1. Alonzo Smith "Jake" Gaither was an American college football coach and athletics administrator.
19 Facts About Jake Gaither
1. 2.
Jake Gaither's father was a preacher, and as a youth Gaither expected to become a preacher.
3.
Jake Gaither graduated from Knoxville College, where he played football as an end in 1927.
4.
Gaither's father died around that time, and Gaither became a high school football coach to help support his family.
5.
Jake Gaither later completed a master's degree at Ohio State University in 1937.
6.
Jake Gaither 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.
7.
Jake Gaither instituted an annual coaching clinic at FAMU in the late 1950s.
8.
Jake Gaither recruited major college coaches, including Paul "Bear" Bryant, Frank Broyles, Darrell Royal, Woody Hayes and Adolph Rupp, among others, to staff the clinics.
9.
Jake Gaither introduced the Split-T formation in 1963, and it was adopted at other colleges.
10.
Jake Gaither coached basketball and track in his early years as football coach.
11.
Jake Gaither later became director of athletics and chairman of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at FAMU.
12.
Jake Gaither continued to hold the last two positions after he retired as coach until his retirement from teaching in 1973.
13.
Thirty-six players from Jake Gaither's teams were All-Americans, and 42 went on to play in the National Football League.
14.
Jake Gaither was named Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Decade.
15.
Jake Gaither 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.
16.
Jake Gaither received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award that year, and the Walter Camp Man of the Year award in 1974.
17.
The Jake Gaither Trophy has been awarded to the best Black collegiate football player each year since 1978.
18.
The Jake Gaither Gymnasium is located on the FAMU campus.
19.
The Jake Gaither House where he lived is a cultural center.