1950s-1960s

Florida Field in the 1950s

As a part of the new renovations to Florida Field, lights were added to allow for night games to be played. In an obvious move, the first game of the year, on Sept. 23, 1950, the Gators played The Citadel under the lights and in the Florida heat. They won that game 7-3 under Head Coach Bob Woodruff.

1952 marked the one of the greatest years in Florida Football up until that point. This was the second time they had gone undefeated in their home stadium (the first came in 1944, but there were only three home games due to World War II). Their 8-3 record was good enough for them to earn a spot in their very first bowl: The Gator Bowl played in Jacksonville, Fla. The Gators pulled out the victory against Tulsa, 14-13.

After seven winning seasons in 13 years (including three more bowl appearances and a Top-15 appearance), more seating became necessary. In December of 1965 construction began on the east side, now making the temporary bleachers, installed in 1949, permanent.

This upgrade brought the permanent attendance capacity to just over 56,000 people. At this point, the South endzone was filled in with the temporary bleachers bringing the total capacity to an astonishing 62,800 fans for the 1966 season.

Florida Field in the 1960s

In that 1966 season, a senior quarterback by the name of Steve Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy – the first in the school’s history.