Benjamin Bernard Flowers (born Benjamin Bernard Kwiatkowski, February 14, 1930April 14, 2011) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player who played at the

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

position for the

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

where he became a consensus first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1952. Flowers was drafted by the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

in the second round (14th overall pick) of the

1953 NFL draft The 1953 National Football League draft was held on January 22, 1953, at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Selections made by the folded Dallas Texans were assigned to the Baltimore Colts, since the Dallas team had moved to Baltimore. ...

but chose to play in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

, where his 9 touchdowns scored made him an all-star. He played one game for the Colts in 1956.

Early life

Born February 14, 1930, in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, Flowers was born Benjamin Bernard Kwiatkowski to a Polish family, and translated his last name to Flower ("kwiat" is Polish for flower). He attended Central Tech High School.

College career

Flowers continued his football career at

following his graduation from Tech. Flowers lettered 3 years for the Boilermakers, from 1950 to 1952. In 1952, Flowers helped lead the Boilermakers to a share of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

title, and was named a Consensus All-American.

Professional career

Baltimore Colts

Flowers was drafted with the 14th overall selection in the

Ottawa Rough Riders

Flowers choose not to play with the Colts in 1953, opting to play for the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

instead. Flowers posted 9 receiving touchdowns, and was named an East All Star.

Return to Baltimore

After serving in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

from 1954 to 1955, Flowers returned to professional football, appearing in one game with the Colts during the 1956 season.

References

External links

Pro-football-reference
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flowers, Bernie 1930 births 2011 deaths Players of American football from Erie, Pennsylvania Players of Canadian football from Pennsylvania American football tight ends American people of Polish descent Purdue Boilermakers football players All-American college football players Baltimore Colts players Canadian football tight ends Ottawa Rough Riders players