Ever since the snap of that first ball in 1906, the Florida Gators have been looked at as one of the best college football teams in the country, alongside of the many teams in the SIAA (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association). Everyone knew that the Florida Gators were going to be a powerhouse football team when they started off with an almost perfect season in 1906 ending with a 6-1 record. From 1906-1909 Coach Jack Forsythe led the fighting Gators to have a 14-6-2, four season start. Considering this was the very beginning of the Gators, it turned out to be a very well-played first four seasons. On October 26th 1911, the Gators played their first official SIAA title game against South Carolina, which ended up in a tie 6-6. This …show more content…
In 1922, Florida joined the Southern Conference from 1922 to 1932 until finding a permanent home with the SEC in 1933. The number of wins that occurred by the Gators came in the middle of the 1960s when Ray Graves stacked a team record of 70 wins. In 1966 the Florida Gators were led by Steve Spurrier who won the Heisman Trophy just a year before. This team is to be considered one of the best teams in Florida’s history. 1966-1967 was a big year for the Gators not only because of their winning season, but because of the widely popular drink we all know today as Gatorade. This was invented by scientists from the University of Florida, for football players to drink during practice and games. The basic idea was to hydrate the players faster than just normal water would by regenerating electrolytes. In the mid 1930’s, the stadium that is still known as home for the Gators was known as Florida Field. The name was changed in 1989, to show how much the team was grateful for the college benefactor by the name of Ben Hill Griffin, Jr who gave money towards revamping the stadium. In the season of 1990, “the Swamp" nickname was given to the stadium by the former head coach, Steve Spurrier. 1996 was one of the greatest years to be a player for the Gators and a