May 18, 2005
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - John Huarte (pronounced HEW-ert), former Heisman Trophy-winning University of Notre Dame quarterback from 1964, is one of 11 former college players and two coaches named today to the National Football Foundation's 2005 College Football Hall of Fame Division I-A class by Jon F. Hanson, chairman of the National Football Foundation.
The 2005 College Football Hall of Fame class will be inducted at the 48th
Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6, 2005, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, N.Y. The players and coaches will be enshrined at the Hall of Fame in South Bend in August 2006.
Huarte's Heisman Trophy victory ranks as one of the biggest upsets in the history of the award considering he missed much of his sophomore season due to injury and didn't even play enough as a junior to win a monogram (second and third in the voting were Tulsa's Jerry Rhome and Illinois' Dick Butkus - and other candidates included Alabama's Joe Namath and Kansas' Gale Sayers).
Behind the aerial efforts of Huarte and fellow Californian Jack Snow (he caught 60 passes that year for 1,114 yards and a Notre Dame-record nine touchdowns), Ara Parseghian in his first year turned Notre Dame from a 2-7 team in '63 into a 9-1 squad that came within minutes of the national title.
A consensus first-team All-American as a senior, Huarte threw for 270 yards in the '64 opening-game upset of Wisconsin -- including TD tosses of 61 and 42 yards to Snow -- and ended up finishing the year ranked third nationally in total offense (2,069 yards). He set 12 Irish records that year and earned back-of-the-year and player-of-the-year honors from United Press International. He was named MVP of the College All-Star Game in Chicago in 1965.
A second-round draft pick of the AFL New York Jets (and a sixth-round pick of the NFL Philadelphia Eagles), Huarte played in the pro ranks for eight years with Boston, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Kansas City and Chicago -- prior to retiring from the World Football League Memphis entry in 1975.
Originally a 6-0, 180-pound signalcaller from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., Huarte becomes the 41st Notre Dame player to be chosen for the Hall of Fame since inductions began in 1951. Five former Irish coaches also have been selected. No other school has produced more than those 46 enshrinees, the most recent being Joe Theismann in 2003.
Huarte becomes the ninth Notre Dame quarterback selected to the Hall of Fame, joining Frank Carideo in 1954, Harry Stuhldreher in 1958, John Lujack in 1960, Angelo Bertelli in 1972, Paul Hornung in 1985, Bob Williams in 1988, Ralph Guglielmi in 2001 and Theismann in 2003.
Here are Huarte's Notre Dame statistics:
Att. Comp. Int. Yards TD Pct. Rush Yards TD
1962 8 4 0 38 0 .500 3 -14 0
1963 42 20 0 243 1 .467 11 -53 0
1964 205 114 11 2062 16 .556 37 7 3
TOTAL 255 138 11 2543 17 .541 51 -60 3
Now living in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Huarte has been in the tile business for many years. He previously lived in Tempe, Ariz.
Here's the complete listing of those to be inducted:
2005 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS
PLAYERS (SCHOOL), POSITION, YEARS
Cornelius Bennett (Alabama), Linebacker, 1983-86
Tom Curtis (Michigan), Defensive Back, 1967-69
Anthony Davis (USC), Running Back, 1972-74
Keith Dorney (Penn State), Offensive Tackle, 1975-78
Jim Houston (Ohio State), End, 1957-59
John Huarte (Notre Dame), Quarterback, 1962-64
Roosevelt Leaks (Texas), Fullback, 1972-74
Mark May (Pittsburgh), Offensive Tackle, 1977-80
Joe Washington (Oklahoma), Running Back, 1972-75
Paul Wiggin (Stanford), Defensive Tackle, 1954-56
David Williams (Illinois), Wide Receiver, 1983-85
COACHES - SCHOOL(S) (YEARS) - RECORD
Pat Dye - East Carolina (1974-79), Wyoming (1980), Auburn (1981-92) - 153-62-5
Don Nehlen - Bowling Green (1968-76), West Virginia (1980-2002) - 202-128-8
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