A flair for excitement was Charlie Mills’ trademark in three sports, football, basketball, and baseball. For example, during his sophomore year in football he returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown against Kutztown. During basketball season he scored a basket by throwing the ball the full length of the court in the season finale against Millersville. In the spring, he stole home plate in a baseball game against Mt. St Mary’s.
Mills’ 85-yard punt return against Kutztown duplicated the run he made as a freshman in a game against Indiana (Pa.). Mills’ coach, Vinton Rambo, rated him as the best safety he had ever seen at Shippensburg.
In 1952 Mills earned All-Pennsylvania conference honors at halfback as he led Shippensburg in scoring with seven touchdowns. The Red Raiders compiled a 7-0 record and began a winning streak that would extend to 20 games, setting a then school and Pennsylvania Conference record. Shippensburg average 38.0 points per game while limiting the opposition to just 2.9 points per game that year. In addition the Red Raiders finished fifth in the nation in total defense. Because the stingy defense allowed so little scoring Shippensburg returned only nine kickoffs during the entire season. Of those nine, five went for touchdowns, two of them scored by Mills.
Along with teammate Spencer Keys, Mills held the school record for the longest return, 100 yards. Of Mills’ 14 career touchdowns eight were on plays longer than 40 yards. His longest run from scrimmage was a broken play 73-yard scramble against California (Pa.) in 1951.
Mills went into education and was the principal of Hempstead High School in New York. He was featured in a cover story of Newsday’s Magazine for Long Island for having “transformed Hempstead High from a place of near-chaos into a school where real academic progress is possible.”
