Graves' Golden Decision Set Up 'Silver Sixties'

By JOEY JOHNSTON The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 14, 2006

TAMPA - Florida Field's atmosphere was frenzied. Thirty-three seconds remained, and the Florida Gators had just scored on a fourth-down play to pull within one point of No. 10-ranked Georgia Tech.

Coach Ray Graves, in only his third game with the Gators, didn't hesitate.

From the sideline, he raised his left arm, holding up two fingers.

Go for two. Go for the win.

In 1960, it was like Martians had landed in Gainesville.

"For me, there was only one decision," said Graves, 87, a Tampa resident who coached his last football game nearly four decades ago but still recalls strategy and details with uncanny clarity.

"I couldn't go in that locker room and face our players without giving them a chance to win. A tie was unacceptable. That was not the type of program we were going to have at Florida."

Larry Libertore, on the option, almost decided to run. But at the last second, he lofted a pass to fullback Jon MacBeth, who juggled it, then held on.

Florida 18, Georgia Tech 17.

UF officially washed its hands of conservative thinking. Graves, a former defensive-minded assistant on Bobby Dodd's Georgia Tech staff, set in motion a decade that would be known as the "Silver Sixties," a rollicking good time that lifted Gators football from its Stone Age.

From 1960-69, the Gators went to five bowl games (winning four). Graves was 70-31-4 with seven victories against top 10-ranked teams. Steve Spurrier won the 1966 Heisman Trophy. Thirteen others were named All-Americans. Graves directed a trio of nine-win teams.

"We did not win the SEC, and that still burns at me," Graves said. "But I believe we made a contribution. Hopefully, it will be remembered."

His players haven't forgotten.

"Florida's football history before 1960, obviously, was not all that illustrious," said Spurrier, the former Gators coach who presented Graves with a championship ring when Florida won the 1996 national title. "I don't care what anybody says, Ray Graves put Florida's program on the map. Everybody else built on what he accomplished."

Spurrier and other former Gators gather annually for the "Silver Sixties" reunion, which last month was held for the 36th time. Traditionally, Graves, the former players and their families get together over Father's Day weekend.

"That's pretty appropriate," former Gators quarterback John Reaves said. "Coach Graves is still like a daddy to us."

Graves always saw that as part of his job description.

The marching orders were clear. When UF president J. Wayne Reitz offered the job to Graves, he set the annual salary at $19,000 and said his football coach never would earn more than the head of the university. Reitz implored Graves to recruit players of high character. Most important, Reitz said, was education. They had to graduate.

Ninety percent of players from the "Silver Sixties" earned UF degrees (and 40 percent went to graduate school).

"I had repeated concussions and had to give up football, so I guess Coach Graves could've pulled my scholarship," said Edwin Warner, a UF middle guard from 1964-66. "But he kept me around and kept on me about getting the degree. It didn't seem to matter whether you were an All-American or the last guy on the bench.

"To some coaches, it's like a business. If you can't play, you're done. Coach Graves wasn't like that. He cared."

Today, Warner, who earned bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering, runs a consulting business in Clearwater.

"We love getting together to talk about the old days," former Gators defensive back Allen Trammell said. "And we especially love being around Coach Graves. That has never changed. He's quite a man."

And quite a coach.

Graves, who was inducted into the National Football Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1990, believed in delegating responsibility, but never authority. Mostly, he coached the coaches, developing an organizational style that had UF's program humming with precision.

Off the field, he had a keen sense for public relations. Graves and wife Opal, who will celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary in November, held a postgame reception at their home following each Gators contest, win or lose.

"When we first got to Gainesville, apparently nobody had ever been to the coach's house before," Opal Graves said. "We wanted it to be an open atmosphere."

Wide open.

After retiring as coach and serving as UF's athletic director, Graves moved to Tampa and became vice president of public relations for George Steinbrenner's organization. He shook plenty of hands and gave away millions to charitable causes. He never missed the sideline.

Graves reads the newspaper without his glasses. He works out three times a week at a health club. He's had two hip replacements. He weighs 185 pounds - 10 less than when he played linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. The secret? Order what you want, but only eat half.

"Life is meant to be enjoyed," said Graves, who never stopped going for the gusto since beating Georgia Tech in 1960.

They loved him then.

They still love him now.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached

at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampa-

trib.com.