Don Gaffney

By the time Don Gaffney stepped under center for Florida midway through the 1973 season, the SEC's first class of black quarterbacks was born.But not without labor pains.

"There was always a die-hard group that just didn't want to accept that a black could be a quarterback in the SEC," said Gaffney, 49, who now teaches law at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville."It was the white center who refused to snap to a black quarterback, a coach who told you one thing in recruiting and then changed your position when you got there or the fan who was just plain ignorant."

Barkum, Holloway and Gaffney all said they could have avoided the hassle - and sometimes horror - by just signing with a popular historically black college such as Jackson State, Grambling or Florida A&M.
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Gaffney, who became a three-year starter at Florida, said an episode in the stands gave him the courage to persevere.

Gaffney said his grandmother once clutched her purse and struck a man over the head when he shouted obscenities and racial slurs at the quarterback during a game in Tampa.

"As sweet as she could be, granny couldn't take that," Gaffney said.

Gaffney ready for another year at EWC

Don Gaffney with the photo taken during his days as a quarterback for the University of Florida.
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Through it all, Gaffney has survived.Last month's announcement that he will be inducted into the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame on Oct. 28 is a true highlight."I didn't have the slightest idea this was coming.I did not envision this at all," said Gaffney, who attend UF from 1972-76 and graduated from law school in 1980.Today, Gaffney teaches several criminal justice courses at Edward Waters College, a school that has had its own share of legal woes lately.
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Gaffney, who graduated from Raines High, said he never went to law school with the intention of practicing law.He likes the classroom and the close interaction he gets with his students.The school's enrollment of about 1,000 helps create a low student-to-teacher ratio."It's what I like and it's what I enjoy," said Gaffney on why he teaches."I probably should have gone into coaching.I like to work with youths and this a good way to combine the two."Gaffney said law school was not on his agenda when he enrolled at Florida in 1972, but one thing was certain: he was going to finish college."I didn't know I was going law school, but after a while it was something I decided I had to do," said Gaffney, who said he was one of two athletes in UF's law school at the time (basketball player Gene Shy was the other)."I took law school as a challenge.I majored in political science and pre-law and was one of the first athletes at UF to go through law school."Despite having a law degree and several years of major college football experience, Gaffney didn't participate in the school's recent legal battle to stay accredited and he doesn't help with the school's football team.Gaffney says he's just fine with being left to four or five criminal justice courses a semester."The accreditation issue fell just short of becoming a true legal trial," explained Gaffney."It went to court, but it was mediated and, in the end, cooler heads prevailed.And, our football coach does not need my help.He (Lamonte Massie) has a good staff and Johnny Rembert, our athletic director, is doing a great job."Gaffney said he will stick to teaching for the time being and doesn't entertain any thoughts of ever entering into a private practice."That's just not my thing," he said."I would have to go back and study for the Bar exam again.I'm doing what I want to do right now."Gaffney admits he's had personal issues in the past, but chooses to use them as potential teaching tools rather than excuses."I have had my highs and my lows.I like to say that they are experiences that I can relate in the classroom that will help my kids," said Gaffney.

The University of Florida football team was in Tampa to play Maryland on that warm September night and Don Gaffney was the quarterback.When the clerk handed Gaffney the note, he figured someone was wishing him a "Go Gators" or "Beat Maryland" or something like that.

But Don Gaffney is black and this was 1974, a time when integration was only grudgingly accepted in much of the South.It also was a time for groundbreaking, and Gaffney played quarterback -- the first black player to do so at UF.His teammates and coaches never made a big deal about that and sheltered him from much of the nonsense, but some people just couldn't get over it.

Gaffney casually started to read the note.Then he stopped and read it again.

"I'm going to kill you."

The note promised that among the faces in the crowd that night at Tampa Stadium, someone would be waiting to shoot him.

Gaffney played anyway, and the Gators won 17-10.
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It was good advice, and Gaffney has followed it -- even when that ignorance sometimes was his own.He has gone from a starring role for the Gators, to elected office on the Jacksonville City Ccouncil and the Florida House of Representatives.He also went to prison on federal mail-fraud charges.

He has emerged from all this and now leads the quiet life as a law professor at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, where he reminds his students regularly that no challenge is too large to overcome.He should know.

Gaffney will be enshrined in the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame on Friday when both schools gather for their annual game in Jacksonville.
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Gaffney was a multisport star at Raines High School in Jacksonville when he signed with the Gators.Black players then battled multiple stereotypes, and among the worst was that while they might have outstanding athletic ability, they could never be quarterbacks because the position required a player to think.

"Don was a tremendously smart guy," said Jimmy Fisher, a King High School graduate who went on to share the quarterback position with Gaffney at Florida."Don was a tremendously smart guy," said Jimmy Fisher, a King High School graduate who went on to share the quarterback position with Gaffney at Florida.
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I was a year behind Don, but when I was at Florida -- when we were there together -- he helped a lot.Don was always a real gentleman."

He was also second on the depth chart behind Lakeland's David Bowden as the 1973 season began.
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"Don had the potential to be a competent thrower -- he could really slingshot the ball through the air -- but we changed to the wishbone because we had to get a change of pace and I thought it would give problems to the Auburn defense," Dickey said.
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Florida's success brought Gaffney a great deal of attention, and not all of it welcome.Some people simply couldn't get past the color of his skin.At Mississippi State, someone hung a black cat from the stands.At other stops around the Southeastern Conference, fans showered Gaffney with racial slurs.
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Says Gaffney, "When this kind of stuff went down, Coach Dickey would come to my room to make sure I was OK, make sure I was handling it.
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Gaffney eventually got his law degree, was elected to the Jacksonville City Council, and later the Florida House of Representatives.His future appeared limitless until he pleaded no contest to federal mail-fraud charges in 1988 for scheming to fake an office burglary so he could collect on a $10,000 insurance payoff.

He later pleaded guilty to extortion, and wound up serving both sentences concurrently -- two years of a six-year sentence in federal prison.

He also pleaded no contest to altering a prescription and received 18 months probation, and in 1998 he was arrested on charges of shoplifting a pair of gloves from a sporting goods store.
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"Don is such a talented guy, not just as football player.He had so much going for him out of school.Remember J.C. Watts?That guy had nothing on Don, nothing!But Don ran into a wall."

Gaffney was as startled and puzzled as anyone else.

"I'm the one guy who believed I'd never be caught up in that situation, and I knew I had to get my life stabilized again," he said.
...
So instead of letting circumstance control him, Gaffney once again meets it head-on.He tells his criminal-law students about the pitfalls life has for the unwary.He warns about the seduction of power and fame.Rather than hide from his problems, he embraced them.

"This is the truth -- I felt there was something God wanted me to do.I asked him where I could go to be most effective, and this is where I wound up.I love working with and helping people; that's why I wanted to be an attorney, and that's why I wanted to teach," he said.
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DON GAFFNEY

The University of Florida football team was in Tampa to play Maryland on that warm September night and Don Gaffney was the quarterback.When the clerk handed Gaffney the note, he figured someone was wishing him a "Go Gators" or "Beat Maryland" or something like that.

But Don Gaffney is black and this was 1974, a time when integration was only grudgingly accepted in much of the South.It also was a time for groundbreaking, and Gaffney played quarterback -- the first black player to do so at UF.His teammates and coaches never made a big deal about that and sheltered him from much of the nonsense, but some people just couldn't get over it.

Gaffney casually started to read the note.Then he stopped and read it again.

"I'm going to kill you."

The note promised that among the faces in the crowd that night at Tampa Stadium, someone would be waiting to shoot him.

Gaffney played anyway, and the Gators won 17-10.
...
It was good advice, and Gaffney has followed it -- even when that ignorance sometimes was his own.He has gone from a starring role for the Gators, to elected office on the Jacksonville City Ccouncil and the Florida House of Representatives.He also went to prison on federal mail-fraud charges.

He has emerged from all this and now leads the quiet life as a law professor at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, where he reminds his students regularly that no challenge is too large to overcome.He should know.

Gaffney will be enshrined in the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame on Friday when both schools gather for their annual game in Jacksonville.
...
Gaffney was a multisport star at Raines High School in Jacksonville when he signed with the Gators.Black players then battled multiple stereotypes, and among the worst was that while they might have outstanding athletic ability, they could never be quarterbacks because the position required a player to think.

"Don was a tremendously smart guy," said Jimmy Fisher, a King High School graduate who went on to share the quarterback position with Gaffney at Florida."Don was a tremendously smart guy," said Jimmy Fisher, a King High School graduate who went on to share the quarterback position with Gaffney at Florida.
...
I was a year behind Don, but when I was at Florida -- when we were there together -- he helped a lot.Don was always a real gentleman."

He was also second on the depth chart behind Lakeland's David Bowden as the 1973 season began.
...
"Don had the potential to be a competent thrower -- he could really slingshot the ball through the air -- but we changed to the wishbone because we had to get a change of pace and I thought it would give problems to the Auburn defense," Dickey said.
...
Florida's success brought Gaffney a great deal of attention, and not all of it welcome.Some people simply couldn't get past the color of his skin.At Mississippi State, someone hung a black cat from the stands.At other stops around the Southeastern Conference, fans showered Gaffney with racial slurs.
...
Says Gaffney, "When this kind of stuff went down, Coach Dickey would come to my room to make sure I was OK, make sure I was handling it.
...
Gaffney eventually got his law degree, was elected to the Jacksonville City Council, and later the Florida House of Representatives.His future appeared limitless until he pleaded no contest to federal mail-fraud charges in 1988 for scheming to fake an office burglary so he could collect on a $10,000 insurance payoff.

He later pleaded guilty to extortion, and wound up serving both sentences concurrently -- two years of a six-year sentence in federal prison.

He also pleaded no contest to altering a prescription and received 18 months probation, and in 1998 he was arrested on charges of shoplifting a pair of gloves from a sporting goods store.
...
"Don is such a talented guy, not just as football player.He had so much going for him out of school.Remember J.C. Watts?That guy had nothing on Don, nothing!But Don ran into a wall."

Gaffney was as startled and puzzled as anyone else.

"I'm the one guy who believed I'd never be caught up in that situation, and I knew I had to get my life stabilized again," he said.
...
So instead of letting circumstance control him, Gaffney once again meets it head-on.He tells his criminal-law students about the pitfalls life has for the unwary.He warns about the seduction of power and fame.Rather than hide from his problems, he embraced them.

"This is the truth -- I felt there was something God wanted me to do.I asked him where I could go to be most effective, and this is where I wound up.I love working with and helping people; that's why I wanted to be an attorney, and that's why I wanted to teach," he said.
...
DON GAFFNEY

The University of Florida football team was in Tampa to play Maryland on that warm September night and Don Gaffney was the quarterback.When the clerk handed Gaffney the note, he figured someone was wishing him a "Go Gators" or "Beat Maryland" or something like that.

But Don Gaffney is black and this was 1974, a time when integration was only grudgingly accepted in much of the South.It also was a time for groundbreaking, and Gaffney played quarterback -- the first black player to do so at UF.His teammates and coaches never made a big deal about that and sheltered him from much of the nonsense, but some people just couldn't get over it.

Gaffney casually started to read the note.Then he stopped and read it again.

"I'm going to kill you."

The note promised that among the faces in the crowd that night at Tampa Stadium, someone would be waiting to shoot him.

Gaffney played anyway, and the Gators won 17-10.
...
It was good advice, and Gaffney has followed it -- even when that ignorance sometimes was his own.He has gone from a starring role for the Gators, to elected office on the Jacksonville City Ccouncil and the Florida House of Representatives.He also went to prison on federal mail-fraud charges.

He has emerged from all this and now leads the quiet life as a law professor at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, where he reminds his students regularly that no challenge is too large to overcome.He should know.

Gaffney will be enshrined in the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame on Friday when both schools gather for their annual game in Jacksonville.
...
Gaffney was a multisport star at Raines High School in Jacksonville when he signed with the Gators.Black players then battled multiple stereotypes, and among the worst was that while they might have outstanding athletic ability, they could never be quarterbacks because the position required a player to think.

"Don was a tremendously smart guy," said Jimmy Fisher, a King High School graduate who went on to share the quarterback position with Gaffney at Florida."Don was a tremendously smart guy," said Jimmy Fisher, a King High School graduate who went on to share the quarterback position with Gaffney at Florida.
...
I was a year behind Don, but when I was at Florida -- when we were there together -- he helped a lot.Don was always a real gentleman."

He was also second on the depth chart behind Lakeland's David Bowden as the 1973 season began.
...
"Don had the potential to be a competent thrower -- he could really slingshot the ball through the air -- but we changed to the wishbone because we had to get a change of pace and I thought it would give problems to the Auburn defense," Dickey said.
...
Florida's success brought Gaffney a great deal of attention, and not all of it welcome.Some people simply couldn't get past the color of his skin.At Mississippi State, someone hung a black cat from the stands.At other stops around the Southeastern Conference, fans showered Gaffney with racial slurs.
...
Says Gaffney, "When this kind of stuff went down, Coach Dickey would come to my room to make sure I was OK, make sure I was handling it.
...
Gaffney eventually got his law degree, was elected to the Jacksonville City Council, and later the Florida House of Representatives.His future appeared limitless until he pleaded no contest to federal mail-fraud charges in 1988 for scheming to fake an office burglary so he could collect on a $10,000 insurance payoff.

He later pleaded guilty to extortion, and wound up serving both sentences concurrently -- two years of a six-year sentence in federal prison.

He also pleaded no contest to altering a prescription and received 18 months probation, and in 1998 he was arrested on charges of shoplifting a pair of gloves from a sporting goods store.
...
"Don is such a talented guy, not just as football player.He had so much going for him out of school.Remember J.C. Watts?That guy had nothing on Don, nothing!But Don ran into a wall."

Gaffney was as startled and puzzled as anyone else.

"I'm the one guy who believed I'd never be caught up in that situation, and I knew I had to get my life stabilized again," he said.
...
So instead of letting circumstance control him, Gaffney once again meets it head-on.He tells his criminal-law students about the pitfalls life has for the unwary.He warns about the seduction of power and fame.Rather than hide from his problems, he embraced them.

"This is the truth -- I felt there was something God wanted me to do.I asked him where I could go to be most effective, and this is where I wound up.I love working with and helping people; that's why I wanted to be an attorney, and that's why I wanted to teach," he said.
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DON GAFFNEY

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No. 50 Don Gaffney
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Top 100 credentials: Gaffney took over as the starting quarterback midway through his sophomore season and stayed there through the end of his senior season.He threw for 1,985 yards and rushed for 513 yards, throwing 15 touchdown passes his last two seasons while leading Florida into the wishbone era.How he shined: Not only did Gaffney lead one of the best teams in Florida history in 1975, he played a big part in huge wins in '73.In his first start at quarterback, Florida beat Auburn for the first time at Jordan-Hare Stadium.The next week, Gaffney threw a late touchdown pass to Lee McGriff and then the winning two-point conversion.
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Making his mark: Gaffney was the first black to ever play quarterback at Florida and was the perfect man for the job.He was the first in a long line of Gaffneys to play for the Gators.Where is he now: Gaffney works for Edwards Waters College in his hometown of Jacksonville.