Jimmy Steele (American football)
{{Short description|American football player and coach (1909–1980)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox college football player
|name = Jimmy Steele
|image = Jimmy Steele (1931 Seminole).png
|image_size = 180px
|currentnumber=36
|weight_lb=194
|alt =
|caption = Steele from 1931 Seminole yearbook
|school=Florida Gators
|currentposition = Tackle, guard
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|12|11|mf=y}}
|birth_place = Tampa, Florida
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1980|9|15|1909|12|11|mf=y}}
|death_place = Hillsborough County, Florida
|highschool = Hillsborough
|pastschools=Florida (1928–1930)
|highlights=
- Second-team All-American (1928)
- All-Southern (1928, 1929, 1930)
}}
James Henry Steele, Jr. (December 11, 1909 – September 15, 1980), nicknamed Jimmy Steele, was an American college football player and coach for the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida.
Early years
A native of Tampa, Florida,{{Cite news|title=Press Notices Have No Effect on Gator Guard: Jimmy Steele Keeps Head Despite Shower of Newspaper Praise|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=October 5, 1929|page=2|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19291005&id=FJAxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yE0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4260,3783055}} he attended Hillsborough High School in Tampa, and played for coach Nash Higgins' Hillsborough Terriers high school football team.
=University of Florida=
After high school, Steele enrolled in the University of Florida in 1927, where he played for coach Charlie Bachman's Florida Gators football team from 1928 to 1930. He played at the tackle and guard positions for the great Gators of 1928, which finished with a win–loss record of 8–1, losing only their last game by a single point to the Tennessee Volunteers, 13–12. After the 1928 season, Steele was selected by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) as a second-team All-American.{{cite news|author=Henry L. Farrell|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lPMoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=29MEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4163,4121870&dq=farrell+1928+all+america&hl=en |title=Farrell Names Three All-America Grid Teams|newspaper=Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian|page=5|date=December 3, 1928}} The guard position was very competitive in the south in 1928. One writer notes "Had not Vanderbilt possessed its Brown, Alabama its Hagler and Georgia Tech its Drennon, Florida Steele would have been on the 1928 All-Southern." In December 1929, the Miami Daily News and Metropolis called him "the best linesman in the south" and noted that, throughout the 1928 and 1929 seasons, he had, "game in and game out, been head and shoulders above any linesmen on the field."{{cite news|title=Here's Intro to the Gator First String|newspaper=Miami Daily News and Metropolis|date=December 6, 1929|page=15|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19291206&id=OAotAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GdgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5962,141471}} That same month, the Gators football team selected Leroy "Red" Bethea as captain of the 1930 team and Steele as the alternate captain.{{cite news|title=Halfback Elected Captain|newspaper=The Independent, St. Petersburg, Florida|date=December 17, 1929|page=5A|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19291217&id=DspPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=f1QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4276,4610787}} Following his 1930 senior season, United Press named him to its All-Southern first team.
Coaching career
After graduating from Florida in 1931, Steele returned to his alma mater as line coach.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19310904&id=s91PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=m1QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3464,3739585&hl=en|title=Jim Steele To Return As Mentor|work=The Evening Independent|date=September 4, 1931}}
Semi-pro ball
Steele also played semi-pro football for the Tampa All-Stars.{{cite news|title=Bethea's Long Run Gives Yankees 6-0 Victory Over Tampans|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=January 2, 1933|page=6|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19330102&id=UDVPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1U0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5432,4464358}}
See also
{{Portal|Biography|College football}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). {{ISBN|0-7948-2298-3}}.
- Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). {{ISBN|0-9650782-1-3}}.
- Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). {{ISBN|1-58261-514-4}}.
- McCarthy, Kevin M., [https://books.google.com/books?id=_Tk-IQepI6cC Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football], Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). {{ISBN|978-0-7385-0559-6}}.
- McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). {{ISBN|0-87397-025-X}}.
- Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). {{ISBN|1-57167-196-X}}.
{{1930 College Football Composite All-Southerns}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Jimmy}}
Category:American football guards
Category:American football tackles
Category:Florida Gators football players
Category:Players of American football from Tampa, Florida