Royce Ethelbert Goodbread (August 23, 1907 – May 19, 1991) was an American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a halfback and wingback in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons during the early 1930s. Goodbread played

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 ...

for 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 ...

, and thereafter, he played professionally for the

Frankford Yellow Jackets The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets wo ...

, the

Minneapolis Red Jackets The Minneapolis Marines were an early professional football team that existed from 1905 until 1928. The team did not play in 1918 or 1925 to 1926 and was later resurrected from 1929 to 1930 under the Minneapolis Red Jackets name. The Marines were ...

and the

Providence Steam Roller The Providence Steam Rollers (also referred to as the Providence Steam Roller, the Providence Steamroller and the Providence Steamrollers) were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football Leag ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Goodbread was born in

Crystal River, Florida Crystal River is a city in Citrus County, Florida, Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,396 in the 2020 census, up from 3,108 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Homosassa Springs, Florida Citrus County, Florida, Metrop ...

in 1907,Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Royce Goodbread
Retrieved April 20, 2011. and attended

St. Petersburg High School St. Petersburg High School, founded in 1898, is a secondary school in the Pinellas County School District in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school's current building, a historic landmark, was built in 1926. It was designed by Missouri architect W ...

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 ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved April 20, 2011. and he played for the St. Petersburg Green Devils high school football team. In 1925 he accounted for 189 points, and led his team to a win over rival Hillsborough High School.

College career

After graduating from high school, Goodbread attended the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Tom Sebring and 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 104 & 181 (2011). Retrieved August 29, 2011. In Goodbread's three seasons as a member of the Gators varsity, the team posted win–loss records of 7–3, 8–1 and 8–2—a three-year peak for the Gators which they would not equal or exceed for over six decades. Goodbread was a key member of the Gators' "Phantom Four" offensive backfield that included Carl Brumbaugh, Rainey Cawthon and Clyde Crabtree, when the 1928 Gators led the country with 336 points scored and finished 8–1, losing only 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 ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

by a single point, 13–12.Tom McEwen, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama, pp. 86–103 (1974). Goodbread graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1930.

Professional career

During the NFL season, Goodbread played in thirteen games for the

and one game for the

,National Football League, Historical Players
Royce Goodbread
Retrieved April 20, 2011. and starting in a total of ten of them. In the following season, he played in four games for the

and started in two of them. Goodbread was an insurance agent in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. He died on May 19, 1991; he was 83 years old.

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:Goodbread, Royce 1907 births 1991 deaths American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Florida Gators football players Frankford Yellow Jackets players Minneapolis Red Jackets players People from Crystal River, Florida Players of American football from Florida Providence Steam Roller players

Early years

College career

Professional career

See also

References

Bibliography