{"id":17785,"date":"2020-11-13T15:12:55","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T21:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=17785"},"modified":"2020-11-13T15:12:55","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T21:12:55","slug":"paul-hornung-notre-dame-heisman-winner-and-star-of-vince-lombardis-green-bay-packers-dynasty-dies-at-age-84","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=17785","title":{"rendered":"Paul Hornung, Notre Dame Heisman winner and star of VINCE Lombardi’s GREEN BAY Packers dynasty, dies at age 84"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Golden Boy\u201d out of Notre Dame won the 1956 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback. The Green Bay Packers selected Hornung as the number one pick in the 1957 NFL Draft. It was then he transitioned to a halfback. Hornung led the NFL in scoring from 1959-1961.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vince Lombardi loved Paul Hornung.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spend enough time listening to the old Green Bay Packers from the 1960s and they will share that if Lombardi had a favorite, it was his halfback from Notre Dame. Lombardi called Hornung “the best all-around back ever to play football.\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornung died at age 84 after a battle with dementia. The Louisville Sports Commission announced Hornung\u2019s death.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"a <\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornung accomplished just about everything one could hope for in a football career, including a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He famously had a good time off the field too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hall of Famer and @packers<\/a> legend Paul Hornung has passed away at the age of 84.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We will keep his legacy in the Game alive forever at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) November 13, 2020<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Paul Hornung won a Heisman at Notre Dame<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hornung rose to fame at Notre Dame. He finished fifth in the 1955 Heisman Trophy voting and won it in 1956, though it was controversial. Hornung was a triple-threat quarterback but even in that era his numbers (three touchdowns, 13 interceptions) didn\u2019t look like a Heisman winner. The Irish were 2-8, and Hornung is still the only Heisman winner from a losing team. Many felt Jim Brown of Syracuse, who actually finished fifth, was the best player in the country that year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornung was the first pick of the 1957 draft, by the Packers. Hornung\u2019s career started to take off in 1959, when Lombardi arrived. He made his first Pro Bowl. Hornung would be a first-team All-Pro in 1960 and 1961 as the Packers\u2019 dynasty started. He and Jim Taylor were a fantastic backfield in Lombardi\u2019s offense.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornung was one of the biggest stars on the Packers\u2019 championship teams of 1961, 1962 and 1965, before the Super Bowl era began. When the Packers won Super Bowl I at the end of the 1966 season, Hornung didn\u2019t play. He was in uniform but out with a pinched nerve in his neck. The New Orleans Saints took Hornung in the 1967 expansion draft but his neck wouldn\u2019t allow him to play.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornung retired, having never played with another NFL team other than the Packers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornung was a huge star<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hornung was one of the league\u2019s stars as the NFL started to explode in popularity. He was also in the middle of a large controversy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive lineman Alex Karras were suspended for the 1963 season<\/a> for betting on games. Lombardi accepted him back after his suspension was lifted.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornung\u2019s partying ways<\/a> were legend in Green Bay through the 1960s. His charisma is part of what made him a star, even if he wasn\u2019t the Packers\u2019 best player all those years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He was a great player in his prime though. He was NFL MVP in 1961. He led the NFL in scoring three straight years, with a record 176 points in 1960 as he also handled kicking for Green Bay. Lombardi always leaned on him inside the 20-yard line and he usually delivered. Hornung scored 19 points in the Packers\u2019 1961 NFL championship game win over the New York Giants.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several players from the 1960s Packers have died in 2020. Willie Davis, Willie Wood, Herb Adderley and Hornung \u2014 all Hall of Famers \u2014 all died this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lombardi Packers were arguably the most famous team in NFL history. And it\u2019s possible nobody on that team was more famous than Hornung, the \u201cGolden Boy.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHO IS PAUL HORNUNG<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Vernon Hornung, nicknamed The Golden Boy, was a professional American football<\/a> player and a Hall of Fame<\/a> running back for the Green Bay Packers<\/a> of the National Football League<\/a> (NFL) from 1957<\/a> to 1966<\/a>. He played on teams that won four NFL titles<\/a> and the first Super Bowl<\/a>. He is the first Heisman Trophy<\/a> winner to do all of the following: play pro football, be selected as the first overall selection<\/a> in the NFL Draft<\/a>, win the NFL most valuable player award<\/a>, and be inducted into both the professional<\/a> and college football halls of fame<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A versatile player, Hornung was a halfback<\/a>, quarterback<\/a>, and placekicker<\/a>. He was an excellent all-around college athlete at Notre Dame<\/a>, where he played basketball<\/a> in addition to football<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hornung was obliged to serve in the U.S. Army<\/a> and he was called to active duty during the 1961<\/a> season,<\/sup> but he was able to get weekend passes to play on Sundays. Head coach Vince Lombardi<\/a> was a friend of President John F. Kennedy<\/a>, and it was arranged for a pass so Hornung could play in the NFL championship game<\/a> against the New York Giants<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Golden Boy\u201d out of Notre Dame won the 1956 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback. The Green Bay Packers selected Hornung as the number one pick in the 1957 NFL Draft. It was then he transitioned to a halfback. Hornung led the NFL in scoring from 1959-1961. Vince Lombardi loved Paul Hornung. Spend enough time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3253,3254,3252,3251],"class_list":["post-17785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-1935-louisville","tag-kentucky-died-november-13","tag-kicker-personal-information-born-december-23","tag-paul-hornungrefer-to-caption-hornung-in-1961-no-5-position-halfback","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}