Ion Sessions "Speedy" Walker (December 12, 1906 – March 1, 2004) was a

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

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player 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 ...

. He served in

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

. He served with the 467th Heavy Bomb Group in England.

Early years

Walker was born in

Olivet, Michigan Olivet is a city in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,517 at the 2020 census. University Of Olivet is located in the city. History From its founding in 1844 through the 1910 census,Oldsmar Oldsmar is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 14,898. The Oldsmar name dates to April 12, 1916, when automobile pioneer Ransom E. Olds purchased of land north of Tampa Bay to es ...

. Walker attended Hillsborough High School in

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 ...

, playing on the football team and basketball team with Dutch Stanley, where they were runner-up for the 1923 state football title, losing to Lakeland High School and Goof Bowyer. Walker was captain of the state champion 1923-24 basketball team.

University of Florida

He was a prominent triple threat halfback for coach Tom Sebring's

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 in

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

and

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 ...

. The smallest member of the

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 ...

, Walker played as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

in 1924 on the freshman team. He backed up Bowyer at quarterback on the varsity. He was also the senior captain of the basketball team during the 1927–28 season. He was a forward on the basketball team. He also lettered in baseball. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

Following graduation, he coached the athletic teams at Bay County High School in

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Speedy 1906 births 2004 deaths American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Forwards (basketball) Florida Gators football players Florida Gators men's basketball players Basketball players from Mobile, Alabama Players of American football from Mobile, Alabama Players of American football from Tampa, Florida Basketball players from Tampa, Florida American men's basketball players People from Eaton County, Michigan People from Oldsmar, Florida Players of American football from Pinellas County, Florida Basketball players from Pinellas County, Florida

Early years

University of Florida

Coaching career

See also

References

External links