Ole Miss Great Arnold "Showboat" Boykins Passes Away

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss has lost a football legend with the passing of Lt. Col. Arnold L. Boykin, 89, who died Thursday, Aug 9, peacefully in his sleep at his home in Brandon, Mississippi, while surrounded by his wife and daughters.

Boykin, known by all of his family and friends as "Showboat", was a three-year letterwinner for Coach John Vaught from 1949-51 and would later be inducted into the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988. He still holds the single-game school record for most touchdowns scored (seven), most TDs rushing (seven) and most points scored (42) against Mississippi State's nationally ranked defense in 1951 as the Rebels won 49-7 in Starkville.

After his Ole Miss career, Boykin was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 1952 National Football League Draft and was in training camp when he received his orders to report for active duty in the Unites States Army. He would go on to serve 20 years in the U.S. Army, including two tours in Europe, one in Korea, and one in Vietnam. Lt. Colonel Boykin, while commanding an artillery battalion in Vietnam, was awarded the Legion of Merit with an Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star for Valor, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and other service ribbons before retiring in 1972.

Boykin, the son of Walter Ralph Boykin Sr. and Louise Jones, was born on Dec. 25, 1928, in Washington County Mississippi and attended Greenville High School in Greenville, Mississippi.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Taggart Boykin, known as 'Doll', and three daughters, all living in Mississippi; Mary B. Martinez of Ridgeland, Julia B. Weber of Jackson and Cheryl Ann Boykin of Madison. His daughter, Crystal L. Boykin of Brandon, preceded him in death in 2012. He is survived by nine grandchildren living in Mississippi and Guatemala; Rene Humphrey of Benton, Salvador Melgar of Guatemala, Anthony Martinez of Ridgeland, Scott Melgar of Guatemala, Stephan Melgar of Madison, Adam Lunn of Brandon, Kristin McMillian of Ridgeland, Daniel Martinez of Brandon, and Shaun Lunn of Gulfport. And he is also survived bytwenty two great grandchildren also living in Mississippi and Guatemala.

Boone Funeral Home will prepare the graveside service to be held on Monday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m., in the Greenville Cemetery, in Greenville, Mississippi.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, New York

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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