Versatile Athletes
By Jim Joanos
The media has recently given some attention to Florida State University athlete Jameis Winston in regard to his playing two varsity sports, football and baseball. It got me to reminisce about earlier multiple sport athletes who competed at FSU.
In the first several years after the school resumed its co-educational status in 1947 and again began competing in male intercollegiate athletics, it was rather common to have athletes participating in more than one varsity sport. A few of those early multi-talented athletes come quickly to mind, Bill Kratzert (football and basketball), Tommy Brown (football and golf), Jimmy Arnold (football and track), and Billy Parker (basketball and baseball), to mention a few.
As time passed, the practice of competing in more than one sport became quite limited. Because of the increased level of competition and pressure to excel, athletes have tended to narrow their primary interest in developing their prowess to just one sport. Nevertheless, there have from time to time been excerptions, athletes who somehow managed to succeed in more than one sport at FSU. Here are six multi-sport male athletes that I have especially enjoyed watching competing at FSU.
Lee Corso, 1953-57, football and baseball. Corso, who played in the backfield on both offense and defense, was an honorable mention AP Football All-American his senior season. He was also a three-year letterman as a baseball outfielder. After college he became a college football coach. His career included being the head coach at Louisville and Indiana. He currently stars on ESPN’s Football College Game Day show each Saturday morning during football season.
Jeff Hogan, 1965-69, basketball and baseball. Hogan excelled as a guard in basketball and an infielder in baseball. In his senior basketball season, he served as team captain. All three of the FSU baseball teams that he played on finished in the top fifteen of the nation at the end of their seasons. After college, he played professional baseball for awhile and then spent a career as a high school coach and athletic director. In both basketball and baseball coaching, he won numerous awards. In baseball, two times (1982 and 86), he was named the State of Florida’s coach of the year in his division.
Gary Huff, 1970-72, football and baseball. Huff, FSU’s “magic dragon” made a number of football All-American teams as a quarterback. Many remember his starring performance in the first ever Fiesta Bowl game at the end of his junior season. Huff set numerous passing records while at FSU. He also played a couple of years as a shortstop on the Seminole baseball team. After FSU, he played quarterback for the Chicago Bears and later the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Currently, he lives and works in Tallahassee and continues to support the Seminoles.
Rohn Stark, 1978-82, football and track. Many fans remember Rohn Stark’s performances as a football punter. Two years, he was a first team All-American. In one game (against the University of Florida, 1981) he averaged 54.8 yards per punt, an unbelievable performance. Not many fans remember that he was also an All-American in Track and Field, finishing as high as eighth nationally in the most grueling of all events, the decathlon. After FSU, he became a great NFL punter and had a long career.
Deion Sanders, 1985-88, football, baseball and track. A two-time Consensus All-American in football, Sanders is perhaps the greatest cornerback ever to play college football. He also made outstanding contributions in baseball at FSU, where he played in the outfield on a team that made it to the College World Series and in track and field where he won numerous races and competed in the NCAA’s national meet. Great stories persist about his performances on the FSU baseball and track teams on the very same day. After FSU, Sanders went on to excel in two professional sports, football and baseball. He has been admitted into both the College Football Hall of Fame as well as the NFL Hall of Fame.
Charlie Ward, 1988-94, football and basketball. In football, as a quarterback, Ward won about every award that could be received including the Heisman Trophy as the best college football player of all during the 1993 season, the year that he led the Seminoles to the National Championship. In basketball, many consider him as the best point guard that has ever worn FSU’s garnet and gold. He also found time to serve as Vice President of FSU’s Student Government. Following college, Ward had a long and successful career in the National Basketball Association playing guard, for the most part with the New York Knicks. He currently coaches high school football in the Houston, Texas, area.
It will be interesting to see how far young Jameis Winston will go in seeking to play two sports at Florida State.
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