Rainey Blackwell Cawthon (October 30, 1907 – April 11, 1991) was an American football player and coach for the Florida Gators of the University of Florida. Cawthon was a member of Florida's "Phantom Four" backfield with Clyde Crabtree, Carl Brumbaugh, and Royce Goodbread in 1928 which led the nation with 336 points scored.[1] He was also captain of the 1929 Florida team,[2][3][4] and selected second-team for the composite All-Southern that year.[5] He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."[6] Cawthon was also active in the affairs of Florida State University, and was elected to the FSU Hall of Fame in 1987.[7]

Rainey Cawthon

Cawthon in 1956
Florida Gators – No. 40
Position	Halfback/Fullback
Class	1929
Personal information
Born:	(1907-10-30)October 30, 1907 Florida
Died:	November 11, 1991(1991-11-11) (aged 84) Tallahassee, Florida
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career history
College	Florida (1927–1929)
High school	Tallahassee (FL) Leon
Career highlights and awards
All-Southern (1929) University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame FSU Hall of Fame

Early years

He attended Leon High School.[8] Later college teammates Ben Clemons and Ed Sauls were high school teammates.

University of Florida

Cawthon was a prominent running back for Tom Sebring and Charlie Bachman's Florida Gators varsity football teams from 1927 to 1929. In Cawthon's sophomore year and first on the varsity, he suffered a broken wrist. Despite this he saw regular service in the backfield by the second game, and completed a 53-yard pass against Mercer.[9] In 1928, Cawthon scored a safety against North Carolina State,[10] a touchdown against Sewanee, and a touchdown against Clemson. He also had a 40-yard run in the 26–6 win over Georgia in Savannah,[11] the first-ever victory over the Bulldogs in school history.

See also

• List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members

References