Florida Gators

The University of Florida is commemorating the 50th birthday of Gatorade all this week, culminating with a presentation at Saturday night's football game between the unbeaten 25th-ranked ranked Gators (4-0, 2-0) and unbeaten and third-ranked Ole Miss (4-0, 2-0).

Here's a look at some historic milestones for Dr. Robert Cade's innovative thirst-quencher en route to its golden anniversary.

[Not included, but from my personal Gatorade timeline: As a high school football player in Arlington, Va., I used to grab the starting quarterback and dash to the locker room, where I had one of those classic 32-ounce glass jugs of Gatorade -- usually orange -- packed in ice. I shared it with him in hopes of getting more passes thrown my way. OK, so it didn't work, but we felt a lot better going back out into the August heat.]
 

 GATORADE THROUGH THE YEARS -- THE TIMELINE

1965: Dr. Robert Cade (above right) and a group of UF scientists develop Gatorade, operating in conjunction with the UF football team.
 

1967: Stokely-Van Camp acquires the rights to produce and sell Gatorade throughout the United States. Gatorade's debut commercial is below (disregard the Dutch Master's cigar ad on the back end -- or enjoy it for the period piece it is).
 

1969: Gatorade's second flavor -- orange -- debuts.
 

1970: The Kansas City Chiefs, led by Coach Hank Stram (right) and with Gatorade on their sidelines, upset the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.
 

1973: The long-standing Gatorade logo, with the stylized bolt, is introduced.
 

1982: Gatorade expands to international markets.
 

1983: Quaker Oats Company purchases Stokely-Van Camp and Gatorade. One of its first moves is to introduce a third flavor: fruit punch.
 

1984: New York Giants coach Bill Parcells is the recipient of the first Gatorade dunk in a 37-13 beating of the Washington Redskins (below). ... The Gatorade Exercise Physiology Lab (what would become the Gatorade Sports Science Institute) is founded.

1991: Michael Jordan, en route to the first of his six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, becomes the first Gatorade spokesman.

1995: The sports bottle launches, alongside the first of many new flavors.
 

1999: Soccer superstar Mia Hamm (below) becomes the brand's first spokeswoman.

2001: PepsiCo acquires Quaker Oats and Gatorade.
 

2004: The Gatorade Endurance Formula launches.

2007: The low-calorie G2 line debuts (right).
 

2010: The G Series launches.
 

2014: Gator introduces the Recover Whey Protein Bar.
 

2015: Gatorade celebrates 50 years of fueling athletic performance.

[Source: From the book, "Gatorade: Fifty Years of Fueling Athletic Performance