Charlie "Choo Choo" Brackins (January 12, 1932–1990) is a former quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for the Green Bay Packers during the 1955 NFL season

1955 NFL season

The 1955 NFL season was the 36th regular season of the National Football League. NBC paid $100,000 to replace DuMont as the national television network for the NFL Championship Game...

.

Biography

Brackins was born on January 12, 1932 in Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

. He attended Lincoln High

Lincoln High School (Dallas, Texas)

Lincoln High School is public secondary school located in South Dallas, Texas . Lincoln High School enrolls students in grades 9-12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District...

 in Dallas.

Pro career

He played college football at Prairie View A&M University

Prairie View A&M University

Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...

 in Prairie View, Texas

Prairie View, Texas

Prairie View is a city in Waller County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,410 at the 2000 census.Prairie View A&M University is located in the city.-Geography:Prairie View is located at ....

 from 1951 to 1955. He was a three year starter for legendary head football coach Billy Nicks and led the Prairie View Panthers to 33 victories in 37 games in the Southwestern Athletic Conference

Southwestern Athletic Conference

The Southwestern Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black universities in the Southern United States...

 (SWAC). He was a big tall passer at 6’2" and 205 pounds. Brackins was drafted by the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 in the sixteenth round of the 1955 NFL Draft, making him the first HBCU alumnus to play quarterback in the NFL. He played in only one game in during the 1955 season, in the closing minutes of a game against the Cleveland Browns on October 23, 1955. Green Bay lost the game 41-10 and Brackins threw two incomplete passes.
The Packers placed Brackins on waivers after that game. Brackins had tried out as a defensive back with other teams but he would never get another chance to play in the league.
Brackins died from cancer in 1990.