Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- They came in together as freshmen and a few years later, for a brief second, they were teammates in the NFL.

For longtime observers of college and professional football in the state of Florida, the names Jimmy Jordan and Steve Spurrier have echoed in the game's realm since the 1960s when Spurrier arrived from Johnson City, Tenn., and put the Gators on the national map.

Jordan passed away on April 20 at the age of 75.

As Spurrier began to assert himself as Florida's quarterback of the future, the talented Jordan was one of his go-to receivers on Florida's freshman team in 1963. In a 45-12 win over Georgia that season at Florida Field, Spurrier threw for more than 200 yards and Jordan was a primary target in the Baby Gators' thrashing of the Bulldogs (see story, right). Both players figured into the varsity plans of head coach Ray Graves as he looked to build off the varsity team's monumental road win at Alabama during the '63 season.

Spurrier etched his name into the school and Southeastern Conference record books from 1964-66, winning the Heisman Trophy as a senior and forever establishing has place in college football history. Jordan's shot to stardom never materialized. His brightest moment for the Gators came as a sophomore in 1964 when he led the team in rushing during a defensive struggle against Auburn, helping the 10th-ranked Gators defeat the Tigers 14-0 with 38 yards on 11 carries.

"Jimmy had a fine day out there,'' Graves told reporters. "The kind of running he did took a lot of courage."

However, with a deep stable of ballcarriers and a pass-happy offense led by Spurrier, Graves shuttled Jordan between the varsity and B-team that season to gain more experience.

Graves was always fond of Jordan's talent, signing the 6-foot, 200-pound speedster out of Chamberlain High in Tampa.

"A strong runner with great speed and the potential to break open a game at any time,'' Graves said when he named Jordan the co-Most Improved Back along with Hal Seymour in the spring of 1965.

By the time the Gators faced Auburn at midseason of Jordan's junior season in '65, he was no longer on the team. The week of No. 7-Florida's 28-17 loss at Auburn, Graves booted Jordan from the team for "disciplinary reasons" in a move that garnered headlines in the state's newspapers. While Jordan was finished at Florida, he resurfaced in 1966 as a standout for the St. Petersburg Blazers of the semi-pro North American Football League. As the team's offensive star, Jordan scored 23 touchdowns to lead the Blazers to the NAFL title.
 

That was enough to earn Jordan a shot in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, who selected Jordan in the third round of the 1967 NFL Draft -- the second UF player taken that year behind No. 3 overall pick Spurrier (San Francisco). Jordan's stint with the Falcons was short-lived due to a military obligation. When the Falcons released him, he signed with New Orleans and appeared in one game in 1967 as a kickoff returner. He later signed with the 49ers for a brief reunion with Spurrier.

In a wide-ranging interview with late Tampa Tribune columnist Tom McEwen in the spring of '68, Jordan reflected on his circuitous football career. He understood why many questioned how his stay at UF didn't produce better results in an offense that was taking off with Spurrier at the helm and with Pepper Rodgers as offensive coordinator. Coincidentally, Rodgers, who left Florida after the 1964 season for UCLA and gained later fame as a head coach, also died earlier this month.

"I really think I came along at Florida at the wrong time,'' Jordan said.
 

Jimmy never had a football card, but this is the photo Topps took of him in 1967. pic.twitter.com/AJ1hy3Rgh2

— Jay Couture (@GatorJay87) May 28, 2020

He admitted his attitude might have rubbed some the wrong way.

"I talk to much,'' he said. "Like at Florida, I was quoted as saying in my sophomore year that I was not one of Pepper Rodgers' boys. I said that. But I didn't mean anything by it. I meant that there were others whom he had more confidence. He wasn't going to play me unless he had to. That's all. But I hear Coach Graves got madder at that than anything ever."

After football, Jordan returned to the Tampa Bay area and turned his athletic ability toward golf. In the mid-1980s Spurrier landed in Tampa as head coach of the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits. One of his quarterbacks was Jimmy Jordan. Some wondered if it was his former college teammate. Instead, it was the Jordan who played quarterback at Florida State in the mid-to-late 1970s.

By that time, Spurrier's former UF teammate, Jimmy Andrew Jordan, had made the Babe Zaharias Golf Course his favorite playground.