John Hadl
Encyclopedia
John Willard Hadl is a former collegiate and professional football
Professional football
In the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country...

 player.

Hadl was born in Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...

, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

. After playing halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...

 on both offense
Offense (sports)
In sports, offense or offence , also known as attack, is the action of attacking or engaging an opposing team with the objective of scoring points or goals...

 and defense
Defense (sport)
In many team sports, defense or defence is the action of preventing an opponent from scoring. The term may also refer to the tactics involved in defense, or a sub-team whose primary responsibility is defense...

 at the University of Kansas
Kansas Jayhawks
The sports teams at the University of Kansas are known as the Jayhawks. They are one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a member of the Big 12 Conference...

 as a sophomore, Hadl played quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 for his last two years at Kansas, and was selected as the school's Player of the Century. He was an All American at running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 in 1960 and at quarterback in 1961. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

 in 1994.

College football

Hadl was the first KU player to be picked twice for All-America (1960
1960 College Football All-America Team
The 1960 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1960 college football season...

 and 1961
1961 College Football All-America Team
The 1961 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1961 college football season...

) honors for his skills as a quarterback and half back. Hadl also excelled as a defensive back, and punt returner and punter; he led the country with a 45.6-yard average in 1959. Hadl's No. 21 jersey is one of only three KU has retired. Hadl, who was picked for the all-conference team for three seasons, wound up with 1,281 yards passing and 1,016 yard rushing. Hadl still holds two KU records: Longest interception return, a 98-yard run against TCU; and longest punt, 94 yards vs. Oklahoma.

With Hadl running the offense, the 'Hawks were ranked in the top 20 during his junior and senior years, finishing 15-5-2. He wrapped up his KU career leading his team to a 33-7 win over Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

 in the Bluebonnet Bowl
Bluebonnet Bowl
The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 through 1967, and again in 1985 and 1986. The game was...

. He was also named MVP in the East-West Shrine game and the College All-Star Game.

Playing career

He is 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and 210 lb (95 kg). He joined the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

's San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in 1962. He shared quarterbacking duties until 1966, when he became San Diego's starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 quarterback, and averaged over 3,000 yards and 23 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

s per (14-game) season for the next four years.

He was the American Football League's leading passer in both 1965 and 1968, and was a four-time AFL All-Star
American Football League All-Star games
-All-League Teams:The Sporting News published American Football League All-League Teams for each season played by the American Football League, 1960 through 1969...

. In 1969, he was selected as the AFL All-Star Game
American Football League All-Star games
-All-League Teams:The Sporting News published American Football League All-League Teams for each season played by the American Football League, 1960 through 1969...

's Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...

. The other half of the Chargers' potent passing/receiving tandem was Lance Alworth
Lance Alworth
Lance Dwight Alworth is a former American collegiate and Professional Football wide receiver. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame...

, the first American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Many observers believe that Hadl, who threw most of the passes that Alworth received, also belongs in the Hall.

Before the 1973 season, Hadl was traded to the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

 for defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

 Coy Bacon
Coy Bacon
Lander McCoy Bacon was a former professional American football defensive lineman in the National Football League. He was selected to three Pro Bowls during his 14-year career...

 and running back Bob Thomas. Leading the Rams to the playoffs that year, he was named the National Football Conference Player of the Year. Hadl was traded to the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 the next season when he was beaten out for the starting quarterback position by James Harris.

Hadl wore #21 for all of his NFL career, and was the last regular starting quarterback to wear a uniform number greater than #19 before the NFL adopted a rigid uniform numbering system in 1973.

Coaching career

Hadl was also head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 of the Los Angeles Express football team of the USFL during 1984 and 1985, compiling a record of 13-23 in the regular season, 1-1 in the postseason.

Hadl is currently an associate athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...

 in the University of Kansas athletic department
Kansas Jayhawks
The sports teams at the University of Kansas are known as the Jayhawks. They are one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a member of the Big 12 Conference...

, despite the belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....

 that he might have been the "unnamed assistant football coach" at KU who provided improper benefits to recruits in the early 1980s in violation of NCAA regulations. Hadl has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and his current tenure with Kansas athletics has not yielded any suggestion of rules violations.

See also


External links

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