John Huarte

John Huarte
No. 7
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1944-04-06) April 6, 1944
Place of birth: Anaheim, California
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school: Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei
College: Notre Dame
NFL Draft: 1965 / Round: 6 / Pick: 76
AFL draft: 1965 / Round: 2 / Pick: 12
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Player stats at PFR

John Gregory Huarte (born April 6, 1944) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and won the Heisman Trophy in 1964. He then played professionally with a number of teams in the American Football League (AFL), the National Football League (NFL), and the World Football League (WFL) between 1965 and 1975. Huarte was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Early years and college career

Born and raised in Orange County, California, Huarte's father Joseph was a former minor league baseball player of Basque descent.[1][2] The family ran an orange and avocado ranch and he graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana in 1961.[1]

Huarte played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. During his sophomore and junior seasons, he averaged only a few minutes per game due to injuries and the Irish went 5–5 and 2–7, respectively. As a senior, however, he became the starting quarterback as the Irish won all but one game during the 1964 season, in which he was selected as an All-American and won the Heisman Trophy.[1][3] By the end of the season, Huarte threw for 2,062 yards with only 205 passes, an average of over ten yards per pass attempt, many to receiver Jack Snow.[4]

Huarte was a member of the College All-Star team in the annual pre-season game against the defending NFL champions at Chicago's Soldier Field. The 1965 game was in early August against the Cleveland Browns and Huarte was named the game's most valuable player.

Professional career

Huarte was drafted in 1965 by both pro football leagues: he was the twelfth overall selection of the AFL draft and the 76th pick of the NFL draft. He signed with the AFL's New York Jets over the NFL Philadelphia Eagles, He signed with the Jets, but was beaten out for the starting position by fellow-rookie Joe Namath, the first pick of the AFL draft.[1] who had finished eleventh in the Heisman voting as a senior at Alabama. The AFL Jets thus signed both the Heisman Trophy winner and the Alabama star away from the NFL. Huarte was third on the depth chart behind co-starters Namath and Mike Taliaferro and was on the taxi squad. Following the 1965 season, Huarte was traded to the Boston Patriots for Jim Colclough and the draft rights to Wichita State linebacker/center Jim Waskiewicz.[5]

Subsequently Huarte did see action as a back-up quarterback for several other professional teams from 1966 to 1972.[6][7][8] Out of the NFL in 1973, he played his final two seasons of professional football as the starting quarterback of the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League,[4][9] which folded before the completion of the 1975 season.[10]

After football

Huarte is a member of The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll, and is also the founder and CEO of Arizona Tile Supply, Inc.[4][11] In 2005 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Boyle, Robert H. (July 19, 1965). "Show-biz Sonny and his quest for stars". Sports Illustrated. p. 66.
  2. ↑ "Joseph Huarte". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Huarte wins Heisman Trophy". Miami News. Associated Press. November 24, 1964. p. 2B.
  4. 1 2 3 Vecsey, George (November 28, 1983). "Huarte: Most unheralded Heisman winner". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (New York Times News Service). p. 16.
  5. ↑ "Patriots land John Huarte". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. December 20, 1965. p. 15.
  6. ↑ "Huarte makes another stop". Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. November 8, 1967. p. 7.
  7. ↑ "Huarte, Flores put on Chiefs' roster". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. October 4, 1969. p. 21.
  8. ↑ "Huarte to beef up Bears' roster". Wilmington (NC) Star-News. UPI. September 15, 1972. p. 3C.
  9. ↑ "Huarte sparks Memphis win". Ocala Star-Banner. Associated Press. July 19, 1974. p. 3B.
  10. ↑ "Troubled World Football League finally makes decision to fold". Florence (AL) Times. Associated Press. October 23, 1975. p. 17.
  11. ↑ Our History. Arizona Tile. Accessed July 24, 2011.
  12. ↑ "John Huarte". Our Executive Team. Arizona Tile. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Heisman winner Huarte finally enters college hall". Wilmington (NC) Star-News. Associated Press. August 11, 2006. p. 8C.
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