Age: 26 (Dec. 23)
5th season in pro
football & with Packers
College: Notre Dame
Height: 6’2” Weight: 215
Prelude:
Despite Notre Dame posting a
miserable 2-8 record in his senior year, the “Golden Boy” was an All-American
quarterback for the second time and capped his college career by winning the
Heisman Trophy. He was chosen by the Packers in the first round of the 1957
draft but lacked the passing accuracy to play quarterback in the NFL. Hornung
was tried at fullback and floundered for his first two years on a losing team
before the arrival of Vince Lombardi as head coach in 1959. Lombardi installed
him as an option halfback and, together with his role as the team’s
placekicker, Hornung became a scoring machine as well as part of an excellent
rushing tandem along with FB Jim Taylor. In 1959, he led the NFL with 94 points
and earned a Pro Bowl selection while rushing for 681 yards and in ’60, as the
Packers won the Western Conference, he set a league scoring record that lasted
until 2006 with 176 points, including a league-leading 13 rushing touchdowns.
He received consensus first-team All-Pro recognition and again was chosen to
the Pro Bowl.
1961 Season Summary
Appeared and started 12 of 14
games
[Bracketed numbers indicate
league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 127 [15]
Most attempts, game - 22
(for 94 yds.) at Chicago
11/12
Yards – 597 [13]
Most yards, game – 111 yards
(on 11 carries) vs. Baltimore
10/8
Average gain – 4.7 [9]
TDs – 8 [3, tied with J.D. Smith, Jim Brown & Rick Casares]
100-yard rushing games - 1
Pass Receiving
Receptions – 15
Most receptions, game – 3
(for 17 yds.) vs. Detroit 9/17, (for 28 yds.)
vs. Baltimore
10/8
Yards – 145
Most yards, game - 34 (on 1
catch) at Chicago
11/12
Average gain – 9.7
TDs – 2
Passing
Attempts – 5
Completions – 3
Yards – 42
TD passes – 1
Interceptions – 0
Kicking
Field goals – 15 [3, tied with Jim Martin & Lou Michaels]
Most field goals, game - 4
at Minnesota
10/22
Field goal attempts – 22 [10,
tied with Tommy Davis]
Most field goal attempts,
game – 4 vs. San Francisco 9/24, at Minnesota 10/22
Field goal percentage – 68.2 [2]
PATs – 41 [4]
PAT attempts – 41 [4, tied with Roger LeClerc]
Longest field goal – 51
yards at Chicago
11/12
Scoring
TDs – 10
Field Goals – 15
PATs – 41
Points – 146 [1]
Postseason: 1 G (NFL Championship vs. NY Giants)
Rushing attempts – 20
Rushing yards – 89
Average gain rushing – 4.5
Rushing TDs – 1
Pass receptions – 3
Pass receiving yards - 47
Average yards per reception
– 15.7
Pass Receiving TDs – 0
Pass attempts – 2
Pass completions – 0
Passing yards – 0
TD passes – 0
Interceptions – 0
Field goals – 3
Field goal attempts – 3
PATs – 4
PAT attempts – 4
Longest field goal – 22
yards
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP, UPI, Bert Bell
Award, Sporting News
1st team All-NFL:
AP, UPI, NY Daily News, Sporting News
2nd team All-NFL:
NEA
Packers went 11-3 to finish
first in the Western Conference while leading NFL in rushing yards (2350),
scoring (391 points), and touchdowns (49). Defeated New York Giants for NFL Championship (37-0).
Aftermath:
Missing time due to military
service and injury, Hornung had a lesser year in 1962 as the Packers repeated
as champions. A suspension for gambling cost him all of 1963, and when he
returned in ’64 his performance suffered, in particular his placekicking. He
lasted another two injury-plagued years, with a clutch five-TD performance
against the Colts in ’65, as well as a solid rushing game in that season’s NFL
Championship game, among the last major highlights of his career. Hornung was
taken by the New Orleans Saints in the 1967 expansion draft but, due to a
chronic pinched nerve in his neck, retired during training camp. He finished
with 3711 rushing yards on 893 carries, 1480 yards on 130 pass receptions, five
TD passes, 62 touchdowns, 66 field goals, 190 extra points, and 760 total
points, which put him among the Top 10 career scoring leaders in NFL history at
the time. An all-around talent who was at his best in scoring territory, he was
inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1986.
--
MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL,
AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper
Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell
Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).
[Updated 2/9/14]
[Updated 2/9/14]
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