Anyone interested in a refresher course in what it actually means to be a Florida Gator would do well to acquaint himself with the life and times of the first Gator ever drafted by the NFL or to be selected to the all-SEC first team. Meet Walter Mayberry: Mayberry was a one-man attack much of his career, gaining national notoriety early in the '37 season when legendary Temple coach Pop Warner gave him rave reviews after the Gators traveled to Philadelphia and lost a Friday night game to the Owls in which Mayberry starred. He also punted and snagged 11 career interceptions, which still rank tied for seventh in school history. From Gatorsport archives: Mayberry grew up in Daytona Beach and was a football and basketball standout at Mainland High. Benny Kahn, sports editor and columnist for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for decades, wrote glowingly of Mayberry's ability. In late Tampa Tribune editor/columnist Tom McEwen's 1974 book "The Gators," he spoke to Kahn about Mayberry's dynamic ability. "An unforgettable football star,'' Kahn said. "As a collegian at Florida, he was fast and deceptive. He could punt as well as he could run, and he could run as well as he could pass. He was a genuine triple-threat man." He saw combat during World War II and as a member of the Marine Fighter Squadron 123, in the late summer of 1943, Lt. Mayberry was back in the national headlines when he was credited with shooting down three Japanese Zeros in an air fight. A week later, as Mayberry was escorting bombers according to news reports at the time, he was shot down and captured in the Pacific Theater. Mayberry was never seen again, held hostage in a Japanese POW camp in the Rabaul District of Papua New Guinea. According to Japanese records, Mayberry was reported killed during an allied bombing mission that targeted the prison camp at Rabaul on March 5, 1944. Other reports suggest he was executed by his captors. A little perspective on true "Gatorhood" and the honor that dwells in true commitment.
Here's another one that was a stellar UF athlete, Forest "Fergie" Ferguson: Source: Wikipedia Forest K. Ferguson - Wikipedia "Ferguson entered the University of Florida as a freshman in the fall of 1938, and, after he became eligible as a sophomore, he quickly claimed his position as a three-year starter at end for coach Josh Cody and coach Tom Lieb's Florida Gators football teams from 1939 to 1941.[6] Ferguson provided many of the highlights for the Gators during those years, "playing both ways," as was typical in the era of single platoon football.[7] As good or better on defense than he was on offense, his team records for career receptions (43) and career receiving yardage (668) remained unbroken until the 1960s, when Gators quarterbacks Steve Spurrier and John Reaves were throwing passes to star receivers Charles Casey, Richard Trapp and Carlos Alvarez in pro passing schemes.[7] He had a dramatic impact on the Gators' prospects almost immediately as a sophomore starter in 1939, and played a key role in the Gators' 7–0 upset of coach Frank Leahy's Boston College Eagles in Boston.[7] The Gators stopped the Eagles inside the Gators' 15-yard line five times, while Ferguson recorded six tackles for a loss, including a dramatic tackle of Eagles quarterback Charlie O'Rourke on a fourth-down play from the Gators' 4-yard line, dropping O'Rourke nine yards behind the line of scrimmage.[7] Ferguson competed in field events for the Florida track team. Memorably, he scored both touchdowns on receptions for 45 and 74 yards in a 14–0 upset of the Miami Hurricanes in 1941, while totaling 123 yards; The Miami Herald reported the game score as "Forrest Ferguson 14; University of Miami 0."[8][9] Less often remembered was the key role he played against Miami on defense: his tackles of Miami ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage totaled 62 yards of losses.[7] The 74-yard touchdown catch remained the longest reception in team history until 1954.[5] Seven days later, he figured prominently in the Gators' 14–7 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.[10] First, he stripped the ball from a Yellow Jackets ball carrier on the Georgia Tech 28-yard line, and then two plays later, he caught a pass from Gators halfback Tommy Harrison, and when cornered by defenders he lateraled the ball to tackle Milton Hull for the touchdown.[10] Fergie boxing in 1941 Seminole yearbook. During his 1941 senior season, Ferguson caught a total of 26 passes in 10 games.[11] He also led the 1941 Florida football team with 36 points scored and 420 minutes played; the 1942 Seminole yearbook referred to him as a "defensive bulwark," "colorful," and "unpredictable."[12] After the season, he received first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors,[13] and was an honorable mention All-American selection by Grantland Rice in Collier's magazine.[14] Following his final college football season, Ferguson became the State of Florida collegiate heavyweight boxing champion, and won the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national championship in the javelin throw with a distance of 203 feet, 6 and 1/2 inches, in 1942.[15] During the spring of 1942, he also played at first base for the Florida Gators baseball team.[16] Ferguson graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in education in 1942.[9] Military service Several months after the United States entered World War II, Ferguson joined the U.S. Army in 1942, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant after attending officers' candidate school.[15] On June 6, 1944, he led a platoon in the anti-tank company, 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division in the Allies' D-Day landings on Omaha Beach in Nazi-occupied Normandy, France.[17] After landing in the second wave of the amphibious assault, Ferguson and his platoon, as well as the survivors from the first wave, were pinned down on the beach by heavy rifle, machine gun and artillery fire from the German defenders, and their advance was blocked by extensive barbed wire and other enemy obstacles.[17] Ferguson rose under fire, cleared a passage through the enemy obstacles with a Bangalore torpedo, and was gravely wounded while leading his men in a direct frontal assault against the enemy.[17] Ferguson was awarded the U.S. Army's Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest medal for gallantry, for "extraordinary heroism" in combat on June 6, 1944."
Walter “Tiger” Mayberry was a quarterback and a halfback for the University of Florida football team. He became the Gators’ first ever All-SEC player in 1937. Walter was also widely recognized for his punting ability. Mayberry was the 8th pick in the first round of the 1937 NFL draft. During World War II, he became a Marine fighter pilot. His plane was shot down and he was captured. Mayberry died in a Japanese POW camp in 1943 during an Allied air raid on Rabaul. He was one of seven former Gator football players who lost their lives in the war.
My dad told me about him during a father son talk about what it means to be a man. Dad loved the Gators, and as a veteran of the air war in Europe, he knew a thing or two about courage and perseverance in the face of long odds. He specifically brought LT Mayberry up as an example. I'm thinking this took place in the aftermath of the victory over UGA in '63 when the great Larry Dupree rose to an occasion that no one would envy. Perhaps that would be a good story to share with some aching Gators in need of encouragement in difficult times - or who just want to learn something about UF FB before the HBC arrived in 1990.
