1956 Heisman Trophy winner and NFL champion with Green Bay, Paul Hornung, has died at 84 years of age
Paul Hornung, the “Golden Boy” who starred at Notre Dame in the 1950s and the Green Bay Packers in the 1969s, has died at the age of 84, the Louisville sports commission announced Friday.
The commission indicated that Paul Hornung suffered from dementia
Paul Hornung, who was born on December 23, 1935, in Louisville, Kentucky, was one of only seven players to win the Heisman Trophy and being named MVP of the NFL by The Associated Press, along with Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton, Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, Earl Campbell, and OJ Simpson.
He won the Heisman Trophy in 1956 playing for a Notre Dame team that finished 2-8. He became the only player to win the award playing for a losing team and led the Fighting Irish in passing yards, rushing, touchdowns, kick returns, and punt returns. On defense, he was a leader in deflected passes, also had the second-highest number of tackles and interceptions.
Paul Hornung was drafted by the Packers as the first overall pick in the 1957 draft, the first of nine future Hall of Famers elected that year. Paul Hornung – along with Packers stars Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, and Jerry Kramer, as well as groundbreaking head coach Vince Lombardi – ended up leading the franchise to the 1960 NFL Title Game at the who fell 19-17 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hall of Famer and @packers legend Paul Hornung has passed away at the age of 84.
We will keep his legacy in the Game alive forever at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Read: https://t.co/OqJyp74UWH#HOFForever pic.twitter.com/6J8mtaXYkS
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) November 13, 2020
In that 1960 season, the star running back set an NFL record with 176 points – with touchdowns, field goals, and extra points – a mark that stood for 46 years. Paul Hornung was selected to the All-Pro first team that season, an honor he repeated the following year by guiding the Packers to the first of four titles they won while on the team.
However, an injury to a nerve in his neck that he sustained early in his career began to slow down Paul Hornung. Then a gambling scandal temporarily halted his career when he was suspended for the 1963 season by Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who determined that Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions star Alex Karras had gambled on NFL games.
Paul Hornung was reinstated for the 1964 season, but his best years were behind him, rushing for 299 yards in the Packers ‘ 1965 championship season, then 200 yards in nine games in 1966, when the Packers won their first Super Bowl. .
After concluding a career in which he became the only player in NFL history to score 50 touchdowns and kick 50 field goals and be inducted into the Halls of Fame of professional and college football, he was a frequent face. on television broadcasts, working with CBS alongside legends like Lindsey Nelson and Vin Scully.
Amelia Warner
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