Donald G. Gaffney (born February 1, 1954) is an American former

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 ...

player and politician. Gaffney was the first African-American to play

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

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 of 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 was later elected to the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

, until he resigned following his conviction for extortion.

Biography

Gaffney was born on February 1, 1954, in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. He was an All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) selection at quarterback, and led the Gators to three bowl games ( Tangerine Bowl,

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

, and

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

) as their starting quarterback from 1973 until 1975. His younger brother Derrick Gaffney also had a successful collegiate football career. His brothers Warren and Johnny also played football for the Florida Gators. Gaffney taught business law at the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public university, public research university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern ...

.Donald G. "Don" Gaffney
Florida House of Representatives profile He has also worked in the office supply business.

Political career

Gaffney served on the Jacksonville City Council from 1983 until 1986. He was elected to Florida House in 1986. In 1987 he was accused of mail fraud and extortion in an insurance scam in which he claimed his business was burglarized. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison. He resigned his House seat on April 1, 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaffney, Don 1954 births Living people American football quarterbacks Florida Gators football players Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives University of North Florida faculty Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida Florida politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature