locker.
I also like how they listed Coach Pell's phone number... like "hey, feel free to give Charley a call"
And of course, a related thread:
Gator from the 70s
I played high school football in Florida against many great players but one in particular stood out.
Scot Brantley was the proverbial “man against boys “ in high school at Ocala Forest High. He started for three years and even as a sophomore he was significantly better than everyone else on the field.
I played for a very good high school program and I had the opportunity to play against several guys who played for big time college programs but nobody was anywhere near the talent of Scot Brantley
I believe Yancey graduated from Leon, however
Most everybody’s heard of Chandler and Kearse, but I’d say Doc might not be as well known outside of Gainesville. One of the biggest things I can remember about him was that F$U had Ron Simmons about the same time and was pushing him pretty hard for some awards and recognition. They made a pretty big deal about his workouts and him being able to bench over 500. Maybe it was 535, can’t recall. But on the heels of all that publicity, Doc went well beyond Simmons’ mark. Anyhow, his strength was legendary. Seems like I remember him being pretty good with the shot as well.
I know he’s been with the campus police and has worked with team security. James Bates featured Doc on one of his shows...
The guy’s another good Gator. I hope somebody that might have known about him pre-Gator can share.
I know he was having some serious health issues... any idea how he's doing today?
Yes, Yancey was a Leon Grad. It seems like I recall one year we were playing Tennesse and late in the game they called for a fake punt. Yancey apparently read the lips of the UT player and warned the defense of what was comping. fake punt completely snuffed out.Yancey Sutton was a good LB. Even more incredible was that he was deaf. I did hear that if he could ever see the QB’s lips when he called the play, he knew what was coming! Didn’t realize you attended APG as they now call it. I believe Yancey graduated from Leon, however.