Best Athletes

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We Chatterers all hail from different parts of Florida if not the US. We come from little towns and big cities. Most of us have been involved in sports one way or another. Seen a lot and competed a lot. In the process, we’ve likely all seen some pretty remarkable athletes. Everybody knows the famous ones, but I got to wondering...who are some of the best you’ve seen that few have heard about? I’ll start...

Some of you old timers may remember a lineman that came to UF from the little Panhandle town of Chattahoochee in 1976 by the name of David Mabardy. Although his time at UF was pretty nondescript, he was one hell of an athlete for the Chattahoochee High Yellow Jackets. Mabardy stood about 6’2”” and weighed in around 230. Best way I can describe him was that he was built like Arnold Shwartzenegger and could run like Houston McTear (you gotta be old to recognize that name!).

He was a four sport athlete and was pretty good at all. In track he would win the shot and the 100. Baseball, he could hit it a ton. He was a great rebounder in basketball, could box anybody out and you couldn’t do the same to him. It used to be hilarious to watch him at the opening tip off. He’d usually get close to his opponent and flex. He and the team got a lot of mileage out of the resulting intimidation. But football was where he excelled.

He was a fullback / linebacker and was always the best player on the field. Couldn’t tackle him nor block him. Hard to believe how fast he was for a guy his size at that time. I remember seeing him race one summer against our best athlete (I was at a neighboring high school) and he absolutely smoked him and our guy was about 50 lbs lighter and pretty speedy. We were off when Chattahoochee played Greensboro, who won the Class A championship that year. Greensboro won, but Mabardy made a legendary play when he met the Bulldogs’ stud MLB head on, knocking him back about 10 ft and breaking his helmet in the process! The kid refused to go back in the game after that.

Unfortunately, Mabardy put on about 70 lbs in Gainesville and never adjusted to the change of position or the new body mass. He went on to work as a corrections officer, had a family, and was an ordinary Joe. He passed away a few years back. Like I say, not many probably knew about him, but he was one of the best high school athletes I ever saw.

 

[BMF]

If he graduated HS in 76 he passed away young.

I saw a thing a few years ago that showed what a lot of the players on the 1995 NC team went on to do for a living. It was pretty interesting. A handful became police officers.

 

[JDW]

If he graduated HS in 76 he passed away young.

I saw a thing a few years ago that showed what a lot of the players on the 1995 NC team went on to do for a living. It was pretty interesting. A handful became police officers.

Dealing with CrimiNoles made them prepared for dealing with the ones in the streets

 

[Gatorraid81]

Think the guy could’ve been on steroids?

 

[cover2]

Think the guy could’ve been on steroids?

Good question. I’m not sure. He was the youngest in his family and his brothers were all big strong guys. I know he lifted like crazy and this was at a time when football weight training, particularly at the HS level, was in its infancy. His mom was a big strong woman. I think he had good genetics. I never heard any stories of him juicing.

I remember going to a 4th of July deal at the lake near Chattahoochee and he and Joe Wickline were in attendance. Wickline was a monster. There was a DJ playing music and at one point he called Mabardy up to the mic to say a few words. He was as close to a celebrity as there was. I don’t recall everything he said, but at the end he yelled “How many Gators have we got here?” About a third of the crowd cheered. Then he bellowed “How many Seminoles we got here?” The other two thirds started hollering. Then he said “Y’all meet me in the parking lot!” Most of those two thirds packed their schit up and left! He’ll always be a great Gator to me!

 

[Deathroll]

Being from the Big Bend I always rooted for him but he never really met expectations. Another favorite of mine back in that era was Fernando Jackson out of Blountstown. For his size he may have been the hardest hitting LB I've seen. He also met what I would call a premature death.

 

[Thick&ThinG8r]

Being from the Big Bend I always rooted for him but he never really met expectations. Another favorite of mine back in that era was Fernando Jackson out of Blountstown. For his size he may have been the hardest hitting LB I've seen. He also met what I would call a premature death.

I was a huge Fernando fan.
He seemed like the only gator not afraid to take on Hershel.

 

[cover2]

Being from the Big Bend I always rooted for him but he never really met expectations. Another favorite of mine back in that era was Fernando Jackson out of Blountstown. For his size he may have been the hardest hitting LB I've seen. He also met what I would call a premature death.

Fernando Jackson was a helluva high school football player. I also remember him making the All Big Bend team, which was a feat back in those days if you weren’t from Tallahassee. I do remember his untimely passing.

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

 

[Okeechobee Joe]

Harry Billie, a Seminole Indian, was a legendary athlete in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field in Southwest Florida in the early 1960s. He starred in basketball for tiny Everglades City High School Gators before transferring for his senior year at the bigger Naples High School where he played football. Everglades City was too small to have a football team so Billie moved to Naples and lived with Rollie Rice who was the American Legion baseball coach.

Billie once scored 6 touchdowns in a game against Venice.

Billie was an athlete of Jim Thorpe type proportions. People who knew sports and who saw him play compared him to athletes like Roberto Clemente, Pete Maravich, Deion Sanders. His records and the victories he led the Naples High Golden Eagles to were removed from the record books because his transfer to Naples was deemed a violation of the rules by the athletic association. This was like Jim Thorpe having his Olympic records stripped from him because he had once played semi-professional baseball.

Billie was signed to play football at Florida State and the headlines in the papers read something like "Honest Injun A Real Seminole to Play for the Seminoles". But he was not a student and never went to class. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed him to a baseball contract and groomed him as a catcher but he never got out of the minor leagues. It seemed he had a problem with alcohol.

He later got his alcoholism under control and lived out his life with a regular job on the Miccosukee Reservation down in the Everglades along the Tamiami Trail near Ochopee.

You can read Harry Billie's story here which is worth your time: The Legend of Harry Billie

 

[Theologator]

I rowed in high school with Andrew Sudduth. We won the New England championship. He went on to lead Harvard to a national championship, won an Olympic silver and defeated the Soviets in the Goodwill Games. He was named the amateur rower of the decade for the 1980’s. He died young of pancreatic cancer in 2006.

Andrew Sudduth - Wikipedia

 

[NavetG8r]

I don't mean to brag or anything, but I got most improved in our Oaks Mall bowling league.

 

[cover2]

I don't mean to brag or anything, but I got most improved in our Oaks Mall bowling league.

Even Earl Anthony had to start somewhere.

 

[QueenCityGator]

I thought by the thread title that we’d be ranking whether Kobe, Deion, or No Jackson was the best athlete.

 

[cover2]

I thought by the thread title that we’d be ranking whether Kobe, Deion, or No Jackson was the best athlete.

 

[Theologator]

I thought by the thread title that we’d be ranking whether Kobe, Deion, or No Jackson was the best athlete.

And if was about Gators... Kearse? Dock Luckie? Wes Chandler?

 

[QueenCityGator]

And if was about Gators... Kearse? Dock Luckie? Wes Chandler?

Tebow

 

[cover2]

And if was about Gators... Kearse? Dock Luckie? Wes Chandler?

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.

 

[Theologator]

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.

Yes, Dock benched over 600 at UF and over 700 later. He set state records in shot & discus that stood for years. As I recall, he didn’t spin around, he just threw them. He was also a state wrestling champ. (Edit: At Fort Pierce High School)

One day I was sitting on the wall outside GPA (now Turlington Hall) and a big shadow fell over me. It was Dock, wearing white shorts, white sneakers and white Gilligan hat - no shirt. I looked up at him and he said, “Man it’s hot out here.” I said, “Yeah Dock, it’s hot!” From then on he would speak to me whenever our paths crossed. He never knew my name. But years later I was around the stadium pregame with my sons and we ran into him - now in a UFPD uniform. He recognized me and waved me over and I introduced them to him.

 

[cover2]

Yes, Dock benched over 600 at UF and over 700 later. He set state records in shot & discus that stood for years. As I recall, he didn’t spin around, he just threw them. He was also a state wrestling champ.

One day I was sitting on the wall outside GPA (now Turlington Hall) and a big shadow fell over me. It was Dock, wearing white shorts, white sneakers and white Gilligan hat - no shirt. I looked up at him and he said, “Man it’s hot out here.” I said, “Yeah Dock, it’s hot!” From then on he would speak to me whenever our paths crossed. He never knew my name. But years later I was around the stadium pregame with my sons and we ran into him - now in a UFPD uniform. He recognized me and waved me over and I introduced them to him.

That’s neat to hear. I had heard he was very down to earth, genuine. I wish more athletes, celebrities, and personalities these days would carry themselves like that. It doesn’t cost a cent to be nice to people...and they remember.

 

[Gator by the Sea]

I don’t know if you consider golfers to be “athletes” but I played high school golf with JJ Henry. He’s not completely obscure, but he’s certainly not a household name either. He has won a few times on tour, nothing major, but still quite the accomplishment. Anyway, he was a couple years behind me in school, but we won a state championship in high school before he went on to star at TCU and then the PGA Tour. The crazy thing about JJ is this: I’ve been around golf almost my entire life. Good golf, too, having played competitively and caddied professionally, and worked in the golf industry, and in all that time, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a better putter than JJ. But the reason that he hasn’t won more on tour? By tour standards, he’s a poor putter. It’s amazing the level that those tour guys play at.