James Henry Steele, Jr. (December 11, 1909 – September 15, 1980), nicknamed Jimmy Steele, was an American

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 coach 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 ...

Early years

A native of

Tampa, Florida 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 ...

, he attended Hillsborough High School in Tampa, and played for coach

Nash Higgins Alfred Nash Higgins (February 29, 1896 – October 29, 1984) was an American football and track and field coach as well as athletic director, the first in the history of the University of Tampa. He later worked as superintendent of recreation for ...

' Hillsborough Terriers high school football team.

University of Florida

After high school, Steele enrolled in the

in 1927, where he played 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 ...

team from

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 ...

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 ...

. He played at the tackle and

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 ...

positions for the great Gators of 1928, which finished with a win–loss record of 8–1, losing only their last game by a single point 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 ...

, 13–12. After the 1928 season, Steele was selected by the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary new ...

(NEA) as a second-team

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 ...

. The guard position was very competitive in the south in 1928. One writer notes "Had not Vanderbilt possessed its

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

, Alabama its Hagler and Georgia Tech its Drennon, Florida Steele would have been on the 1928 All-Southern." In December 1929, the '' Miami Daily News and Metropolis'' called him "the best linesman in the south" and noted that, throughout the 1928 and 1929 seasons, he had, "game in and game out, been head and shoulders above any linesmen on the field." That same month, the Gators football team selected Leroy "Red" Bethea as captain of the 1930 team and Steele as the alternate captain. Following his 1930 senior season, United Press named him to its All-Southern first team.

Coaching career

After graduating from Florida in 1931, Steele returned to his alma mater as line coach.

Semi-pro ball

Steele also played semi-pro football for the Tampa All-Stars.

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:Steele, Jimmy 1909 births 1980 deaths American football guards American football tackles Florida Gators football players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida All-Southern college football players Florida Gators football coaches

Early years

University of Florida

Coaching career

Semi-pro ball

See also

References

Bibliography