Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 7-12-19

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FAMU’s Jake Gaither To Be Recognized In Tampa Program July 15
Florida A&M University Hall of Fame Coach, A. S. “Jake” Gaither will be rec- ognized for his role as the winning coach in the 50th an- niversary celebration of “The Game that Changed Amer- ica,” on Monday, July 15, 2019, 3 p. m. in Council Chambers, 3rd floor at Old City Hall, 315 E. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa.
This celebration of Tampa history 50 years ago will be followed by brief his- torical talks about what Tampa was like 100 years ago by Judge E. J. Sal- cines and the University of South Florida Research Li- brary’s Andy Huse. The program is free and open to
the public. A reception with light refreshments will fol- low the presentations.
The activities on July 15th are part of City of Tampa Archives Awareness Week events, July 14-20th. On Monday’s program in the city’s Old City Hall, Fred Hearns will relive for local residents the November 29, 1969 football game between the Florida A&M University Rattlers and the University of Tampa Spartans. Alumni of both schools are especially invited to attend.
Gaither’s Rattlers de- feated Coach Fran Curci’s Spartans, 34-28 before more than 46,000 fans at a new Tampa Stadium that evening
COACH A. S. ‘JAKE’ GAITHER ...FAMU’s Winningest Coach
in what is recognized as the first college football game between historically Black and predominantly White schools. Gaither coached the final game in his illustri- ous career the following week, when he defeated the Grambling State University Tigers in Miami’s Orange Blossom Classic. Gaither fin- ished with a record of 203 wins, 36 losses and 4 ties. His home in Tallahassee near FAMU’s campus now is a museum.
He said the 1969 contest in Tampa was, “the most im- portant game of my life,” be- cause it broke the color line in college football in the South.
St. Petersburg Gibbs High School graduate and FAMU quarterback Steve Scruggs won the Most Out- standing Offensive Player Award in the Tampa U.
LEON MCQUAY, SR. ...Tampa native, played with Spartans at Tampa University
game in 1969. Scruggs passed for 189 yards and a touchdown, ran for 111 yards and another score, including the night’s longest run of 47 yards. He also was voted Most Valuable Player the fol- lowing week in the Rattlers’ win over Grambling -- the final game of Gaither’s ca- reer. Scruggs has been in- vited to attend the July 15th program.
The 1970 college football game in Birmingham be- tween the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of Ala- bama came a year after the historic game in Tampa. Yet Coach John McKay’s USC Trojans (an integrated squad) and Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s Crimson Tide (all white) got major national recognition for playing each other. USC won the 1970 matchup convinc-
ingly, 42-21. The game was nationally televised to mil- lions of people and it was promoted as the first inter- racial college game in the South. Not true! Tampa has November 29, 1969 to cele- brate.
Tampa Blake High School Alumnus Leon Mc- Quay, the first African American to be offered a scholarship to play football at Tampa U., was a small col- lege All-American when he played against Florida A&M. Gaither had offered him a scholarship to attend FAMU McQuay’s senior year at Blake, but Leon chose to stay home and play his col- lege ball, a 15-minute walk from the North Boulevard Homes apartment where he grew up. McQuay scored touchdowns on two short runs against the Rattlers, but could not break a long gain. The muscular running back went on to star for Toronto in the Canadian Football League and he also played in the National Football League.
Today McQuay’s grand- son, Leon, III, is a defen- sive back in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs. Ironi- cally, this Armwood High School graduate played his college football at USC. Leon McQuay, Sr. died in Tampa of congestive heart failure on November 29, 1995 – forty-five years to the day after “The Game That Changed America.”
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