TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- The son of a Baptist preacher from Tennessee, Jake Gaither was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps from a young age and embark on a career in church.
Fortunately for Gaither and Florida A&M University, the game of football found him first and allowed Gaither to go on to one of the most successful coaching careers in the history of the game.
In 25 years at the helm of the Rattlers program, Gaither won 204 games to just 36 losses and four ties and won six Black College National Championships. His teams had one or fewer losses in 15 of his seasons, and only former Mount Union coach Larry Kehres has a higher winning percentage among coaches with more than 200 victories.
Gaither also helped integrate football in the south, setting up the first meeting between a predominantly white school and a predominantly black school, and sent more than 40 players to the NFL in his time at FAMU, including Bob Hayes, Willie Galimore and longtime Bengals cornerback Ken Riley.
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