Charles Selmon likes to say the first time he stepped foot onto Hinds County Community College in 1977, nobody even realized he was there.
The former Vicksburg High player wasn’t even supposed to be in college, really. Selmon had originally planned to join the Army after high school graduation but, after being convinced by his track coach to give community college a try, Selmon made the move to further his careers in both education and football.
Thirty-seven years after that first stroll onto a college campus, Selmon is coming back to be inducted into the Hinds Community College Hall of Fame. The former defensive back from 1977-78 said he was stunned when he received the phone call honoring his on-field accomplishments with a spot in Hinds lore.
“It was a surreal experience because of the fact that I now know it was meant to be for me to be in the Hall of Fame,” Selmon said. “It never crossed my mind that I would be a part of the Hall of Fame at Hinds Community College. It never was a thought. It never was a goal. My goal has always been to do the best I can at doing whatever I’m doing.”
Now a member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, Selmon’s playing days were littered with big plays that he attributes to an insatiable work ethic and passion for film study.
“I wasn’t the fastest person on the team. I wasn’t the strongest. I was the most determined,” he said. “I was not going to finish second. I was not going to settle for second.”
Selmon climbed his way up the depth chart from no-name walk-on to starting defensive back in less than two weeks of being with the team. He was an All-State selection his sophomore season and helped locked down one side of the field for Hinds before moving on to Mississippi College, where he was awarded as the team’s best defensive back and was once again chosen as an All-State player.
But Selmon shied away from boasting about his performance on the gridiron, instead making it a point to discuss how significant furthering his education has been to his career.
“One of my key points, the one that got me to the point to where I am today, is that you always have to have a sense of humility,” Selmon said. “One of the reasons that I became a Hall of Famer from Hinds Community College is only because of God’s grace. It was only because God wanted me to be at Hinds and he wanted me to become a Hall of Famer years later.”
Selmon will be recognized at Hinds’ annual Alumni Recognition Dinner on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. along with Patti Johnson, Jeff McClaskey, Rick Trusty and Marvin Washington. Despite how much excruciating work he put into becoming one of the schools’ best corners ever, the Vicksburg native still attributes all of his success to his unrelenting faith in the Lord.
“I am so grateful for the selection committee, my coaches and the players I played with. God has really blessed me so much,” Selmon said. “If you’re humble enough, God will just open up doors for you that you can’t even see. Over 30 years ago I didn’t have a clue this was going to happen. God opened up another door for me.”