Dale Van Sickel and Charlie LaPradd were the first and second All Americans in Gator history.
Dale, like most football players of the time, played offense and defense for coach Harold Sebring and Charlie Bachman from 1927 to 1929. Dale was primarily known as a sure-handed right end on teams that won 23 of 29 games, including the 1928 8-1 season where the Gators outscored their opponents 366-44, tops in the nation. In 1928, Dale was named as a first-team All American--the first one in University of Florida football history. Due to injuries, he was not able to duplicate his 1928 numbers and was "only" a second-team All American. He was an all-around athlete, having been captain of the football, baseball, and basketball teams. From 1930 to 1931 he was a graduate assistant in football and basketball before he moved to Hollywood to become a stuntman, where he was a founding member and first president of the Stuntmen's Association in Motion Pictures. Dale was named by the Florida High School Athletics Association as one of the best football players of the century. Later, Dale was named to the University of Florida Athletic Association Hall of Fame, and was the first Gator to be named to the College Football Hall of Fame (1975).
Charlie came to the University of Florida after serving a stint in the US Army as a paratrooper. He played offense and defense for Bob Woodruff from 1950 to 1952, after hitchhiking from St. Augustine to Gainesville and pleading for a chance to try out as a walk-on. He was primarily known for his defense, where he was the lightest defensive tackle on the team at 215 pounds. He was third-team All SEC his sophomore year, second-team his junior year, and first-team his senior year of 1952. He was the first Gator named as a first-team All American since Dale Van Sickel nearly thirty years earlier. His senior year was the first year the Gators were nationally ranked in both major polls, and the first year they were invited to a bowl game, the 1953 Gator Bowl 14-13 victory over Tulsa. After graduation, he was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 1953 NFL Draft, but was injured in a car accident and never got to play. Charlie was named to the University of Florida Athletic Association Hall of Fame and the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame. He is listed by the Gainesville Sun as one of the top 25 players in the first century of Florida Gator football. Today, the Dr. Charles W. LaPradd Fellowship Fund is available for students seeking advanced degrees from the College of Health and Human Performance.
Dale, like most football players of the time, played offense and defense for coach Harold Sebring and Charlie Bachman from 1927 to 1929. Dale was primarily known as a sure-handed right end on teams that won 23 of 29 games, including the 1928 8-1 season where the Gators outscored their opponents 366-44, tops in the nation. In 1928, Dale was named as a first-team All American--the first one in University of Florida football history. Due to injuries, he was not able to duplicate his 1928 numbers and was "only" a second-team All American. He was an all-around athlete, having been captain of the football, baseball, and basketball teams. From 1930 to 1931 he was a graduate assistant in football and basketball before he moved to Hollywood to become a stuntman, where he was a founding member and first president of the Stuntmen's Association in Motion Pictures. Dale was named by the Florida High School Athletics Association as one of the best football players of the century. Later, Dale was named to the University of Florida Athletic Association Hall of Fame, and was the first Gator to be named to the College Football Hall of Fame (1975).
Charlie came to the University of Florida after serving a stint in the US Army as a paratrooper. He played offense and defense for Bob Woodruff from 1950 to 1952, after hitchhiking from St. Augustine to Gainesville and pleading for a chance to try out as a walk-on. He was primarily known for his defense, where he was the lightest defensive tackle on the team at 215 pounds. He was third-team All SEC his sophomore year, second-team his junior year, and first-team his senior year of 1952. He was the first Gator named as a first-team All American since Dale Van Sickel nearly thirty years earlier. His senior year was the first year the Gators were nationally ranked in both major polls, and the first year they were invited to a bowl game, the 1953 Gator Bowl 14-13 victory over Tulsa. After graduation, he was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 1953 NFL Draft, but was injured in a car accident and never got to play. Charlie was named to the University of Florida Athletic Association Hall of Fame and the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame. He is listed by the Gainesville Sun as one of the top 25 players in the first century of Florida Gator football. Today, the Dr. Charles W. LaPradd Fellowship Fund is available for students seeking advanced degrees from the College of Health and Human Performance.
