Perry Colson McGriff, Jr. (June 29, 1937 – February 2, 2017) was an American politician, retired insurance agent, and former All-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 ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. McGriff was a member of 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 ...

, Mayor of Gainesville and Democratic nominee for a seat in the

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

Early life and education

McGriff was born in

Arcadia, Florida Arcadia is a city and county seat of DeSoto County, Florida, United States. Arcadia's Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its population was 7,420 as of the 2020 census, down from 7,637 at the 2010 census. It ...

, in 1937.Florida House of Representatives
Representative Perry C. McGriff, Jr.
Retrieved May 7, 2011. He 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 ...

in Gainesville, where he was a member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

Fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

( Florida Alpha Chapter) and

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 honorary. McGriff played

for coach

Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News (United States), ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ''ABC World News Tonight'' in 2006 with journalist Elizabeth ...

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 in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

and

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

, and led the Gators with fourteen

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...

s for 360 receiving yards 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 ...

in 1959.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 111, 114, 115, 183 (2011). Retrieved August 30, 2011. McGriff was also an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for coach

Dave Fuller Dave Fuller (1915 – September 15, 2009) was an American college baseball coach who led the Florida Gators baseball team of the University of Florida for twenty-eight seasons. Early life and education Fuller attended Wake Forest University ...

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 from 1958 to 1960, and was honored as a first-team 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 in 1959 and 1960, a first-team All-American in 1959, and a second-team All-American in 1960. He received his bachelor's degree in physical education from Florida in 1960, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1969.

Political career

McGriff, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, served as the 22nd district Representative in the

from 2000 to 2002. He also served as an

Alachua County, Florida Alachua County ( ) is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida. History Prehistory and ear ...

, commissioner, as a Gainesville, Florida city commissioner and as Gainesville mayor.Chad Smith,
Perry McGriff will challenge Oelrich for Senate seat
" ''The Gainesville Sun'' (June 17, 2010). Retrieved May 7, 2011. In 2010, he was the unsuccessful Democratic Party nominee for Florida's 14th senate district, losing to the incumbent Republican Steve Oelrich, 46 to 54 percent. McGriff lived in Gainesville with his family. He died on February 2, 2017, at the age of 79.Former Florida Gators player and Gainesville mayor Perry McGriff Jr. dies
/ref>

References

Bibliography

*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). . *McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). .

External links

Representative Perry C. McGriff, Jr.
– Official website of Florida House of Representatives. * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGriff, Perry C. 1937 births 2017 deaths All-American college baseball players Florida Gators baseball players Florida Gators football players Mayors of Gainesville, Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Florida city council members County commissioners in Florida Baseball players from Gainesville, Florida People from Arcadia, Florida American athlete-politicians Baseball players at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in baseball Players of American football from Gainesville, Florida Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Sarasota Sun Sox players 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature

Early life and education

Political career

See also

References

Bibliography

External links