Walter Mayberry
"Tiger"
|
|
| Florida Gators No. 64 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Halfback |
| Class | 1937 |
| Career history | |
| College | Florida (1934–1937) |
| High school | Mainland |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | March 14, 1915 |
| Place of birth | Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Date of death | by March 5, 1944 (aged 28) |
| Place of death | Rabaul, New Britain |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 172 lb (78 kg) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Walter Thomas "Tiger" Mayberry (March 14, 1915 – by March 5, 1944) was an American college football player, and later a U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot. Mayberry was a casualty of World War II; dying in a Japanese prisoner of war camp after his plane was shot down.
Mayberry was a prominent running back for the University of Florida's Florida Gators football team. A triple-threat man, he also passed and punted. When punting he excelled at placing balls in the "coffin corner." As was typical in the 1930s, he played both offense and defense, posting multiple school records for interceptions. Mayberry was selected as a sixth round pick of the 1938 NFL Draft, but never played in the NFL. He was the first Gator drafted into the league.
Mayberry was born on March 14, 1915 in Daytona Beach, Florida, and attended Mainland High School in his hometown. His father Tom operated a small grocery store. His mother was Helena Marie Murphy of Lewiston, Maine. He played for the Mainland Buccaneers high school football team, and suffered a broken neck while playing.
In the fall of 1934, Mayberry enrolled as a freshman and attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
After playing freshman football for a season, he played for coach Josh Cody's varsity Florida Gators football team from 1935 to 1937. His first coach Dutch Stanley called Mayberry the best player he ever saw. In three seasons of college football, he amassed 2,019 yards of total offense, including 713 yards passing and 1,306 yards rushing; on defense, he accumulated eleven interceptions.
...
Wikipedia