Don Fleming (American Football)

Donald Denver Fleming (June 11, 1937 – June 4, 1963) was an American college and professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons during the early 1960s. Fleming played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. His professional football career was cut short by his accidental death by electrocution in 1963.

Early life

Fleming was born in Bellaire, Ohio, in 1937 to Denver Fleming.National Football League, Historical Players
Don Fleming
Retrieved June 2, 2010. He attended Shadyside High School in Shadyside, Ohio,databaseFootball.com, Players
Don Fleming
Retrieved June 2, 2010. where he was a standout prep player for the Shadyside Tigers high school football team.

College career

Fleming attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Bob Woodruff's Florida Gators football team from 1956 to 1958.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 96, 124, 181 (2011). Retrieved August 28, 2011. Fleming was the Gators' team captain in 1958, and he finished his college football career as a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection. Woodruff ranked him as the Gators' best receiver of the 1950s.

The Chicago Cardinals drafted Fleming following his senior football season,Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History
1959 National Football League Draft
. Retrieved June 2, 2010. but he chose to remain in school and exhaust his remaining NCAA baseball eligibility playing for coach Dave Fuller's Florida Gators baseball team from 1958 to 1960. He was the captain of the Gators baseball team, and led the Gators in home runs and stolen bases.

Professional career

Fleming was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 28th round (327th pick overall) of the 1959 NFL Draft, but he remained at the University of Florida and did not play during the NFL season. He successfully urged Chicago management to trade him to the Cleveland Browns before the start of the season. Fleming was a close friend of another Browns defensive back, Bernie Parrish, a fellow Florida graduate, and the two were said to be almost inseparable during the NFL season. Over the following three years, Fleming played regularly at safety (American football position), safety, Interception, intercepted ten passes, recovered four fumbles, and made ''The Sporting News'' All-NFL team in .Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Don Fleming
Retrieved June 23, 2010.

Accidental death and legacy

Fleming, his wife Rosalie and their son Ty lived in his hometown of Shadyside, Ohio, during football season, and in Winter Park, Florida, during the NFL off-season.Associated Press,
Ex-UF Gridder Fleming Is Killed
" ''Daytona Beach Morning Journal'', p. 15 (June 5, 1963). Retrieved June 23, 2010. As a 25-year-old NFL All-Conference selection, Fleming was already planning for when his professional football career ended.Jimmy Mann,
Don Fleming: Real Pro
" ''St. Petersburg Times'', p. 1-C (June 5, 1963). Retrieved June 23, 2010. He had majored in building construction at the University of Florida, and had been working as a foreman for a Central Florida construction company during the off-season to stay in shape and gain industry experience. On June 4, 1963, Fleming and a co-worker, Walter Smith, were operating a crane on a construction site west of Orlando, Florida, when the boom of the crane brushed an overhead 12,000-volt high-tension electrical transmission line.United Press International,
Former Gator Star Is Killed
" ''St. Petersburg Times'', p. 1-C (June 5, 1963). Retrieved June 22, 2010. Fleming and Smith were Electric shock, electrocuted, and attempts to revive them at the hospital failed.

Earlier the same day, the Browns had announced that Fleming had signed his contract for the 1963 season. His death came only 17 days after that of Ernie Davis, the overall No. 1 pick in the 1962 NFL Draft, whom the Browns had acquired in a trade. The Browns retired both Davis' uniform number No. 45 and Fleming's No. 46 in memory of the players. Fleming Field at Shadyside High School, Fleming's alma mater, is named in his memory. When the Browns practiced at Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (Hiram College), the field house they used also carried Fleming's name.

Fleming was nominated for the Florida Sports Hall of Fame within days of his death, and he was later inducted into the List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members, University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."F Club, Hall of Fame
Gator Greats
Retrieved December 14, 2014.

See also

* History of the Cleveland Browns
* List of Florida Gators in the NFL Draft
* List of University of Florida alumni
* List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). .
* Carroll, Bob, et al., ''Total Football II'', HarperCollins, New York, New York (1999). .
* Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). .
* Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). .
* McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). .
* McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). .

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Don
1937 births
1963 deaths
Accidental deaths by electrocution
Accidental deaths in Florida
American builders
American football safeties
Chicago Cardinals players
Cleveland Browns players
Florida Gators baseball players
Florida Gators football players
Industrial accident deaths
People from Bellaire, Ohio
National Football League players with retired numbers