Ole Miss Great Charlie Flowers Passed Away Sunday

Charlie Flowers, a native of Marianna, Arkansas, who played fullback on three of Johnny Vaught’s finest teams at Ole Miss and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1959, passed away Sunday night in Atlanta, Georgia, following a lengthy illness. Arrangements are incomplete.
Flowers was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, the Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. A two-time, first-team All-Southeastern Conference pick (1958-59), he was selected to the SEC Legends Class of 1999, was named to the All-Time Sugar Bowl Team for the years 1955-62, was voted by Rebel fans to the Ole Miss Team of the Century (1893-1992) and was named to the Athlon Sports All-Time Rebel Team (1893-1995).
A 6-0, 198-pounder during his playing days at Ole Miss, Flowers is considered one of the top running backs ever produced by the state of Arkansas. He was a consensus first team All-America selection at Ole Miss in 1959 and also rated Academic All-America honors that same year, while also being named to the All-South team. In 1985, Flowers was honored by the Ole Miss Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame with its Distinguished American Award.
During his three varsity seasons with the Rebels, Flowers helped lead Vaught’s Ole Miss teams to a 28-4-1 record, which included Sugar Bowl wins over Texas and LSU and a Gator Bowl victory over Florida. He served as captain of the 1959 team that finished 10-1 and shut out eight opponents, while earning National Championship recognition from three different ratings systems – Berryman, Dunkel and Sagarin. That 1959 squad was later chosen by Jeff Sagarin as being the third best all-time highest rated football team from 1956 to 1995, trailing only Nebraska’s teams of 1995 and 1971.
Playing during an era when bowl games didn’t count in final individual or team statistics and freshmen were not eligible, Flowers led the SEC in rushing in 1957 and 1959 and in scoring in 1959. He gained 1,730 yards rushing during his three-year career, which was a school record at the time. His 5.64 yards per carry average was also a school record, and 55 years later it still ranks third behind Dexter McCluster’s 6.4 average (2006-09) and Randy Baldwin’s 5.97 (1989-90). Flowers also earned National and SEC Back of the Week honors for his performances against Arkansas and Tennessee in 1959.
Following his days at Ole Miss, Flowers then played professionally for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers and New York Titans of the American Football League before an ankle injury cut his career short. His AFL action saw him play in 28 games as he rushed for 416 yards and four touchdowns, while catching 35 passes for 383 yards and one TD as he averaged 10.9 yards per reception.
Flowers was born on June 28, 1937 in Marianna, Arkansas.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information