Robert O. C. Flowers (August 7, 1917 – December 8, 1962) 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who won an NFL Championship during eight seasons with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. Prior to that he played college football at Texas Tech and was a captain of his high school football team in Big Spring, Texas. Born in Big Spring, Texas, on August 17, 1917, he emerged as a standout defensive player in high school. He first played freshman football at the University of Texas in 1935, but then enrolled at Texas Tech in 1936. He played linebacker and blocking back for a short time at Texas Tech and also made a stab at Tulane, but he never earned a varsity letter at any school. In 1937 he played for the Big Spring Spartans, the town's independent team, but a year later he was working in the oil business. His 1940 draft card listed him as a student at Texas Tech, but the school's enrollment records do not verify this. When he was hired by the Packers in 1942, to fill holes left by World War II, they said he had been working in California, but there are no records of him living anywhere but Big Spring. He made his pro debut in game 3 of the 1942 season (5 years after his last recorded football game) and, despite his unlikely background, went on to play for the Packers for 8 seasons under coach

Curly Lambeau Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau ( ; April 9, 1898 – June 1, 1965) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin native, George Whitney ...

who converted him to a center. He was known for his aggressive play. During his time in Green Bay, he played in 63 games, started 17 and had 66 interceptions for 33 yards total. Flowers was one of four brothers to serve as captain of the Big Spring football team. Of them Bill Flowers went on to be a backfield player for

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

After retiring from football he sold cars and then worked in the farming and ranching business with his sister. He died on December 8, 1962, the result of an accidental self-shooting.

References

1917 births American football offensive linemen Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Green Bay Packers players 1962 deaths Sportspeople from Big Spring, Texas Firearm accident victims 20th-century American sportsmen {{offensive-lineman-1910s-stub