Mississippi’s Greatest Athletes: Charlie Conerly

Photo courtesy of Mississippi Hall of Fame

Charlie Conerly isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he should be. He and his New York Giants teams in the 1950s were as responsible as any franchise during the early years of televised football for the remarkable growth in popularity of the National Football League. Conerly was NFL Rookie of the year in 1948 and was All-Pro three times and NFL Player of the Year once. Conerly was outstanding in defeat in what many have called “The Greatest Game Ever Played” — the1958 NFL Championship game in which Baltimore defeated New York.

Conerly, a native of Clarksdale, has been inducted into the New York Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. He is an Ole Miss legend, even though his college career was interrupted by World War II. Conerly helped put Ole Miss football on the map and was a part of the first Southeastern Conference championship for the program in 1947. Along the way, Conerly was named All-American and All-South that season as well as All-SEC in 1946 and 1947. In 1947 he set three NCAA records – pass completions with 133, passing yards with 1,367, and consecutive passes without an interception with 61.

Conerly’s leading receiver in his record-breaking 1947 season was Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer Barney Poole, who caught 44 of his passes. In 1993 Chunkin’ Charlie was named to the Ole Miss Team of the Century. He is also a member of the Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame. The Conerly Trophy, awarded annually since 1996 to the college football player of the year in Mississippi, is named for him. Conerly died in 1996 at the age of 74.

Courtesy of Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum director Rick Cleveland, author of Mississippi’s Greatest Athletes. Cleveland can be reached at rcleveland@msfame.com.