Rainey Blackwell Cawthon (October 30, 1907 – April 11, 1991) was an

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

player and coach for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

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 ...

. Cawthon was a member of Florida's "Phantom Four"

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage, and players positioned there on offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including the quarterback and running backs ( halfbacks and full ...

with Clyde Crabtree, Carl Brumbaugh, and Royce Goodbread in

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 ...

which led the nation with 336 points scored. He was also

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the 1929 Florida team, and selected second-team for the composite All-Southern that year. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great." Cawthon was also active in the affairs of

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, and was elected to the FSU Hall of Fame in 1987.

Early years

He attended Leon High School. Later college teammates Ben Clemons and Ed Sauls were high school teammates.

University of Florida

Cawthon was a prominent

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for Tom Sebring and Charlie Bachman's Florida Gators varsity football teams from

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 ...

to 1929. In Cawthon's sophomore year and first on the varsity, he suffered a broken wrist. Despite this he saw regular service in the backfield by the second game, and completed a 53-yard pass against Mercer. In 1928, Cawthon scored a safety against North Carolina State, a touchdown against Sewanee, and a touchdown against Clemson. He also had a 40-yard run in the 26–6 win over

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

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, the first-ever victory over the Bulldogs in school history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cawthon, Rainey 1907 births 1991 deaths Players of American football from Tallahassee, Florida American football halfbacks American football fullbacks Florida Gators football players Florida State University people All-Southern college football players

Early years

University of Florida

See also

References