| Dr. J. Robert Cade | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 26, 1927 San Antonio, Texas |
| Died | November 27, 2007 (aged 80) Gainesville, Florida |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Fields | Medicine Physiology |
| Institutions | University of Florida |
| Alma mater | B.S., University of Texas M.D., Southwestern Medical School |
| Known for | Inventor of Gatorade |
James Robert Cade (September 26, 1927 - November 27, 2007) was a professor of medicine and physiology at the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida, who is widely remembered as the primary inventor of the sports drink Gatorade.[1]
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Invention of Gatorade
Cade was a faculty member of University of Florida College of Medicine. During 1965 and 1966, Cade conducted a series of trial-and-error experiments with his glucose-and-electrolytes formula on members of the Florida Gators football team, first with members of the freshman squad, and after initially promising results, with starting members of the varsity. Cade invented Gatorade and offered rights to the drink to the University of Florida, but the university turned him down.[2] He then signed a deal with Stokely-Van Camp's and began selling it.
When sales took off the University asked for the patent rights, but Cade refused. He used some of the funds from his profits on Gatorade to set up scholarships and businesses. The University brought suit against him and locked up small businesses that he had backed. Eventually, an agreement was reached between Cade and the University.
Cade appeared in "The Legend of Gatorade" television commercials shortly before his death, during which he declared, "Naturally, we called our stuff Gatorade."
Gatorade is sold in some eighty countries in various flavors. The development of Gatorade triggered great interest in sports beverages in the decades that followed.
Personal
Cade was born in San Antonio, Texas. He served in the U.S. Navy. Cade graduated from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. While in college, he joined Delta Upsilon fraternity.
The story of Cade, along with the rest of the Gatorade inventors, is chronicled in Darren Rovell's First In Thirst: How Gatorade Turned The Science of Sweat Into A Cultural Phenomenon.
Cade died at the age of 80 of kidney failure.[3]
References
- ^ Arline Phillips-Han, "Dr. Robert Cade . . . saga of the world's best-selling sports drink and the creative physician scientist behind it," Health Science Center News, University of Florida (February 24, 2003). Retrieved September 21, 2009.
- ^ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Inventor of the Week Archive, Inventor of the Week: Robert Cade. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
- ^ Associated Press, "Inventor of Gatorade dies at 80," USA Today (November 27, 2007). Retrieved September 21, 2009.
External links
- Martin, Douglas, "J. Robert Cade, the Inventor of Gatorade, Dies at 80," The New York Times (November 27, 2007). Retrieved September 21, 2009.
- "Robert Cade: Scientist who invented Gatorade, the world's first and biggest-selling sports drink," The Times (November 29, 2007). Retrieved September 21, 2009.
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