Charlie Flowers

Flavy Charles (Charlie) Flowers (June 28, 1937 – December 7, 2014) was an American professional football player. He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels of the University of Mississippi, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

Early life Flowers was born on June 28, 1937, in Marianna, Arkansas. His parents were both from Mississippi and he had a large family in Mississippi. As a high school sophomore, his Marianna High School coach Bill Landers took him to a University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) football game, and introduced Flowers to Ole Miss coach John Vaught. Flowers continued attending Ole Miss games during his high school years.

College football Flowers eventually attended the University of Mississippi, where he excelled as a football player and academically. He was 6 ft (1.83 m) and 198 pounds (89.8 kg) during his college playing days. and led the SEC in scoring, rushing, and rushing touchdowns. He was team captain that year, and its leader. The team was ranked number 2 at the end of the season, behind 10–0 Syracuse, which Flowers believed was because of the one loss to LSU. He blamed himself for missing the tackle on LSU Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon On December 27, 1958, Ole Miss won the Gator Bowl over the University of Florida, 7–3. In 1957, Ole Miss went 8–1–1 and was ranked 7th, and in 1958, it had an 8–2 record and was ranked 11th nationally. Flowers was twice named All-SEC as a player. In December 1959, he was signed by the Giants. However, in order to retain his eligibility to play in the Sugar Bowl, he requested to keep the contract a secret until January 2, 1960. Wellington Mara accepted this request and the team did not submit the contract to league commissioner Pete Rozelle for approval. Flowers was also drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in late 1959, in the first American Football League Draft. The Chargers offered him more money to play for them. He accepted their offer and withdrew from his contract with the Giants. The Giants attempted to enforce the contract, but their plea was rejected due to their unclean hands.

As a professional player, Flowers was listed at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and 220 pounds (99.8 kg). He started three games that year, dislocating his ankle in the Titans' third game, against the Buffalo Bills. He was released by the Titans after their fourth game, and never played again.

Honors and awards Flowers has received the following awards and honors, among others;

College Football Hall of Fame (1997) Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (2010) SEC Legends Class of 1999 He was married to his wife Sharon for 55 years, and had three children.