Larry Libertore

Lawrence Paul "Lightning" Libertore, Jr. (born November 18, 1939) was a college football player and later Lakeland, Florida real-estate agent.

Early years

Libertore was born on November 18, 1939 in Canton, Ohio. His family moved to Miami, Florida when he was in ninth grade.

University of Florida

File:1961UFFSU.jpg

The Gators v. FSU in 1961.

Larry Libertore was a small player of just 138 pounds, but a quick-on-his-feet option quarterback and defensive back for coach Ray Graves Florida Gators football team. Libertore's 786 rushing yards remained the most by a Gators quarterback until eclipsed by Tim Tebow in 2007. He led the Gators to a record 9 wins in 1960, placing second among the twelve SEC teams—their best-ever SEC finish at that time. Among the 1960 season's many highlights was the Gators' 18–17 upset of Dodd's tenth-ranked Yellow Jackets and a hard-fought 13–12 victory over the twelfth-ranked Baylor Bears in the Gator Bowl on New Year's Eve 1960. In Libertore's first ever game as a sophomore, at LSU's Tiger Stadium, Libertore made a criss-crossing 66-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage to lead the Gators to a 13-10 victory over LSU. In the defeat of Georgia Tech, the Gators, led by Libertore, drop-back passer Bobby Dodd, Jr., and running back Lindy Infante, gambled on a successful two-point conversion for the last-minute win. Libertore helped the Gators to defeat Penn State alongside Larry Rakestraw and Larry Dupree in the 1962 Gator Bowl from the halfback position. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."