Bernie Flowers
American gridiron football player (1930-2011)
Benjamin Bernard Flowers (born Benjamin Bernard Kwiatkowski, February 14, 1930 , April 14, 2011) was an American professional football player who played at the end position for the Purdue University where he became a consensus first-team All-American in 1952.
Flowers was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the second round (14th overall pick) of the 1953 NFL draft but chose to play in Canada with the Ottawa Rough Riders, where his 9 touchdowns scored made him an all-star. He played one game for the Colts in 1956.
01Early life
Born February 14, 1930, in Erie, Pennsylvania, 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.
02College career
Flowers continued his football career at Purdue University 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 title, and was named a Consensus All-American.
03Professional career
Baltimore Colts
Flowers was drafted in the second round with the 14th overall selection in the 1953 NFL draft.
Ottawa Rough Riders
Flowers choose not to play with the Colts in 1953, opting to play for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League instead. Flowers posted 9 receiving touchdowns, and was named an East All Star.
Return to Baltimore
After serving in the U.S. Navy from 1954 to 1955, Flowers returned to professional football, appearing in one game with the Colts during the 1956 season.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Bernie Flowers”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Bernie Flowers 1953 (cropped).jpg by Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
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