High school Hillsborough Role Football player Place of birth Ocala, Florida Height 1.78 m | Weight 68 kg Name Rammy Ramsdell Positions Quarterback | |
Date of birth (1895-11-06)November 6, 1895 Date of death April 14, 1977(1977-04-14) (aged 81) Died April 14, 1977, Plant City, Florida, United States College Florida Gators football (1913–1915) | ||
Place of death Plant City, Florida | ||
Ashley Wakefield "Rammy" Ramsdell (November 6, 1895 – April 14, 1977) was a college football, baseball, and basketball player and track athlete for the Florida Gators of the University of Florida. Ramsdell's athletic career was prematurely ended when he broke his leg playing baseball at the end of his junior year. He was the first scholarship athlete at the University of Florida. According to one writer "the Gators' first quarterback of note," he is the oldest player at the position in the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted in 1971. He was picked for an all-time Florida team at the position in 1927.
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He later settled in Plant City and owned a trucking company. After a stroke in 1950, he sold the business.
Early years
Ashley Ramsdell was born on November 6, 1895 in Ocala, Florida. He attended Hillsborough High School in Tampa with future Gator teammate Rex Farrior. As an end on the football team, he dropped a pass to tie the state championship game. The basketball team however did win a state title.
University of Florida
Ramsdell attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He was a member of UF's first basketball team.
Football
On the freshman football team he was coached by former Gator quarterback Bob Shackleford, who taught Ramsdell the position. Then he played for coaches George E. Pyle and C. J. McCoy on the varsity Florida Gators football team from 1913 to 1915. The highlight of his football career was a touchdown run in the rain to defeat Tulane in 1915. Ramsdell also scored four touchdowns in the game with Mercer that year.
Baseball
On the baseball team Ramsdell played centerfield. He broke his leg stepping on George Steed in a game against Auburn in 1915. When running to first base his spikes landed on the first baseman's left foot, which pivoted over his leg while he caught the ball, letting out a loud cracking noise.