Dale Barnard "Muddy" Waters (May 27, 1909 – December 19, 2001) was an American college and professional football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player who was an offensive and defensive lineman in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 (NFL) for three seasons during the early 1930s. Waters played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 for the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

, and thereafter, he played for three different NFL teams.

Early years

Waters was born in Henry County, Indiana

Henry County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 48,508 people, 19,486 households, and 13,971 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 20,592 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...

 in 1909. He attended Newcastle High School in Newcastle Township, Fulton County, Indiana

Newcastle Township, Fulton County, Indiana

Newcastle Township is one of eight townships in Fulton County, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,281.-Geography:Newcastle Township covers an area of ; of this is water...

.

College career

Waters attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...

, where he was an offensive and defensive lineman and varsity letterman for coach Charlie Bachman

Charlie Bachman

Charles William "Charlie" Bachman, Jr. was an American college football player and head coach. Bachman was an Illinois native and an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, where he played college football...

's Florida Gators football

Florida Gators football

The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...

 team in 1928, 1929 and 1930. Waters was a member of the Gators Eleven of 1928 that led the nation in scoring and finished 8–1, losing only to the Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee Volunteers football

The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....

 by a single point, 13–12. He was also a guard for the Florida Gators basketball

Florida Gators men's basketball

The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Southeastern Conference...

 team, lettering in 1929, 1930 and 1931, and serving as the Gators' team captain

Captain (sports)

In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...

 as a senior in 1931.

Waters graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in physical education

Physical education

Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

 in 1935.

Professional career

Waters became a professional football offensive lineman for the NFL's Cleveland Indians , Portsmouth Spartans , and the Boston Braves/Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 (–). During his three-season NFL career, Waters played in twenty-seven regular season NFL games, and started in twelve of them.

See also

• Florida Gators
  Florida Gators
  The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
  
  
• Florida Gators football, 1920–1929
• Florida Gators football, 1930–1939
• List of Florida Gators football players
• List of University of Florida alumni
• List of Washington Redskins players