Book signing planned for story inspired by Chucky Mullins

Jody Hill, who has written a book entitled “38: The Chucky Mullins Effect”, will hold a special book signing in Russellville at the RHS Stadium this Friday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. at the upper concession stand. $5 from each book purchase will go toward a memorial of Mullins at RHS.

Many people will walk in and out of a person’s life, but there are just some people who make a lasting impression that is never forgotten.

To many people in Russellville, Chucky Mullins was one of such people.

The standout football star was a friend to many people, and several from the RHS Class of 1988 described him as someone who was more like a brother.

When Mullins moved on from his football days at RHS to a college football career at Ole Miss, he had a similar effect on many of his teammates there.

One of those teammates was Jody Hill, who has written a book entitled “38: The Chucky Mullins Effect”, which chronicles the way Mullins affected so many people in the wake of his tragic football injury on Oct. 28, 1989, which destroyed four vertebrae in his spine and left him paralyzed from the neck down.

Hill said he and the rest of his teammates were constantly inspired by Mullins and the way he continued to exude positivity even after such devastation.

“Chucky was loved by so many people, and impacted more people that we will probably ever know,” Hill said.

“I was enamored with his spirit and with trying to understand what made him tick – what made him be able to respond to the adversity in his life the way that he did.

“He had such resilience and such an undying attitude. He didn’t let his circumstances dictate how he handled anything. I was proud to have known him.”

Hill officially launched his book on Sept. 12 in Oxford, Miss., but he will hold a special book signing in Russellville at the RHS Stadium this Friday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. at the upper concession stand.

Hill said it was important to him to hold a book signing in Mullins’ hometown because so much of who Chucky was came from his upbringing in Russellville.

“Russellville was just who Chucky was,” Hill said.

“I believe it was his coach, Don Cox, who said that Russellville loved Chucky before we even knew him at Ole Miss, and that is true. He had a tremendous impact on the people here and I want to honor that and pay respect to the love he had for his hometown.”

Hill also said it was important to him to give back to the local community because he knew that would be something his teammate would be proud of.

To do this, Hill has designated that $5 of the sales of each $20 book purchased at the Russellville book signing on Friday will go toward a fund that has been set up to purchase a bronze memorial of Mullins that will be placed at the RHS Stadium.

“From what I was told, it will be similar to the one displayed at Ole Miss, and I think it will be a wonderful thing for the community to have,” Hill said.

“Any way that I can pay tribute to the amazing life and legacy of Chucky is a blessing for me.”