Player of American football, born in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. A Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at Notre Dame, he became an All-NFL (National Football League) halfback with the Green Bay Packers, scoring a season-record 176 points in 1960.
| Paul Hornung | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | December 23, 1935 |
| Place of birth | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| College | Notre Dame |
| Pro Bowls | 2 |
| Awards |
1956 Heisman Trophy Winner 1961 Bert Bell Award |
| Statistics | Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball |
| Team(s) | |
| 1957-1966 | Green Bay Packers |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1986 | |
Paul Vernon Hornung (born December 23, 1935 in Louisville, Kentucky) was an outstanding all-around athlete who played college basketball but is best known as an American football player.
College career
After playing his sophomore season as a backup fullback, Hornung blossomed as a halfback and safety during his junior year. Hornung nicknamed the "Golden Boy," won the Heisman Trophy in 1956 as the year’s outstanding player in the United States College football and is the only player from a losing team (his University of Notre Dame team finished 2-8 that year) ever to win the trophy. Highly versatile, Paul Hornung was a quarterback who could run, pass, block and tackle and is the person most football observers consider as the greatest all-around football player in Notre Dame history.
Professional career
In 1957, after graduating university with a degree in business, Hornung was drafted number one overall into the National Football League by the Green Bay Packers with whom he would go on to win four league championships including the first ever Super Bowl in 1967.
Considered by some to be the best short-yardage runner to ever play the game, he was twice voted the league’s most valuable player and during his career was chosen as an All-Pro twice and named to the Pro Bowl twice.
In 1965, in the twilight of his career, Hornung scored a team-record five touchdowns in a 42-27 win over the Baltimore Colts, a win that would eventually be important for the Packers as they would tie the Colts in the Western Conference standings at season's end (The Packers would win that playoff game over the Colts to advance to the NFL Championship).
Honors and awards
In addition to those mentioned above, Paul Hornung was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Off the field
Obliged to serve in the United States Military, Hornung was called up to active duty in the army during the 1961 season but was able to get weekend leave to play on Sundays.
Idolized by fans, and wealthy from numerous commercial endorsements, Paul Hornung enjoyed his success and the good life that fame and money brought.
His penchant for high-living would prove disastrous when, in 1963, a major scandal erupted and Paul Hornung and another of the league's top stars, Alex Karras of the Detroit Lions, were suspended from football indefinitely for betting on games and associating with undesirable persons. Forthright in admitting to his mistake, Hornung's image went relatively untarnished, and in 1964 his suspension (and that of Karras as well) was re-evaluated by the League and Hornung returned to play for the Packers for another three seasons before injury problems forced him to retire at the end of the 1966-67 season.
In a September 2006 interview with Bob Costas, Hornung stated that it was his belief that it was Vince Lombardi's constant lobbying of NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle that got him reinstated in the NFL.
During a radio interview on March 30, 2004, Hornung, speaking about the recent lack of football success at Notre Dame, said, "We can't stay as strict as we are as far as the academic structure is concerned because we've got to get the black athletes.
Hornung said that he wasn't differentiating between races.
Hornung wrote an autobiography, Golden Boy, which was published in 2004.
During a speech at the Friday, October 20 2006 Notre Dame football pep rally Hornung took a step back from the podium and had his pants fall down all the way to his ankles exposing his blue boxers.
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