Ben Clemons

Walter N. "Ben" Clemons was a basketball, baseball, and football player and coach for the Florida Gators.[1][2][3]

Ben Clemson
Biographical details
Alma materUniversity of Florida
Playing career
Football
1928–1930Florida
Baseball
1930–1932Florida
Position(s)Center (football)
Pitcher (baseball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1933–1935Florida (assistant)
1939–1940Stetson (assistant)
1941–?The Citadel (assistant)
Basketball
1933–1941Florida
1939–1941Stetson
1941–1942The Citadel
1943–1944The Citadel
1946–1949Stetson
Baseball
1934–1936Florida
1947–1950Stetson
Head coaching record
Overall69–105 (basketball)
50–81–1 (baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame

Early years

Clemons was a high school teammate of Rainey Cawthon at Leon High School.[4]

Playing career
Clemons as football player, c. 1930

Football

He was a 195-pound center on the 1928 football team, splitting time with starter Frank Clark.[5] The 1928 Gators were remembered by many sports commentators as the best Florida football team until at least the 1960s. An all-time Florida team selected by George Trevor in 1935 puts Clemons at second-team center, behind Welcome Shearer.[6]

Basketball

Clemons tied as the team's leading scorer in the basketball season of 1929–30 with 136 points.[7] In the 1931 Southern Conference tournament, Clemons was the high scorer in a victory over Georgia Tech.[8] Dale Waters and Monk Dorsett also played both football and basketball with Clemons.[9]

Baseball

Clemons pitched on the baseball team. He was captain of the baseball team in his senior season.[10]

Coaching career

Clemons coached at his alma mater from 1933 to 1936. He was the head coach of both the basketball and baseball teams, and an assistant for the varsity football team. Coach Clemons' basketball team once beat Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC tournament, bringing Clemons to tears.[11]

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See also
  • List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members

References
  1. Brian Howell. Florida Gators. p. 15.
  2. Jack Hairston. "UF familiar with Final Four teams". Gainesville Sun.
  3. Steve Rajtar. Gone Pro:Florida:Gator Athletes Who Became Pros. p. 196.
  4. "Leon High School football team".
  5. Frank S. Wright (August 19, 1929). "Gators Entering Grid Spotlight With Great Eleven For This Fall". The Evening Independent.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "'Gators Wind Up Season". El Paso Evening Post. March 17, 1930. p. 7. Retrieved August 18, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "History of the Early Southern Conference Atlanta Basketball Tournament - 1931 -".
  9. "Florida Grid Stars Play Basketball". Oakland Tribune. January 8, 1931. p. 27. Retrieved August 18, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Frank S. Wright (April 3, 1936). "Clemons Faces Job Developing New Gator Nine". St. Petersburg Times.
  11. "History of the Early Southeastern Conference Atlanta Basketball Tournament - 1934 -".
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