Roy Lee "Chucky" Mullins (July 8, 1969 – May 6, 1991) was an American football player at Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) best known for the devastating football injury that left him a quadriplegic.
Accident and aftermath
Chucky Mullins was injured on October 28, 1989, during the Ole Miss Rebels' Homecoming game against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Oxford, Mississippi. Mullins plunged head-first into a tackle of Vanderbilt fullback Brad Gaines after a short pass attempt. The impact shattered four vertebrae in Mullins' cervical spine, immediately paralyzing him.
After being airlifted to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Mullins underwent a tracheotomy and five-hour bone graft operation to fuse the vertebrae. Mullins never regained sensation below his neck. After months of intensive physical therapy, however, Mullins was eventually able to move a hand across his body and touch his chest.
As soon as the injury occurred, Mullins became the recipient of a huge outpouring of community support. Ole Miss fans, college football fans in the South and people from all over the nation immediately began to donate money towards Mullins' growing medical expenses. President George H. W. Bush visited Mullins in his hospital room and encouraged him while on a visit to Memphis. Soon, Ole Miss established the "Chucky Mullins Trust Fund" to properly manage the donations. The city of Oxford donated land for a specially-designed, handicap-accessible house for Mullins. Donations to the trust fund eventually exceeded $1 million.
Mullins returned to Ole Miss on June 20, 1990, to complete his undergraduate studies.
Death
Less than a year after returning to school, Mullins was stricken by a pulmonary embolism, caused by blood clots formed by inactivity and poor circulation. He died in the hospital on May 6, 1991, and was buried in his home town of Russellville, Alabama.
Memorials
On Sept. 26, 2014, Coliseum Drive on the Ole Miss campus was renamed Chucky Mullins Drive.
During Mullins' time in the hospital, he and Gaines, who did not know each other before the accident, became close friends. Since Mullins' death, Gaines visits and maintains his friend's gravesite three times a year: May 6 (the anniversary of Mullins' death), October 28 (the anniversary of the injury) and December 25 (Christmas Day). Brad Gaines continues this personal tradition to this day.
The impact of the accident on Gaines, and the injury to Mullins, is the subject of a SEC Storied documentary "It's Time", which first aired in September 2014 on the SEC Network.
Each spring, during the annual Grove Bowl (a game at the end of spring practices pitting Ole Miss players against each other), the player who most embodies Chucky Mullins' spirit and courage receives the "Chucky Mullins Memorial Courage Award". With the award, the player received the right to wear jersey number 38, the same number Chucky wore. Chucky's number 38 was retired on September 3, 2006, in a pregame ceremony before the Rebels' victory over Memphis. From 2006 until 2009, the winner of the "Chucky Mullins Memorial Courage Award" wore a patch in honor of this award. However, the retiring of Chucky's jersey #38 proved to be an unpopular move. Thus, after changes to the award (i.e. any defensive player is eligible, no longer just a rising senior defensive player), the number was returned to circulation in 2010 to be exclusively worn by the award winner for that season. Beginning with the 2021 season, award recipients are given the option of wearing a jersey with #38 or retaining their original jersey number with a "38" patch on it.
Winners of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award
1990 – Chris Mitchell
1991 – Jeff Carter
1992 – Trea Southerland
1993 – Johnny Dixon
1994 – Alundis Brice
1995 – Michael Lowery
1996 – Derek Jones
1997 – Nate Wayne
1998 – Gary Thigpen
1999 – Ronnie Heard
2000 – Anthony Magee
2001 – Kevin Thomas
2002 – Lanier Goethie
2003 – Jamil Northcutt
2004 – Eric Oliver
2005 – Kelvin Robinson
2006 – Patrick Willis
2007 – Jeremy Garrett
2008 – Jamarca Sanford
2009 – Marcus Tillman
2010 – Kentrell Lockett
2011 – D. T. Shackelford
2012 – Jason Jones
2013 – Mike Marry
2014 – Detarrian (D.T.) Shackleford (2nd award) 2015 – Mike Hilton 2016 – John Youngblood 2017 - Marquis Haynes 2018 - CJ Moore 2019 - Austrian Robinson 2020 - Jaylon Jones 2021 - Keidron Smith 2022 - KD Hill 2023 - Cedric Johnson