Forest King Ferguson, Jr. (June 21, 1919 – May 15, 1954), nicknamed Fergie Ferguson, was an American college athlete who attended 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 a member of the university's

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 ...

, boxing, and track and field teams, and later served as a decorated officer in the U.S. Army. He is remembered as one of the most remarkable athletes that the University of Florida ever produced.

Early years

Ferguson was born in

South Jacksonville, Florida South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

, in 1919. His father, Forest K. Ferguson, Sr., was a Massachusetts native who was employed in 1920 as a boilermaker for a railroad company. His mother Frances Loretta (sometimes referred to as "Fannie") Ferguson was a New York native. Ferguson was the middle child, having an older sister, Aurora, and a younger brother, Wilbur. By 1930 and continuing through at least 1935, the family lived at Jensen in

Martin County, Florida Martin County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state, state of Florida, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 158,431. Its county seat is Stua ...

, where Ferguson's father was employed as a fisherman.1930 Census entry for Forest Ferguson and family. Forest, Jr., age 10. Census Place: Jensen, Martin, Florida; Roll: 325; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0001; Image: 656.0; FHL microfilm: 2340060. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-line1935 Florida Census entry for F.K. and Fannie Ferguson and family. Forest, Jr., age 15. Ancestry.com. Florida, State Census, 1867-1945 atabase on-line In 1937, the family moved to nearby

Stuart, Florida Stuart is a city in and the county seat of Martin County, Florida, United States. Located in southeastern Florida, Stuart is the largest of five Municipal corporation, incorporated municipalities in Martin County. The population is 17,425 accordi ...

, where Ferguson became a multi-sport star athlete for Martin County High School. He was later remembered for leading Martin County's high school football team to its first-ever victory over nemesis Fort Pierce High School, a game in which he caught two passes for touchdowns and two more for extra points.Bob Enns
Sports Whirlz
" ''The News-Tribune'', p. 5 (November 30, 1954). Retrieved September 28, 2014.

University of Florida

Ferguson entered the University of Florida as a freshman in the fall of 1938, and, after he became eligible as a sophomore, he quickly claimed his position as a three-year starter at

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

for coach

Josh Cody Joshua Crittenden Cody (June 11, 1892 – June 17, 1961) was an American college athlete, head coach, and athletics director. "Josh" Cody was a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where he earned 13 letters playing sev ...

and coach Tom Lieb's

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 ...

teams from

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

.
Florida Football 2014 Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 79, 94, 150, 178 (2014). Ferguson provided many of the highlights for the Gators during those years, "playing both ways," as was typical in the era of single platoon football.Norm Carlson, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, pp. 48–49, 50 (2007). Retrieved September 28, 2014. As good or better on defense than he was on offense, his team records for career receptions (43) and career receiving yardage (668) remained unbroken until the 1960s, when Gators quarterbacks

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

and

John Reaves Thomas Johnson "John" Reaves (March 2, 1950 – August 1, 2017) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and three seasons in the United States Football League (USFL) ...

were throwing passes to star receivers Charles Casey,

Richard Trapp Richard Earl Trapp (born September 21, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for two seasons in the American Football League (AFL) during the late 1960s. Trapp played college football for the Florida G ...

and Carlos Alvarez in pro passing schemes. He had a dramatic impact on the Gators' prospects almost immediately as a sophomore starter in 1939, and played a key role in the Gators' 7–0 upset of coach

Frank Leahy Francis William Leahy (August 27, 1908 – June 21, 1973) was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Boston College from 1939 to ...

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

in Boston. The Gators stopped the Eagles inside the Gators' 15-yard line five times, while Ferguson recorded six tackles for a loss, including a dramatic tackle of Eagles quarterback Charlie O'Rourke on a fourth-down play from the Gators' 4-yard line, dropping O'Rourke nine yards behind the line of scrimmage. Memorably, he scored both touchdowns on receptions for 45 and 74 yards in a 14–0 upset of the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

in 1941, while totaling 123 yards; ''The Miami Herald'' reported the game score as "Forrest Ferguson 14; University of Miami 0."Associated Press,
Funeral Rites Held For Forrest Ferguson, Gator Grid All-America
" ''St. Petersburg Times'', p. 14 (May 20, 1954). Retrieved September 25, 2014. Less often remembered was the key role he played against Miami on defense: his tackles of Miami ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage totaled 62 yards of losses. The 74-yard touchdown catch remained the longest reception in team history until 1954. Seven days later, he figured prominently in the Gators' 14–7 victory over the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The teams have also been nicknamed the ...

.Associated Press,
Florida Defeats Georgia Tech, 14–7
" ''The New York Times'' (November 23, 1941). Retrieved October 3, 2014. First, he stripped the ball from a Yellow Jackets ball carrier on the Georgia Tech 28-yard line, and then two plays later, he caught a pass from Gators halfback Tommy Harrison, and when cornered by defenders he lateraled the ball to tackle Milton Hull for the touchdown. Forrest Ferguson

During his 1941 senior season, Ferguson caught a total of 26 passes in 10 games. He also led the 1941 Florida football team with 36 points scored and 420 minutes played; the 1942 ''Seminole'' yearbook referred to him as a "defensive bulwark," "colorful," and "unpredictable." After the season, he received first-team

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

(SEC) honors, and was an 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 ...

selection by

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was an American sportswriter and poet known as the "Dean of American Sports Writers". He coined the famous phrase that it was not important whether you “won or lost, but how you playe ...

in ''Collier's'' magazine. Following his final college football season, Ferguson became the State of Florida collegiate heavyweight boxing champion, and won the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) national championship in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

with a distance of 203 feet, 6 and 1/2 inches, in 1942. During the spring of 1942, he also played at first base for the

Florida Gators baseball The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I (NCAA), Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the of the Southeastern Conference ...

team. Ferguson graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in education in 1942.

Military service

Several months after the United States entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ferguson joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in 1942, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant after attending officers' candidate school. On June 6, 1944, he led a platoon in the anti-tank company, 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division in the Allies'

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors of the amphibious assault component of Operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies of World War II, Allies invaded German military administration in occupied Fra ...

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

-occupied

Normandy, France Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular Normandy (mostly the British Chann ...

. After landing in the second wave of the amphibious assault, Ferguson and his platoon, as well as the survivors from the first wave, were pinned down on the beach by heavy rifle, machine gun and artillery fire from the German defenders, and their advance was blocked by extensive barbed wire and other enemy obstacles. Ferguson rose under fire, cleared a passage through the enemy obstacles with a

Bangalore torpedo A Bangalore torpedo is an explosive charge placed within one or several connected tubes. It is used by combat engineers to clear obstacles that would otherwise require them to approach directly, possibly under fire. It is sometimes colloquially ...

, and was gravely wounded while leading his men in a direct frontal assault against the enemy. Ferguson was awarded the U.S. Army's Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest medal for gallantry, for "extraordinary heroism" in combat on June 6, 1944.

Death and legacy

Ferguson never fully recovered from his head wound, and died from complications arising from his war-time injuries on May 15, 1954, at the Veterans Administration Hospital in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

; he was 34 years old. Following a community memorial service at the First Baptist Church in Stuart, he was buried with military honors in All Saints Cemetery in

Jensen Beach, Florida Jensen Beach is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, Martin County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,652 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Por ...

. After his death, several of his former Gators teammates established what is commonly known as the "

Fergie Ferguson Award The Forest K. Ferguson Award, commonly known as the "Fergie Ferguson Award," is presented annually to a senior member of the Florida Gators football team in memory of one of the University of Florida's greatest athletes. Namesake The award ta ...

" in his memory; since 1955, it has been presented annually to the senior player for the Florida Gators football team "who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage." He was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great," and was unanimously elected to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame by the 65 participating Florida sportswriters in 1957.Forrest Ferguson Named To Hall
" ''Ocala Star-Banner'', p. 11 (February 27, 1957). Retrieved September 28, 2014.

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:Ferguson, Forest K. 1919 births 1954 deaths American football ends United States Army personnel killed in World War II Florida Gators baseball players Florida Gators boxers Florida Gators football players Florida Gators men's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Stuart, Florida Players of American football from Florida Track and field athletes from Florida Boxers from Florida Baseball players from Martin County, Florida Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) United States Army officers American male boxers People from Jensen Beach, Florida Martin County High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen