Funding

James W. Kynes Scholarship

Biography: James W. Kynes (1928-1988)

James W. Kynes grew up in the small Panhandle town of Marianna, Florida, where he was an all-state football player at Marianna High School. He was also all-state in both football and basketball at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, where he later transferred.

Kynes won an athletic scholarship to the University of Florida, where he earned eight letters playing football and basketball, and was elected captain of the football team in 1949. He helped form and was a leader of the Golden Era Club — Gator players of the late 1940s and early 1950s who survived a 13-game losing streak.

After graduating from UF, Kynes played one year of Canadian professional football before returning to UF in 1952 to attend law school. During that time, he served as president of the Florida Blue Key leadership fraternity. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1955 and served as an officers in the United States Air Force for two years before starting his law practice in Ocala, Florida.

Later, Kynes became executive assistant to Governor C. Farris Bryant, who named him Florida Attorney General in 1964. In 1965, he joined Jim Walter Corporation, becoming its chief executive for corporate legal and public affairs. He later became executive vice president of Hillsborough Holdings Corporation and its principal subholding company, Walter Industries Inc. He became involved in civic, economic, and sports affairs in the Tampa area and was the first president of the old West Coast Bowl Association, which scheduled major college games for Tampa Stadium.

Kynes and his wife Marjorie Ann (neé Hiatt) wed in July 1950 and had three sons, all of whom played football for the Florida Gators in the 1970s.

In recognition of his years of accomplishment, the Sports Club of Tampa honored him as its “Citizen of the Year,” while the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame named him “Athlete of Post-Playing Achievement and Service to His Community.” He was also a charter member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers advisory committee. UF paid tribute to him by inducting him into its Athletic Hall of Fame and creating the Jimmy Kynes Offensive Lineman of the Year Award in 1986. He also received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from UF in recognition of his dynamic work as president of the Florida National Alumni Association (now the UF Alumni Association).

In addition to Kynes’ devotion to his alma mater and sports, dedication to his fellow man through philanthropic works was a mainstay of his life. He was a longtime support of Young Life, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tampa, Metropolitan Ministries, Faith Children’s Home, the Salvation Army, and Hyde Park United Methodist Church.

James W. Kynes will always be remembered as a man of exceptional integrity, loyalty, compassion, and respect for others.