Paul Hornung, Packers Hall of Famer and Heisman winner, dies at 84 after battling dementia as mourners remember 'The Golden Boy' as an 'outstanding player and man'
Paul Hornung, the legendary Notre Dame quarterback-turned-Green Bay Packers running back and kicker, has died at 84 following a battle with dementia.
The Louisville Sports Commission announced the Kentucky native's death on Friday, mentioning that he had dementia.
Known as 'The Golden Boy,' the gregarious Hornung is one of only seven players to win both the Heisman Trophy and the NFL MVP award, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. However, he'll primarily remembered for the success of his Packers teams, which included four NFL titles and a victory in the first Super Bowl before his departure in 1966.
Paul Hornung, the legendary Notre Dame quarterback-turned-Green Bay Packers running back and kicker, has died at 84 following a battle with dementia
Paul Hornung was a Heisman-winning quarterback at Notre Dame before converting to running back with the Green Bay Packers and winning four NFL titles
Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung immitates the posture of the Heisman Trophy that he received at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City on December 12, 1956
At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds with a streak of blond hair, Hornung was among football's most versatile players in the 1950s and 60s, rushing for 3,711 yards and 50 touchdowns while adding another 130 receptions for 1,480 yards and 12 touchdown catches. What's more, he added 52 of 66 field goals in his career and was successful on 190 of 194 extra-point attempts in an era before teams carried kickers.
Hornung's football career did include some controversies. In 1963, he and the Detroit Lions Alex Karras were suspended by commissioner Pete Rozelle for the entire season for gambling on NFL games and associating with undesirable people. Hornung was reinstated the following season and vowed to stay out of Las Vegas.
The other major controversy of Hornung's football career happened in 1956 when he won the Heisman Trophy as Notre Dame's quarterback despite 2-8 record. The decision was made all the more suspect by the presence of another candidate, Syracuse's Jim Brown, who was denied the chance to become the first black Heisman winner, instead finishing fifth in the voting. (Syracuse's Ernie Davis became the first black Heisman winner in 1961 before dying of leukemia in 1963)
Even Hornung appeared to accept that it was Brown — considered by many to be the greatest football player ever — who deserved to win the Heisman that year.
While taping a TV segment with then-Tennessee head coach Johnny Majors in 1991, Hornung referenced the 1956 Heisman voting.
Majors, who played running back at Tennessee and finished second in the voting in 1956, quickly replied: 'Jimmy Brown.'
The Packers' scouting report on Paul Hornung remarked that he will 'NOT GO TO CANADA'
On Twitter, ESPN's Ryan McGree remembered Hornung's response.
'If I didn't want to hear the truth I guess I shouldn't has asked,' Hornung laughed.
Hornung is survived by his wife Angela.
Playing alongside numerous future Hall of Famers, the blond, fun-loving Hornung was a favorite of Packers coach Vince Lombardi, who thought of the young star as a son and singled him out for praise and chastisement. Frequent fines for missing curfew were forgiven once the game started, especially when the dashing No. 5 got close to the end zone.
Paul Hornung pictured at Notre Dame in 1956
'In the middle of the field he may be only slightly better than an average ballplayer,' Lombardi once said, 'but inside the 20-yard line he is one of the greatest I have ever seen. He smells that goal line.'
Hornung already was on the team when Lombardi arrived in Green Bay in 1959. The Packers made Hornung the first pick of the 1957 draft after he won the Heisman Trophy for a Notre Dame team that went 2-8.
Hornung teamed with bruising fullback Jim Taylor for one of the NFL's greatest backfields. They were known for the unstoppable power sweeps led by guards Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston. But Hornung was also a force as a passer, blocker, receiver and kicker. He finished his nine-year career with 760 points on 62 touchdowns, 66 field goals and 190 extra points.
For three straight seasons from 1959-61, Hornung led the NFL in scoring. In 1960 he totaled 176 points, which stood as a league record until LaDainian Tomlinson broke it 46 years later. Hornung would later point out that his record came in 12 games, while Tomlinson needed 16.
Hornung also passed for two touchdowns in 1960, meaning he had a hand in 188 points, an average of 15.6 per game.
His talent was noticed even in the White House. Hornung almost missed the Packers' 1961 title game when he was summoned to duty by the Army, but a call from Lombardi to President John F. Kennedy led to Hornung being granted leave.
Said Kennedy in arranging the leave, 'Paul Hornung isn't going to win the war on Sunday, but the football fans of this country deserve the two best teams on the field that day.'
Hornung scored 19 points — then a title game record — on one touchdown rushing, three field goals and four PATs in the Packers' 37-0 win over the New York Giants.
Paul Hornung is pictured on the sidelines during Super Bowl I at Los Angeles Coliseum
Lombardi said Hornung was average at midfield, but became incredible near the goal line
In 1965, Hornung scored five touchdowns against the Baltimore Colts in a 42-27 victory.
Hornung was on the first Super Bowl team for the 1967 game, but a pinched nerve sidelined him, and he chose not to enter the game when given the chance in the fourth quarter. He was the only Packer who didn't play in that Super Bowl as Green Bay beat the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 and were led by Hornung's favorite drinking pal, wide receiver Max McGee.
Hornung was selected by New Orleans in the 1967 expansion draft, a heartbreaking moment for Lombardi. But Hornung never played a game for the Saints, instead retiring
Hornung was selected by New Orleans in the 1967 expansion draft, a heartbreaking moment for Lombardi. But Hornung never played a game for the Saints, instead retiring.
After his suspension by Rozelle, Hornung believed Lombardi's constant lobbying of the commissioner got him reinstated for the 1964 season. In exchange for Lombardi's efforts, Hornung agreed not to have anything to do with gambling, to stay out of Las Vegas, and even stop attending the Kentucky Derby — something he used to do annually in his hometown of Louisville.
'The entire Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Paul Hornung,' said David Baker, the president and CEO of the Hall in Canton, Ohio. 'He was an outstanding player and an incredible man. Known as "The Golden Boy," Paul was above all a leader to whom the Packers looked for the big plays in the big games — especially during the team's dynasty years under coach Vince Lombardi in the 1960s.
'We will forever keep his legacy alive to serve as inspiration for future generations. The Hall of Fame flag will be flown at half-staff in Paul's memory,' he said.
Several stars from Green Bay's glory days have died this year. Along with Hornung, defensive greats Willie Wood, Herb Adderley and Willie Davis also died.
ESPN's Ryan McGee told an interesting story about Paul Hornung and his Heisman on Twitter
Brown finished fifth that year, missing out on the chance to be the first black Heisman winner