A Day to Remember Number 38

Nineteen years ago today, the reality of what can happen to a person who plays football at a high level was realized. Fullback Brad Gaines of Vanderbilt had just received a short pass, turning upfield to gain additional precious yardage. The collision that ensued was bone crushing….literally.

Number 38 plunged head-first to tackle Gaines, and those around them said you could hear the crash and crunch. Roy Lee didn’t move. He couldn’t. He was paralyzed.

Roy Lee Mullins….his friends called him “Chucky”, lay on the field in Oxford, Mississippi with four shattered vertebrae in his cervical spine. The Ole Miss defensive player was paralyzed instantly and would never walk again. The date was October 28, 1989.

Chucky Mullins was airlifted to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, where he underwent a bone graft to fuse his vertebrae, and tracheotomy so a ventilator could breathe for him.

Mullins became the recipient of a huge outpouring of community support from fans all over the United States. He was visited by President George H.W. Bush, the city of Oxford, Mississippi donated land for a special house to be built for him, and a trust fund that exceeded $1 million was set up for him.

Mullins and Gaines, who didn’t know each other before their collision, became good friends. Gaines talked with him often.

Chucky Mullins died of a pulmonary embolism on May 6, 1991 from complications due to his paralysis. He was buried outside Russellville, Alabama, his home town.

Quietly and with no one else around, Brad Gaines visits and maintains Chucky Mullins’ gravesite three times a year…May 6, the anniversary of his death, October 28, the anniversary of the injury, and December 25, Christmas Day. It is his intimate and personal tribute to Chucky Mullins.

Ole Miss retired Mullins number 38. The only other number to be retired at Ole Miss is Archie Manning’s number 18. Zach Gilbert of Auburn University wears number 38 in memory of his cousin, Lee Roy “Chucky” Mullins.

Today, Brad Gaines will visit and tend to Chucky Mullins’ grave. With all the excitement of game week between Auburn and Ole Miss, let’s take a few moments today to remember Chucky Mullins….a young man who not only gave his all on the football field, but who left an indelible mark on those around him after his injury.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSR