Walter N. "Ben" Clemons (June 21, 1906 – July 26, 1984) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

Early years

Clemons was a lifelong resident of Havana, Florida. He was a high school teammate of Rainey Cawthon at Leon High School. He was inducted into the Leon High School Hall of Fame in 1982.

Playing career

Clemons attended the University of Florida. He was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame in April of 1984.

Football

He was a 195-pound center for coach Charlie Bachman's 1928 football team, splitting time with starter Frank Clark. The 1928 Gators were remembered by many sports commentators as the best Florida football team until at least the 1960s. An all-time Florida team selected by George Trevor in 1935 puts Clemons at second-team center, behind Welcome Shearer.

Basketball

Clemons tied as the team's leading scorer in the basketball season of 1929–30 with 136 points. In the 1931

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tournament, Clemons was the high scorer in a victory over

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. Dale Waters and Monk Dorsett also played both football and basketball with Clemons.

Baseball

Clemons pitched on the baseball team. He was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the baseball team in his senior season.

Coaching career

Clemons coached at his alma mater from 1933 to 1936. He was the head coach of both the basketball and baseball teams, and an assistant for the varsity football team. Coach Clemons' basketball team once beat

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

in the SEC tournament, bringing Clemons to tears.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemons, Ben Year of birth missing Year of death missing American football centers Baseball pitchers Florida Gators baseball coaches Florida Gators baseball players Florida Gators football players Florida Gators men's basketball coaches Florida Gators men's basketball players Stetson Hatters baseball coaches Stetson Hatters football coaches Stetson Hatters men's basketball coaches The Citadel Bulldogs basketball coaches The Citadel Bulldogs football coaches American men's basketball players Players of American football from Tallahassee, Florida Baseball players from Tallahassee, Florida Florida Gators football coaches Baseball coaches from Florida Basketball players from Tallahassee, Florida Coaches of American football from Florida 1906 births 1984 deaths