Charles Alexander Jr. is among the more memorable names in the history of LSU football, as evidenced by the recent announcement that the No. 4 jersey he wore with distinction as a Tiger tailback in the late Seventies will be retired by the school in a ceremony during a game this fall.
Remembering names can be a problem. We’ve probably all had occasion to see someone and not remember their name. He admits he’s been there and done that, but he also gets a chuckle recalling how his head coach at LSU, Charlie McClendon, had a problem with names. That happened with his own players and those of opposing teams, including Alabama running back Major Ogilvie. Mac called him General Oliver.
“He’d call me Charles Alexandria, confusing my name with the city,” Alexander said. “At least he didn’t call me Anderson. I had some teammates in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals who called me that.”
A consensus two-time All-American as a junior and senior at LSU in 1977 and ’78, Alexander’s name was called on offense more than any other in a game or season at LSU before or since. It was in 1977, when he set game and season school records for rushing attempts that hold today. He carried a record 43 times in a victory over Wyoming and he amassed a record 311 rushing attempts that same season. He is third in career rushing attempts at LSU (856), trailing only Dalton Hilliard and Kevin Faulk.
Alexander, the first running back to gain 4,000 career yards at LSU, is 67 and will be 68 in July. He has two daughters and five granddaughters (ages 4-12) and he says the beatings he absorbed – and dished out – at LSU and in seven NFL seasons (748 rushes) that included a trip to the Super Bowl, have taken their toll.
“I’d be sore after a lot of games when I was young but give me a day and I was as good as new. It’s a whole different story now.
“I can’t play tennis, run or jog,” he said. “I’ve had two knee replacements. My back is always hurting. But it’s part of football. If I had to do it all over again, I would. When some of us from that team get together and are walking from point A to point B, we’re all limping.”
Alexander lives in the Houston suburb of Sugarland, Texas, famous for another running back named Charles. But Charles Kenneth Hall was known as Ken Hall and was nicknamed “The Sugar Land Express” for being the all-time leading rusher in Texas high school football history with 11,232 yards. He did that in four seasons (1950-1953) at Sugar Land High School, setting numerous national offensive records along the way, some of which have not been broken.
Few of LSU’s games were televised when Alexander played, and one game that was not televised, nor in Tiger Stadium, is the one he remembers fondly. It was a 1977 game against Vanderbilt at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt, a weak SEC team, led 15-0 in the third quarter, but Alexander rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to lead the Tigers to a 28-15 Southeastern Conference victory. He gained 188 yards total on 26 carries. His performance put him in the discussion for the Heisman Trophy (for which he was a finalist) and prompted McClendon to say after the game, “I think we should definitely add ‘the Great’ to Alexander’s name.”
The sales director for a steel and pipe mill company in Houston, Alexander also brings to his native Texas some of the Cajun taste he acquired during his time in Baton Rouge. He owns C’mon Man All Purpose Cajun Seasoning – touted as a seasoning you can put on everything from steak to ribs and all sorts of food in between.
He thinks of the money flowing in college football with NIL contracts and says, “I wished we’d had it 50 years earlier. I don’t know if it’ll destroy college football, but I hope to see everybody work together about the problems, and I hope they solve them.
“I’m glad to see those guys getting compensated,” he added. “We got $18 checks every month to do our laundry.”
Finally, and appropriately for a guy who forever credited his success at LSU to the vaunted self-nicknamed “Root Hogs” offensive line, Alexander again praised the guys up front – tackles Chris Rich and Robert Dugas, guards William Johnson and Craig Duhe and center Jay Whitley, plus tight end Clif Lane and fullback Kelly Simmons.
Rich, a native of San Antonio nicknamed “Chico” while at LSU, is fondly remembered in Alexandria for his time spent here as a sports medicine pioneer. From 1988 through 2011, Dr. Rich was managing partner of Mid State Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center. He died in 2019 at age 62.
“Chris would’ve given you his hand if you needed it, and I went to his funeral,” Alexander said. “All those guys (on the offensive line) took pride in what they did. It was a great group of guys. They were very smart. It didn’t take them long to catch on to a scheme change at halftime. They all went on to have great jobs.
“I’ll definitely recognize those guys,” he added, “when No. 4 is retired.”