Buck Flowers

Allen Ralph "Buck" Flowers, Jr. (March 26, 1899 – April 8, 1983) was an American college football player who was a halfback for the Davidson Wildcats football team of Davidson College in 1917 and for the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team of the Georgia School of Technology in 1918, 1919 and 1920.

A triple threat, Flowers also handled punting and drop kicks. Coach William Alexander said Flowers was the best punter Tech ever had and the best back he ever coached,

In 1955, he became the first Georgia Tech football player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Flowers was also selected as a halfback on an Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869–1919 era.

Early life Flowers was born in Sumter, South Carolina, in 1899, the son of Allen Ralph Flowers, Sr. and M. Bettie (Cain) Flowers. He attended Sumter High School. He is considered the greatest athlete to come out of Sumter, at least before Freddie Solomon.

College football

Davidson College 1917 Flowers enrolled at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina on a scholarship arranged by his Presbyterian minister. At just 17 years of age he played for the Davidson Wildcats football team. In the victory over Auburn, Flowers returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown, caught a pass for a second touchdown, set up a third touchdown with an 85-yard return to Auburn's two-yard line, and kicked all three extra points for the Wildcats. He also prevented Auburn from scoring with a tackle at the goal line. in a 32–10 loss. Flowers made a field goal that game. Some would call Davidson the second best southern team that year. One description of Flowers's play reads: "Against the previously impenetrable Tech defense of 1917 Buck was the Houdini-like escape artist – the will-o'-the-wisp of twisting, tantalizing runs, one of which set the stage for the Davidson touchdown and another of which brought them within range for a Flowers drop-kick of three points. Tech's renowned backfield of Albert Hill, Everett Strupper, Joe Guyon, and freshman Judy Harlan, had all but Harlan make the composite All-Southern team. The spot remaining went to Flowers.

Georgia Tech In 1918, Flowers enrolled at Georgia Tech where he played for the 1918, 1919, and 1920 teams coached by John Heisman and Bill Alexander. In his first season of 1918, Flowers had grown to a weight of 150 pounds and was a backup halfback until Heisman discovered Flowers' ability as an open-field runner on punt returns: "Heisman's eyes bulged. And bulged again. On the first punt, Buck ran through the entire first team. Same thing again..and again. Heisman had uncovered one of the greatest broken-field runners." Flowers had a 78-yard touchdown against Vanderbilt in the mud.

1920 Flowers was captain of the 1920 team that compiled an 8–1 record, suffered its only loss to Glenn "Pop" Warner's Pittsburgh, outscored opponents 280 to 16, and tied for first place with Georgia and Tulane in the SIAA. It was the first game of the year to have direct implications for the Southern championship, and cited by some as the most interesting southern contest of the week. Georgia Tech outplayed Vanderbilt and had the ball for three-fourths of the game. Many Commodores left with injuries. Ferst came in for Flowers, when Georgia Tech started to use substitutes in the middle of the second quarter. In the loss to Pitt, Flowers drew praise for his spirited tackling of Pitt's larger backs. Flowers also kicked a punt that went 65 yards in the air against Auburn. Sportswriter Morgan Blake had this to say of Flowers' play against Auburn: "The Auburn Tiger came up with claws sharpened. As he writhed in death agony when the battle was over, he made one request, 'Please omit Flowers'".

Later life After retiring from football, Flowers had a career in banking and insurance. In 1930, he was living in Atlanta and was the manager of a bank's loan department. In his later years, Flowers lived in Birmingham, Alabama.

In 1955, he became the first Georgia Tech football player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Flowers died in 1983 at Birmingham, Alabama, at age 84. He was survived by a daughter.