The garnet and gold, Chief Osceola planting his spear, the rivalries, the bowls, Doak Campbell Stadium. There’s a lot that people love about Florida State football.
That passion first came to be on this day 70 years as FSU took the football field for the first time. On Oct. 18, 1947, Florida State took its home field — then Centennial Field — for the first-ever football game as the team not yet named the Seminoles took on Stetson.
For a half, FSU surprised even the most optimistic fans. After a scoreless first quarter, FSU scored the game’s first touchdown on a 24-yard pass play from Don Grant to Charles McMillan.
For the day, FSU managed just four first downs and only 111 total yards in addition to four turnovers, but the 6-0 halftime lead gave fans hope.
Stetson was able to go ahead for good in the third quarter when offensive lineman George Douglass fell on a fumble from Hatters’ running back Jim Olson in the end zone to go up 7-6. The Hatters added to their lead on a 3-yard run by quarterback Clarke McCullough in the final quarter of what would be a 14-6 win for Stetson.
Coached by Ed Williamson, Florida State would go 0-5 in its first season of football. The team came to be known as the Seminoles in their next game which took place against Cumberland College nearly a month later. It was against that same Cumberland team that FSU would get its first on Oct. 9, 1948.
Over the years, FSU has managed to become a football powerhouse, winning three national championships and 15 ACC titles while producing numerous All-Americans and NFL draft picks. For students, fans and alumni of FSU, there’s nothing quite like Tallahassee in the fall. That tradition began on this day 70 years ago.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole and former editor of Noled Out. Mike has more than seven years experience as a sports writer including the last four in print and online media. Mike graduated from Florida State University in 2009 with a Bachelors in Religion and a minor in Communications. Mike provided press coverage of Florida State's run to the 2013 BCS National Championship. Mike is also a news reporter at Polk County's newspaper, The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida. and contributes to Athlon Sports and ACCSports.com. Mike has been featured on sites as prominent as Yahoo Sports, FoxSports.com, Associated Press and the front page of SI.com while interviewing athletes as high profile as 2013 National League MVP, Andrew McCutchen. Email Mike at Mike@TheDailyNole.com. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.
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