Paul Hornung turns 77 today. Paul Hornung along with Earl Campbell and O.J. Simpson are the only 3 football players to win the Heisman Trophy, be selected with the first pick in the NFL draft and be inducted into both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fames.

Paul Hornung is also the only player on a losing team to ever win the Heisman Trophy. Notre Dame was 2-8 in 1956 the year Hornung won the Heisman. He shouldn’t have won the award, it should have went to Jim Brown of Syracuse but at that time they had never awarded the Heisman to a black athlete. Hornung threw 3 touchdowns and had 13 interceptions that season as the quarterback of the Irish.

Paul Hornung was the first pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 1957 draft and his career seemed to be going nowhere as a quarterback and halfback for the Packers. When Vince Lombardi took over the Packers in 1959 things changed for Hornung. He became the Packers starting halfback. He was also the Packers kicker for a number of years. He seemed to have a nose for the end zone and he had a nack of having his best performances in the biggest games. Paul Hornung was the 1961 NFL MVP. Hornung led the league in scoring for three straight seasons 1959-61. His 176 points in 1960 was the record until Ladainian Tomlinson broke the record in 2006. Keep in mind when Hornung set the record it was when they only played 12 games a year. Hornung has the record for most points averaged per game in a season. In a game in 1965 Hornung scored 5 touchdowns in a game.

Hornung was a noted playboy off the field but remained a favourite of Coach Lombardi’s.

1963 was the worst year of Hornung’s life. He along with Detroit’s Alex Karras were suspended for the season for betting on football games [never against their own teams but betting on football is a no-no}

Hornung retired after the 1966 season due to a pinched nerve in his neck.