Marcelino Huerta Marcelino Huerta , Jr . ( October 31 , 1924 – October 8 , 1985 ) , nicknamed Chelo Huerta , was an American college football player and head coach . Huerta played college football for the University of Florida , and he was later the head football coach of the University of Tampa , the University of Wichita ( later known as Wichita State University ) and Parsons College . Early years . Huerta was born in Tampa , Florida in 1924 . He was the son of Ybor City cigar workers , both of whom were immigrants from Asturias Spain . Huerta attended Hillsborough High School in Tampa , and was an offensive lineman for the Hillsborough Terriers high school football team . He joined the U . S . Army Air Force during World War II , serving as a B - 24 Liberator bomber pilot and flying missions over Nazi - occupied Europe . When Huerta ' s aircraft was shot down over Yugoslavia , he evaded capture by German military units , and with the assistance of Yugoslav partisans , he was able to safely return to his base . College playing career . After being discharged from military service , Huerta attended the University of Florida in Gainesville , Florida , where he played guard for coach Bear Wolf ' s Florida Gators football team from 1947 to 1949 . He was a standout two - way lineman for the Gators during a time the players ironically dubbed the " Golden Era " — a stretch when the Gators never won more than five games in a season . Huerta graduated from Florida with a bachelor ' s degree in physical education in 1949 , and he was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a " Gator Great " in 1983 . College coaching career . Huerta served as the head coach of the Tampa Spartans football team and athletic director of the University of Tampa in Tampa , Florida , from 1952 to 1961 . He compiled a 67 – 33 – 2 overall record and a . 662 winning average while coaching the Spartans . In 1961 , he became the twenty - fifth head football coach for the University of Wichita and Wichita State University located in Wichita , Kansas and he held that position for three seasons , from 1962 until 1964 ( the school changed its name from the Municipal University of Wichita to Wichita State University in 1964 ) . His 1963 Shockers team finished 7 – 2 and were co - champions of the Missouri Valley Conference . In three seasons at Wichita , he had overall coaching record at Wichita State was 14 – 15 ( . 483 ) . Huerta accepted the head coaching job at Parsons College in Fairfield , Iowa , where he coached the Parsons Wildcats football team from 1965 to 1967 . In three seasons as the Wildcats ' coach , he compiled an overall win - loss record of 23 – 5 and a winning percentage of . 821 . Huerta retired from college coaching after the 1967 season . Life after football . Huerta was a successful insurance agent for a year following his departure from the coaches ranks , but he didn ' t enjoy it . For the last sixteen years of his life , he was the head of the MacDonald Training Center , which assisted in the rehabilitation of handicapped children and young persons . In 1975 , he testified before the U . S . Congress as an advocate for mentally and physically impaired children . He was the founder of the " Football Players for Crippled Children " program , and was a member of the President ' s Council on Endowment for the Handicapped . Huerta received the Pop Warner Award for his work with young athletes . Huerta was well - known on the Florida Gators alumni speaking circuit for his quick wit and humor , and he was an active participant in the " Golden Era " football alumni group from the late 1940s . Huerta and his wife Gloria had a son , Marcelino J . " Bubba " Huerta , III , and a daughter Susan . Bubba Huerta played baseball for the Florida Gators baseball team and graduated from his father ' s alma mater , the University of Florida . Huerta died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1985 ; he was 61 years old . He was survived by his wife and their son and daughter . Thousands of people attended his funeral at Christ the King Catholic Church in Tampa . Huerta was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2002 . He was also a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame . In commemoration of his service to the Tampa Bay community and its youth , the football field at his high school alma mater , Hillsborough High School , is named Marcelino " Chelo " Huerta Field in his honor in 1987 .