NUMBER 100

100 Moments in Gators History

100. UF dubbed “The Alligators”

October 25, 1911

UF students weren't fortunate enough to have access to a daily newspaper in 1911, but instead the student body settled for the monthly Florida Pennant, the Alligator's predecessor. The December 1911 issue recaps each football game from the 1911 season, including the infamous 6-5 win against Clemson.

From the Pennant: "It was on the South Carolina trip that the Florida team was dubbed the 'Alligators,' and the battle that took place in South Carolina on this Wednesday afternoon between the Clemson Tigers and Florida Alligators is one long to be remembered!"

The Alligators finished the season 6-0-1, led by quarterback Earle "Dummy" Taylor, an early advocate of the new "forward pass."

The Pennant story doesn't explain why UF was named the Alligators, but UF historian Carl Van Ness wrote a compelling article about the naming.

Van Ness says in all likelihood, UF was named the Alligators after a club started by center Neal Storter. Storter, who came from a remote location in the Everglades, was nicknamed Bo Gator by the Pennant and soon the popular Bo Gator Club came into existence.

The 1910 UF yearbook made numerous references to the Gators, and it was only natural for the football team to adapt the nickname.