Harold Leon Sebring (March 9, 1898 – July 26, 1968), nicknamed Tom Sebring, was a

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

justice, and an American judge at one of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials of German

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s after

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 ...

. Sebring was a native of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and an

alumnus Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

Kansas State Agricultural College Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public insti ...

. While Sebring attended

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

at 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 ...

, he also served as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of 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 that represented the university.

Early life

Sebring was born in

Olathe, Kansas Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 Uni ...

in 1898, the son of John Thomas Sebring and Anna Lee Hayden Sebring.Bruce R. Jacob, "Remembering a Great Dean: Harold L. 'Tom' Sebring," ''Stetson Law Review'', vol. 30, p. 2 (Summer 2000) (Lexis). He graduated from Gardner High School in Gardner, Kansas in 1916, along with is brother, Leonard Sebring.

World War I

Sebring spent 22 months overseas and thirteen months in combat during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was twice decorated by 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 ...

with the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

for exceptional bravery under enemy fire, and also received the ''Croix de Guerre'' and ''Corde de Fourragere'' from the French government.Norm Carlson,
Norm Carlson Looks Back . . . Tom Sebring
," GatorZone.com (September 2, 2003). Retrieved May 9, 2010. Sebring was

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

from the Army as a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in 1919.Florida Supreme Court, Supreme Court Portrait Gallery
Justice Harold Sebring
Retrieved February 25, 2010.

College

After returning to the United States, he studied architecture, engineering and business at Kansas State Agricultural College (now known as Kansas State University) in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

, where he also excelled as a member of the Kansas State Aggies football,

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

teams. Sebring was an All

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

football selection in 1921 and 1922 and, later, was named to the Kansas State Aggies All-Time Football Team.University of Florida, Levin College of Law, Heritage of Leadership
Harold "Tom" L. Sebring (1898–1968)
. Retrieved February 25, 2010. Sebring received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in commerce from Kansas State in 1923.

Law school student and football coach

While playing football at Kansas State, one of Sebring's coaches was Captain

James Van Fleet General (United States), General James Alward Van Fleet (19 March 1892 – 23 September 1992) was a United States Army officer who served during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised i ...

, a U.S. Army officer who was one of the college's

Reserve Officer Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

(ROTC) instructors.Jacob, ''Remembering a Great Dean'', p. 6 (Lexis). Van Fleet joined the faculty at the

in Gainesville, Florida in 1921, and also became an assistant coach for the

team. When Van Fleet became the head coach of the Gators in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

, he asked Sebring to join him in Gainesville as an assistant football coach and the head coach of the

Florida Gators track and field The Florida Gators track and field program represents the University of Florida in the sport of track and field. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic As ...

and

teams. Sebring accepted the coaching position and also enrolled in the

University of Florida College of Law The University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida and second oldest overall in the stat ...

as a student.Jacob, ''Remembering a Great Dean'', p. 7 (Lexis). When the Army transferred Van Fleet to a new posting in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

after the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

season, he recommended Sebring as his replacement, after serving as Van Fleet's chief scout in 1924. Sebring quickly proved himself to be a creative football coach and innovator; his 1925 Gators finished with an 8–2 record,College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records
Harold Leon "Tom" Sebring Records by Year
. Retrieved February 25, 2010. the best record in school history to that time.
2012 Florida Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 108, 115, 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012. Florida went 7–3 in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

, Sebring's third and final season, and the team he recruited for

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 ...

finished 8–1 and led the nation in scoring. Sebring graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1928, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as an "Honorary Letter Winner" and was tapped into

Florida Blue Key Florida Blue Key is a student leadership honor society at the University of Florida. It was founded in 1923. The organization is the oldest and most prestigious leadership honorary in the state of Florida. Members include notable politicians an ...

leadership society.

Lawyer and judge

After receiving his law degree, Sebring practiced law in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

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 appointed judge for the Eight Judicial Circuit from 1933 to 1943 and served on the Florida Supreme Court from 1943 to 1955. After

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

appointed Sebring to sit on the bench for the

Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

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 ...

s, along with Walter B. Beals, Johnson T. Crawford, and Victor C. Swearingen. Sebring did not want to resign from the Florida Supreme Court and he was granted a

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they ar ...

; the other justices appointed a new lower-court judge each month to serve in Sebring's place during his absence. While in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

in 1946 and 1947, Sebring was a judge on the Doctors' Trial, one of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials. He returned to service on the Florida court, and was later elected chief justice by his colleagues, serving from 1951 to 1953.

Law school dean

On September 1, 1955, Sebring retired from the Florida Supreme Court and was appointed as the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

Stetson University College of Law The Stetson University College of Law (branded as Stetson Law) is the law school of Stetson University. The law school occupies a historic 1920s resort hotel, the Rolyat Hotel, designed by Richard Kiehnel. The College of Law is accredited by the ...

, the first dean after the college moved from

DeLand DeLand is a city in and the county seat of Volusia County, Florida, United States. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. It is a ...

Gulfport, Florida Gulfport is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, bordering St. Petersburg, South Pasadena, and Boca Ciega Bay. The population of Gulfport was 11,783 at the 2020 census. Gulfport is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater ...

.Jacob, ''Remembering a Great Dean'', p. 31 (Lexis). Sebring was credited with dramatically expanding the student body and faculty, and deepening the quality and diversity of the college's academic courses. Sebring's retirement from Stetson was planned for September 1, 1968, but he died unexpectedly five weeks earlier. In 1976, Stetson named a law school courtroom in his memory;Jacob, ''Remembering a Great Dean'', p. 38 (Lexis). and, in 2004, the college named him as one of the first seventeen members of its hall of fame.

Family and death

Sebring was married to Elise Bishop and had one child, son Harold, Jr. Sebring's grandson, Harold, III, leads a

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...

law firm, Sebring Law.Sebring Law Firm
Sebring died on July 26, 1968, in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

Head coaching record

Football

References

Bibliography

*
2012 Florida Football Media Guide
', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida (2012). * 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). . * Jacob, Bruce R., ''Remembering A Great Lawyer: Harold L. "Tom" Sebring'', Vandeplas Publishing, Lake Mary, Florida (2007). . * 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). . * Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, ''Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida'', South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sebring, Harold 1898 births 1968 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I Florida Gators boxers Florida Gators football coaches Florida Gators track and field coaches Justices of the Supreme Court of Florida Judges of the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals Kansas State Wildcats football players Sportspeople from Olathe, Kansas Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army soldiers Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Stetson University College of Law faculty 20th-century American judges American male boxers Acacia members 20th-century American sportsmen