SENATOBIA — Bobby Franklin, a former Ole Miss football star who went on to win two national championships as a coach at Northwest Mississippi Community College, has died. He was 88.

Franklin was born in Clarksdale and was the quarterback on some of Ole Miss’ outstanding football teams in the late 1950s. He was the MVP of the 1958 Gator Bowl and 1960 Sugar Bowl. The 1960 team finished 10-1 and was recognize as the national champion by several entities.

Franklin then played seven seasons in the NFL as a defensive back with the Cleveland Browns, helping them win the NFL championship in 1964 and return to the title game in 1965. He had 13 interceptions and scored two touchdowns in 86 games.

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After retiring as a player in 1966 he began a 40-year coaching career. He was on the Dallas Cowboys’ staff when they won Super Bowl VI in the 1971 season, and worked with the Baltimore Colts, Seattle Seahawks, and as an assistant at Northwest Mississippi before becoming Northwest’s head coach in 1981.

Franklin had 25 consecutive winning seasons with the Rangers. He won two NJCAA national championships in 1982 and 1992, six MACJC state titles, and coached 65 junior college All-Americans. The Rangers played in eight bowl games during his tenure.

Franklin was inducted into the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988; the Northwest Mississippi CC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003; the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2005; the Mississippi Association of Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010; and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

A memorial service for Franklin is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at Howard Coliseum on the Senatobia campus of Northwest Mississippi Community College. The funeral service will follow.

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