17 Facts About Marcelino Huerta

Marcelino Huerta was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2002.

Marcelino Huerta was the son of Ybor City cigar workers, both of whom were immigrants from Asturias in Spain.

Marcelino Huerta attended Hillsborough High School in Tampa, and was an offensive lineman for the Hillsborough Terriers high school football team.

Marcelino Huerta joined the US Army Air Force during World War II, serving as a B-24 Liberator bomber pilot and flying missions over Nazi-occupied Europe.

When Marcelino Huerta's aircraft was shot down over Yugoslavia, he evaded capture by German military units, and with the assistance of Yugoslav partisans, he was able to safely return to his base.

Marcelino Huerta graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1949, and he was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1983.

Marcelino Huerta served as the head coach of the Tampa Spartans football team and athletic director of the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida, from 1952 to 1961.

Marcelino Huerta accepted the head coaching job at Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, where he coached the Parsons Wildcats football team from 1965 to 1967.

Marcelino Huerta was a successful insurance agent for a year following his departure from the coaches ranks, but he didn't enjoy it.

Marcelino Huerta was the founder of the "Football Players for Crippled Children" program, and was a member of the President's Council on Endowment for the Handicapped.

Marcelino Huerta received the Pop Warner Award for his work with young athletes.

Marcelino Huerta was well known on the Florida Gators alumni speaking circuit for his quick wit and humor, and he was an active participant in the "Golden Era" football alumni group from the late 1940s.

Bubba Marcelino Huerta played baseball for the Florida Gators baseball team and graduated from his father's alma mater, the University of Florida.

Marcelino Huerta died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1985; he was 60 years old.

Marcelino Huerta was survived by his wife and their son and daughter.

Marcelino Huerta was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2002.

Marcelino Huerta was a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.