| Rainey Cawthon | |
| Birth Date: | 30 October 1907 |
| Birth Place: | Florida |
| Death Place: | Tallahassee, Florida |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 11 |
| Weight Lb: | 180 |
| Currentnumber: | 40 |
| School: | Florida Gators |
| Currentposition: | Halfback/Fullback |
| Highschool: | Tallahassee (FL) Leon |
| Pastschools: | Florida (1927–1929) |
| Class: | 1929 |
| Highlights: |
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Rainey Blackwell Cawthon (October 30, 1907 – April 11, 1991) was an American football player and coach for the Florida Gators of the University of Florida. Cawthon was a member of Florida's "Phantom Four" backfield with Clyde Crabtree, Carl Brumbaugh, and Royce Goodbread in 1928 which led the nation with 336 points scored.[1] He was also captain of the 1929 Florida team,[2] [3] [4] and selected second-team for the composite All-Southern that year.[5] He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."[6] Cawthon was also active in the affairs of Florida State University, and was elected to the FSU Hall of Fame in 1987.[7]
He attended Leon High School.[8] Later college teammates Ben Clemons and Ed Sauls were high school teammates.
Cawthon was a prominent running back for Tom Sebring and Charlie Bachman's Florida Gators varsity football teams from 1927 to 1929. In Cawthon's sophomore year and first on the varsity, he suffered a broken wrist. Despite this he saw regular service in the backfield by the second game, and completed a 53-yard pass against Mercer.[9] In 1928, Cawthon scored a safety against North Carolina State,[10] a touchdown against Sewanee, and a touchdown against Clemson. He also had a 40-yard run in the 26–6 win over Georgia in Savannah,[11] the first-ever victory over the Bulldogs in school history.