Dale Barnard Waters (May 27, 1909 – December 19, 2001), nicknamed "Muddy" Waters, was an American college and professional

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 who was an

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

and

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for three seasons during the early 1930s. Waters played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, and thereafter, he played for three different NFL teams.

Early years

Waters was born in

Henry County, Indiana Henry County is a county located in east central Indiana, United States. As of 2020, the population was 48,914. The county seat and largest and only city is New Castle. Henry County is the main setting of the novel '' Raintree County'' by Ros ...

in 1909.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Dale Waters
Retrieved July 23, 2010. He attended Newcastle High School in Newcastle Township, Fulton County, Indiana.databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved July 23, 2010.

College career

Waters attended the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he was an

and

and varsity

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for coach

Charlie Bachman Charles William Bachman Jr. (December 1, 1892 – December 14, 1985) was an American college football player and coach. Bachman was an Illinois native and an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, where he played football. He served as the head ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

.
2014 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 96, 183 (2014). Retrieved September 3, 2014. When he first reported to the freshman team, he weighed just 165 pounds. Waters was a member of the 1928 Gators team which led the nation in scoring and finished 8–1, losing only to the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

by a single point, 13–12. Following his 1930 senior season, he received honorable mention

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors from the Associated Press. He was also a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the Florida Gators basketball team, lettering in 1929, 1930 and 1931, and serving as the Gators' team captain as a senior in 1931. He was rated as one of the best guards in the south. Waters graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1935.

Professional career

Waters became a professional football offensive lineman for the NFL's

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(),

Portsmouth Spartans The Portsmouth Spartans were a professional American football team that played in Portsmouth, Ohio, from their founding in 1928 to their relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct independent professional and semi-prof ...

(), and the Boston Braves/Redskins (–).National Football League, Historical Players
Dale Waters
Retrieved May 31, 2010. During his three-season NFL career, Waters played in twenty-seven regular season NFL games, and started in twelve of them.

Coaching and administrative career

Waters spent many years at Texas Western University (now the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...

) as the men's basketball head coach and an assistant football coach, also earning a master's degree at the school. In 1957 he became El Paso's district athletic director.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Dale 1909 births 2001 deaths All-Southern college football players American football offensive linemen Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Cleveland Indians (NFL 1931) players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Boston Braves (NFL) players Boston Redskins players Florida Gators football players Florida Gators men's basketball players People from Henry County, Indiana Players of American football from Indiana Portsmouth Spartans players University of Texas at El Paso alumni UTEP Miners football coaches UTEP Miners men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Guards (basketball)