View source for Jake Gaither

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1903–1994)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Jake Gaither
| image = Jake Gaither portrait.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|4|11}}
| birth_place = [[Dayton, Tennessee]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|2|18|1903|4|11|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Tallahassee, Florida]], U.S.
| alma_mater = 
| player_years1 = ?–1927
| player_team1 = [[Knoxville College|Knoxville]]
| coach_years1 = 1937–1944
| coach_team1 = [[Florida A&M Rattlers football|Florida A&M]] (assistant)
| coach_years2 = 1945–1969
| coach_team2 = Florida A&M
| admin_years1 = 1945–1973
| admin_team1 = [[Florida A&M Rattlers and Lady Rattlers|Florida A&M]]
| overall_record = 204–36–4
| bowl_record = 12–13–1
| tournament_record =
| championships = 1 [[AP small college football rankings|AP small college national]] (1962)<br>8 [[Black college football national championship|black college national]] (1950, 1952–1954, 1957, 1959, 1961–1962)<br>20 [[Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference|SIAC]] (1945–1950, 1952–1965)<br>3 [[Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference|SIAC Division I]] (1967–1969)
| awards = [[NAIA Football Coach of the Year Award|NAIA Coach of the Year]] (1969)<br>[[Walter Camp Man of the Year]] (1974)<br>[[Amos Alonzo Stagg Award]] (1975)
| coaching_records = 
| CFBHOF_year = 1975
| CFBHOF_id = 1738
}}
'''Alonzo Smith''' "'''Jake'''" '''Gaither''' (April 11, 1903 – February 18, 1994) was an American [[college football]] coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at [[Florida A&M University]] (FAMU) for 25 years, from 1945 to 1969, compiling a record of 204–36–4. His won–loss record is among the best of any college football coach.

==Biography==
Gaither was born in 1903 in [[Dayton, Tennessee]]. His father was a preacher, and as a youth Gaither expected to also become a preacher. He graduated from [[Knoxville College]], where he played football as an end in 1927. Gaither's father died around that time, and Gaither became a high school football coach to help support his family. Gaither later completed a master's degree at [[Ohio State University]] in 1937.
[[File:Coach Jake Gaither (standing, middle, white shirt) in the locker room with his Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) football team.jpg|left|thumb|Coach Jake Gaither (standing, middle, white shirt with whistle) in the locker room with his Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) football team: Tallahassee, Florida, 1953]]

Gaither went to work as an assistant to head coach [[William M. Bell]] at Florida A&M College for Negroes (as it was called then) in 1937.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rattlers To Open Season Saturday|newspaper=The Tallahassee Daily Democrat|date=October 1, 1937|page=7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39512371/rattlers_to_open_season_saturday/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name=Lane37>{{cite news|title=Florida Rattlers Win First Battle|newspaper=The Tallahassee Daily Democrat|date=October 3, 1937|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38429909/tallahassee_democrat/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> The FAMC Rattlers had an undefeated (8–0) season that year, and won their first [[black college football national championship]]. The school won the national title again in 1942. Bell left to enter military service in 1943. After two years of problems in the football program, Gaither was hired as the head football coach for Florida A&M College in 1945. One story is that the president of the college could not find anyone else to take the job.

Gaither worked very hard to motivate his players. He would say, "I like my boys to be agile, mobile, and hostile." It is reported that he would hide an onion in his handkerchief to work up tears in his pre-game pep talks. He built up an effective recruiting network; in the days of Jim Crow, he had the pick of every good black high school player in Florida. Indeed, by the 1960s did not even bother to recruit players from outside the state. Gaither was dedicated to his job. After retiring, he told his biographer, "I run into so many people who have no deep sense of morals—people who got a price tag on them, who'd sell their soul. I want to find the man who has no price tag on him. I'm not for sale."

Gaither instituted an annual coaching clinic at FAMU in the late 1950s. He recruited major college coaches, including [[Paul "Bear" Bryant]], [[Frank Broyles]], [[Darrell Royal]], [[Woody Hayes]] and [[Adolph Rupp]], among others, to staff the clinics.

Gaither introduced the [[T formation|Split-T formation]] in 1963, and it was soon adopted at other colleges. In 1969 Florida A&M defeated the [[1969 Tampa Spartans football team|Spartans]] of the [[University of Tampa]], 34–28, in the [[Southern United States|South's]] first football game between a white college and a [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black college]].

Gaither also coached [[basketball]] and [[Track and field|track]] in his early years as football coach. He later became director of athletics and chairman of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at FAMU. He continued to hold the last two positions after he retired as coach until his retirement from teaching in 1973.

When Gaither retired from coaching in 1969, his Florida A&M teams had a 204–36–4 record, for a .844 winning percentage. Thirty-six players from Gaither's teams were [[All-America]]ns, and 42 went on to play in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). Gaither was named Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Decade. He was named College Division Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association in 1962, and was voted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1975. He also received the [[Amos Alonzo Stagg Award]] that year, and the [[Walter Camp Man of the Year]] award in 1974. The Jake Gaither Trophy has been awarded to the best Black collegiate football player each year since 1978. The [[Jake Gaither Gymnasium]] is located on the FAMU campus.

Gaither died in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] in 1994. The '''Jake Gaither House''' where he lived is now a cultural center.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jakegaitherhouse.org/|title=Jake Gaither House|date=2018|website=The Jake Gaither Memorial House Foundation|access-date=May 22, 2019|archive-date=September 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901131527/https://www.jakegaitherhouse.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Head coaching record==
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = both | poll1 = AP | poll2 = UPI }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Florida A&M Rattlers football|Florida A&M Rattlers]]
 | conf      = [[Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]]
 | startyear = 1945
 | endyear   = 1969
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1945 college football season|1945]]
 | name         = [[1945 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 9–1
 | conference   = 6–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1946 college football season|1946]]
 | name         = [[1946 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 6–4–1
 | conference   = 6–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]], '''T''' Angel Bowl
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1947 college football season|1947]]
 | name         = [[1947 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 9–1
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1948 college football season|1948]]
 | name         = Florida A&M
 | overall      = 8–2
 | conference   = 6–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1949 college football season|1949]]
 | name         = [[1949 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 7–2
 | conference   = 6–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1950 college football season|1950]]
 | name         = [[1950 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 8–1–1
 | conference   = 6–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1951 college football season|1951]]
 | name         = [[1951 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 7–1–1
 | conference   = 4–1
 | confstanding = 3rd
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1952 college football season|1952]]
 | name         = [[1952 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 8–2
 | conference   = 4–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1953 college football season|1953]]
 | name         = [[1953 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 10–1
 | conference   = 6–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1954 college football season|1954]]
 | name         = [[1954 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 8–1
 | conference   = 4–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1955 college football season|1955]]
 | name         = [[1955 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 7–1–1
 | conference   = 6–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1956 college football season|1956]]
 | name         = [[1956 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 8–1
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1957 college football season|1957]]
 | name         = [[1957 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 9–0
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1958 college football season|1958]]
 | name         = [[1958 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 7–2
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1959 college football season|1959]]
 | name         = [[1959 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 10–0
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 14
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1960 college football season|1960]]
 | name         = [[1960 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 9–1
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 5
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1961 college football season|1961]]
 | name         = [[1961 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 10–0
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 4
 | ranking2     = 6
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1962 NCAA College Division football season|1962]]
 | name         = [[1962 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 9–1
 | conference   = 6–0
 | confstanding = T–1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 1
 | ranking2     = 2
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1963 NCAA College Division football season|1963]]
 | name         = [[1963 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 8–2
 | conference   = 3–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 7
 | ranking2     = 6
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1964 NCAA College Division football season|1964]]
 | name         = [[1964 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 9–1
 | conference   = 3–0
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 9
 | ranking2     = 12
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1965 NCAA College Division football season|1965]]
 | name         = Florida A&M
 | overall      = 7–3
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1966 NCAA College Division football season|1966]]
 | name         = Florida A&M
 | overall      = 7–3
 | conference   = 4–1
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = division
 | year         = [[1967 NCAA College Division football season|1967]]
 | name         = Florida A&M
 | overall      = 8–2
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 1st <small>(Division I)</small>
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = division
 | year         = [[1968 NCAA College Division football season|1968]]
 | name         = Florida A&M
 | overall      = 8–2
 | conference   = 5–0
 | confstanding = 1st <small>(Division I)</small>
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = T–19
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = division
 | year         = [[1969 NCAA College Division football season|1969]]
 | name         = [[1969 Florida A&M Rattlers football team|Florida A&M]]
 | overall      = 8–1
 | conference   = 4–0
 | confstanding = 1st <small>(Division I)</small>
 | bowlname     = [[Orange Blossom Classic]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 16
 | ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Florida A&M
 | overall    = 204–36–4
 | confrecord = 124–3
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
 | overall  = 204–36–4
 | bowls    = no
 | poll     = no
 | polltype = 
}}

==See also==
* [[List of college football career coaching wins leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Additional sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://theledger.com/static/top50/pages/gaither.html |title=Most Important Floridians of the 20th Century - Jake Gaither |access-date=July 1, 2008 |archive-date=November 21, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051121230854/http://theledger.com/static/top50/pages/gaither.html |url-status=bot: unknown }} - URL retrieved June 30, 2008
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.famu.edu/athletics/football/news/gaither.html |title=Rattler Football - A. S. "Jake" Gaither |access-date=June 27, 2006 |archive-date=September 12, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060912061346/http://www.famu.edu/athletics/football/news/gaither.html |url-status=bot: unknown }} - URL retrieved June 30, 2008
* [http://www.100percentwrong.org/pages/awards.html The Alonzo S. "Jake" Gaither Award] - URL retrieved June 25, 2006
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.thesiac.com/?page=history |title=Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference History |access-date=June 27, 2006 |archive-date=August 25, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825074009/http://www.thesiac.com/?page=history |url-status=bot: unknown }} - URL retrieved June 30, 2008
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{College Football HoF|1738}}

{{navboxes|list=
{{Florida A&M Rattlers and Lady Rattlers athletic director navbox}}
{{Florida A&M Rattlers football coach navbox}}
{{AFCA Division II Coach of the Year}}
{{Amos Alonzo Stagg Award}}
{{Walter Camp Man of the Year}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaither, Jake}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:Florida A&M Rattlers and Lady Rattlers athletic directors]]
[[Category:Florida A&M Rattlers football coaches]]
[[Category:Knoxville Bulldogs football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Ohio State University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Dayton, Tennessee]]
[[Category:African-American coaches of American football]]
[[Category:African-American college athletic directors in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]