George Bascom Sparkman Jr. (January 31, 1886 – July 7, 1924) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player and coach, once a key figure in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

athletics. Sparkman played and later coached at Hillsborough High School in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Co ...

, posting wins over rival St. Pete. Among his pupils at Hillsborough High were Dutch Stanley and

Speedy Walker Ion Sessions "Speedy" Walker (December 12, 1906 – March 1, 2004) was a college football and basketball player for the Florida Gators. He served in the Army in World War 2. Early years Walker was born in Olivet, Michigan to Osa Walker and Lot ...

. Sparkman assisted the

1919 Florida Gators football team The 1919 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the. 1919 college football season. It was Alfred L. Buser's third and last as the head coach of the Florida Gators football te ...

. He played for coach

Mike Donahue Michael Joseph "Iron Mike" Donahue (June 14, 1876 – December 11, 1960) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, tennis, Track and field athletics, track, Association football, soccer, and golf, and a college a ...

Auburn Tigers football The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division ...

team in

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

. He possibly saved a touchdown by recovering a fumble against Sewanee at the 2-yard line. He also ran for a 65-yard touchdown against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

. Sparkman died at the age of just 38 of

tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by '' Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usuall ...

Early years

George Bascom Sparkman Jr. was born to George Sr., an attorney and mayor of Tampa, and Mary Elizabeth Kershaw on January 31, 1886. He married Pearl Luther of Albertville, Alabama.

References

1886 births 1924 deaths Florida Gators football coaches American football ends American football halfbacks Auburn Tigers football players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida High school football coaches in Florida {{collegefootball-player-stub