Leon Bramlett

Leon Crow Bramlett Jr. (September 17, 1923 – October 19, 2015) was an American farmer, football player, and politician. Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, he briefly played football at the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama before being admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he played from 1943 to 1947. He briefly worked as an end coach for the team while serving in the United States Marine Corps before returning to Clarksdale to farm cotton. He served on the Mississippi Marketing Council and chaired the Mississippi Democratic Party from 1968 to 1972, during a time when the party was split between conservative "Regulars", including Bramlett, and pro-civil rights "Loyalists". In 1976 the Regulars and the Loyalists reached a compromise and in response Bramlett joined the Republican Party. He lost the 1979 Republican gubernatorial primary in Mississippi but secured the nomination four years later before losing in the general election. He retired from farming in 2001 and served on U.S. Senator Thad Cochran's staff for several years, dying in 2015.