1952 Florida Gators football team

The 1952 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1952 college football season. The season was Bob Woodruff's third and most successful as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Woodruff's 1952 Florida Gators finished with an overall record of 8–3 and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 3–3, placing sixth among twelve SEC teams.^[1]

1952 Florida Gators football
Gator Bowl, W 14–13 vs. Tulsa
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 15
Record	8–3 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Bob Woodruff (3rd season)
Home stadium	Florida Field
Seasons ← 1951 1953 →

1952 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Georgia Tech $	7	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
No. 8 Tennessee	5	–	0	–	1			8	–	2	–	1
No. 7 Ole Miss	4	–	0	–	2			8	–	1	–	2
No. 9 Alabama	4	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Georgia	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
No. 15 Florida	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Mississippi State	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Tulane	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
No. 20 Kentucky	1	–	3	–	2			5	–	4	–	2
LSU	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	5	–	2
Auburn	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Before the season

After Sullivan's early departure for the Boston Red Sox left the Gators without a starting quarterback, Doug Dickey advanced from seventh on the Gators' depth chart to starter.^[2] The Gators were led by fullback Rick Casares, halfback J. "Pappa" Hall, alternating quarterbacks Doug Dickey and Fred Robinson, and lineman Charlie LaPradd, the Gators' lightest tackle and one of their two captains.^{[3][note 1]} Also in the backfield was Buford Long.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	Stetson*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL	W 33–6	20,000	^[5]
September 27	at Georgia Tech		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 14–17	30,939	^[6]
October 4	vs. The Citadel*		Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL	W 33–0	21,000	^[7]
October 11	Clemson*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL	W 54–13	25,000	^[8]
October 18	at Vanderbilt		Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 13–20	20,000	^[9]
October 25	vs. Georgia	No. 20	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	W 30–0	37,000	^[10]
November 1	Auburn	No. 17	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	W 31–21	35,500	^[11]
November 15	at No. 7 Tennessee	No. 18	Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	L 12–26	35,000	^[12]
November 22	Miami (FL)*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	W 43–6	35,000	^[13]
December 6	No. 19 Kentucky	No. 17	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	W 27–0	29,000	^[14]
January 1, 1953	vs. No. 12 Tulsa*	No. 15	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	W 14–13	30,015	^[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1]

Game summaries

Stetson

The season opened with a 33–6 defeat of the Stetson Hatters.

Georgia Tech

The national champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets beat Florida on a last-second field goal, 14–17.

Citadel

The Citadel lost to Florida 33–0.

Clemson

Florida blew out the Clemson Tigers 54–13.

Vanderbilt

On a cold Dudley Field, Florida lost to Vanderbilt 20–13.

Georgia

The Gators dominated rival Georgia 33–0 in Jacksonville, remaining the Gators' largest victory over the Bulldogs for almost forty years.^[16] Casares ran for 108 yards, kicked a field goal, and made all the extra points.^[17] Even National champion Georgia Tech needed a last-second field goal to defeat the Gators.

Auburn

The defeat of Georgia was followed by another conference victory, 31–21 over Auburn Tigers.

Tennessee

The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Gators 12–26.

Miami

The Gators had another blowout of the in-state rival Miami Hurricanes 43–6.

Kentucky

Florida defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 27–0.

Postseason

The season ended with the Gators' first appearance in an NCAA-sanctioned bowl game, a closely matched 14–13 Gator Bowl victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on January 1, 1953, in which star fullback Rick Casares kicked the winning extra points for the margin of victory.^[18]

LaPradd was All-American.^[3]

Notes

1. LaPradd became a football coach at FSU and then president of St. John's River Community College in Palatka.^[4]

References

1. 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
2. Norm Carlson, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, p. 61 (2007).
3. Associated Press, "LaPradd Is Thrilled By His Selection to All America", Daytona Beach Morning Journal, p. 7 (December 6, 1952). Retrieved March 21, 2010.
4. McCarthy 2000, p. 44
5. "Gators open grid campaign with 33–6 win over Hatters as aerial attack clicks". Tampa Sunday Tribune. September 21, 1952. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Field goal in 4th gives Georgia Tech 17–14 win". Asheville Citizen-Times. September 28, 1952. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Gators rip Citadel, 33–0". The Bradenton Herald. October 5, 1952. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Mistakes costly, Clemson is routed 54–13". The State. October 12, 1952. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Florida rallies but loses to Vanderbilt, 20 to 13". Panama City News-Herald. October 19, 1952. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Gators pulverize Georgia, 30–0". Orlando Sunday Sentinel-Star. October 26, 1952. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Gators smash Auburn 31 to 21 before 35,500". The Palm Beach Post-Times. November 2, 1952. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Vols defeat Gators 26–12". The Palm Beach Post. November 16, 1952. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Florida trounces Miami in 43–6 runaway". Fort Myers News-Press. November 23, 1952. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Florida shames punchless Kentucky, 27–0". The Miami Herald. December 7, 1952. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Missed conversion nips Tulsa, 14–13". The Ponca City News. January 2, 1953. Retrieved October 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
16. College Football Data Warehouse, Florida vs. Georgia 2015-07-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
17. Golenbock, Go Gators!, p. 64
18. Noel Nash, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois, pp. 16–18 (1998).

Bibliography

• Golenbock, Peter (2002). Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory. St. Petersburg, Florida: Legends Publishing, LLC. ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
• McCarthy, Kevin M (2000). Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.