My First College Football Game

Jan 29, 2021, 8:03 PM

My first college football game was in the fall of 1927. I had just entered the first grade. We lived about 16 miles from Gainesville, FL, so it was just a short hop to Gator Town. My Dad loaded up my older brother and I and off we went. First, we went by Florida Union where we gat a hotdog and a few other snacks. I thought that was a big deal. We walked over to the stadium, went to a ticket booth and bought our tickets. My ticket was no more than a quarter. Every year my Dad would take me and my older brother to at least one Gator game each season until his death in 1937. Going by the Florida Union for a snack became a ritual.

Several months ago I wondered if there was a Gator fan still living who had attended a Gator game before 1927. Maybe, just maybe, I had the record. So, I wrote a letter to the Gator Magazine (the alumni magazine). A lady called me and we discussed several topics. She asked me if I remembered who the Gator's opponent was in the 1927 game. I told her I remembered the hotdog but had no idea who the Gators were playing. I looked on the Gator's schedule for 1927 and nothing rang a bell. I happened to look at the 1926 Gator schedule and by golly Clemson had played the Gators in Gainesville. In the article in the Fall/Winter issue of "The Gator", she had retrieved a photo from the archives of the 1926 Florida/Clemson game and posted it along with a few blurbs from our conversation. She forgot to ask if there was anyone out there in radio and television land who had attended a Gator football game before 1927. In the meantime I'll assume I'm the winner unless someone claims they went to a game in 1921.

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We had a Chevrolet sedan in 1927. It must have been one or two years old. I don't remember much about the cars before then but my older siblings told me my parents had a Maxwell and Overland. My Dad was one of the first to own an automobile (the Doctor was the first) and that was about 1910. My Mother, who was a petite lady, learned to drive when my Dad bought his first car. Can't imagine how she could navigate those sand roads with no power steering. I believe the Chevrolet may have been his first car with pneumatic tires. All of the others had solid rubber tires. (This info also from my older siblings). I remember my Mother driving alone from the Gainesville area to the Tampa area in the late 1920's and early '30's to visit one of her sisters.

My First College Football Game

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