75 years ago this coming fall, George Edmondson, better known as ‘Mr. Two Bits,’ first rallied Gator fans with his signature cheer. Decades later, the tradition lives on with UF celebrities dressed as Edmondson leading the charge. The cheer and look have also become the calling card for the university’s annual Stand Up and Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day.

by Pat Dooley (BSJ ’76)

The whistle.

It was always all about the whistle. At least for me it was.

Yes, Mr. Two Bits was known for a lot of things. The yellow shirt. The orange sign. The orange and blue tie. The powder blue pants. In his later years, the perfect hair turned white by age.

But for me, it was the whistle.

You could hear it in the distance. First in that section far over there … but he was coming. Closer. One section away. Then, if the sun was just right, you would see this almost mythical figure in the glare blowing that whistle in your section. And you always got on your feet.

I miss George Edmondson, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 96. He was a bastion of what fans should be.

I did several interviews with him. Such a joy. Gone, but never forgotten. The university made sure the tradition he started, which may be the greatest of all traditions at Florida Field, stayed alive when Mr. Two Bits couldn’t do it himself anymore.

It lives on in many ways, including this month’s Stand Up and Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day. But Edmondson’s spirit is there every home game. Starting in 2013, the Gators designated an honorary Mr. Two Bits to do the cheer with Albert.

Quick trivia: Who was the first Gator athlete to run onto the field and flail his arms the way George used to do it? Errict Rhett, the all-time leading rusher in school history, is the correct answer.

“I spent some time with [Edmondson], and he was telling me everything about the way he did it and how he got started,” Rhett said. “I went and bought a yellow shirt and everything. I had no idea they were going to keep doing it. But I knew I wanted to bring that E-Rhett energy. I practiced all night the night before and watched films of him.”

That’s not unusual for people who’ve been Celebrity Mr. Two Bits. They want to make sure they do it the right way. The last one was All-American linebacker Brandon Spikes on the last game of the 2023 season. He admits he watched Rhett’s performance “because I didn’t want to mess up in front of my fans.”

Same with wide receiver great Carlos Alvarez.

“Yeah, I went and bought a yellow shirt, too, because I didn’t own one,” said Alvarez, the sixth Celebrity Mr. Two Bits. “At the end, I remember doing the chomp towards the FSU fans. I got booed and we lost. I never lost to FSU as a player.”

In all, there have been 67 honorary Mr. Two Bits appearances, sometimes with multiple people — and not just football players. Gator athletes such as softball’s Stacey Nelson in 2014, tennis’s Lauren Embree in 2023 and track and field’s Grant Holloway in 2019 and 2021 have led the cheer, as did the entire 2006 National Champion basketball team in 2016. One current student and a military veteran also had a turn as an honorary Mr. Two Bits each season.

It’s as much a part of Game Day in Gainesville as the fight song and fireworks.

Of course, it all started in 1949 when Edmondson, an insurance man from Tampa, went to a game with a friend. He couldn’t believe the crowd was booing the home team and even though he didn’t attend UF (he went to The Citadel) he felt he needed to start a cheer to get the fans behind their team. He started with a bugle, before switching to the easier-to-handle whistle.

Oh, the whistle.

When Edmondson retired from being the head cheerleader at Gator games in 1998 (and received a game ball from Steve Spurrier), he still did it occasionally from the stands and one last time from the field in 2008.

After that, someone would pop up in the stands now and then with a whistle to mimic the cheer, but it never caught on. Not wanting to let it go, the university decided to in bring in celebrities to lead the cheer on the field. They’ve included football legends like Percy Harvin in 2019, Cris Collinsworth in 2018, NFL Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood in 2020 and Heisman winners Spurrier (2016) and Danny Wuerffel (2013). Golfer Billy Horschel (2019), a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, donned the yellow shirt, too, as did NCAA tennis champion Ben Shelton (2022) and coach Mike Holloway (2022), who has won multiple track and field championships.

In other words, being an honorary Mr. Two Bits is quite an honor.

“It was such a big deal for me, being a kid who grew up in Gainesville,” said Chris Doering, a guest Mr. Two Bits in 2013. “It was a noon game, so I didn’t get the full effect. But I wanted to make sure I honored him and did it right, so I studied like it was a test. I still show my Mr. Two Bits performance to people on YouTube. But I don’t think they’ll have me back because we lost to Vanderbilt that day … on Homecoming.”

Many have tried to fill the black-and-white saddle shoes George Edmondson wore to every game, but there will only be one true Mr. Two Bits.

Sportswriter Pat Dooley (BSJ ’76) covered the Gators for The Gainesville Sun for 33 years until his retirement in 2020. He still shares his love for Gator sports through his podcast, “Another Dooley Noted,” and WRUF radio program, “Dooley’s Back 9.” His Gator Nation News column does not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Florida.