The Return of the Cuban Comet

On November 29, 1969, University of Florida sophomore receiver Carlos Alvarez caught 15 passes for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Gators to a 35-16 victory over the University of Miami. A crowd of 70,934 attended the game at the Orange Bowl, many were waving Cuban flags. Nicknamed “The Cuban Comet”, Alvarez’s 15 catches is still the UF single game school record. His 237 yards receiving in the game stood as the Gator record for 33 years.

Alvarez’s family fled Cuba during the Castro Revolution and came to Miami when he was 12 years old. He was always athletic and had great speed. Alvarez quickly fell in love with the game of American football. His favorite player was University of Miami quarterback George Mira, who was also of Cuban descent. He became an All City running back and track star at North Miami High School. But during a recruiting trip to the University of Miami, he saw a stuffed alligator hanging in the office of UM head coach Charlie Tate. Upset by what he saw, he chose to attend Florida and set virtually every school receiving record. Many of his records still exist. More impressively, he did it in just one healthy season– his sophomore year in 1969 in an era when the passing game was not nearly as sophisticated as today.  To see more stories about the history of the Orange Bowl, visit us at https://www.facebook.com/ghostsoftheorangebowl