November 12, 2000
WAKE UP THE ECHOES: Hornung's nap turned out to be a dream for Notre Dame
Editor's Note: Notre Dame's many contributions to the College Football Hall of Fame include 38 players, five coaches and several former players who coached at other schools. Of the 38 players, 23 are deceased. This is another of a series on the living Hall-of-Famers.Late one afternoon when he was a senior at Flaget High in Louisville, Ky., Paul Hornung decided to take a little nap. And it might have been the best snooze of his life and for Notre Dame.
During that nap, Paul "Bear" Bryant, then the coach at Kentucky, came for an unexpected recruiting visit. And as Hornung's mother later remembered, "He (coach Bryant) was very nice. They told me all about the University of Kentucky and why Paul should enroll at Lexington, his home-state school. But not once did they ask me if Paul was home."
Paul's mom wanted him to attend Notre Dame. But she never mentioned that to Bryant, nor that her son was in his room taking a nap.
Later Hornung would jokingly insist that "I was probably studying." But one thing is certain: He didn't know the persuasive Bryant was in his kitchen.
Now, almost 50 years after Hornung heeded his mother's wishes and accepted a scholarship at Notre Dame, he says, "The best decision I ever made in my life was to attend Notre Dame.
In the 47-plus years since he made that decision, Hornung has had a remarkable career.
He earned All-America honors in his junior and senior seasons as a quarterback. As a senior, he became the only player to win the Heisman Trophy while playing on a team with a losing record.
Hornung became the No. 1 "bonus" choice of the Green Bay Packers in 1957 and went on to a remarkable pro career.
In 1985, Paul became the fifth Notre Dame quarterback (after Harry Stuhldreher, Frank Carideo, Angelo Bertelli and John Lujack) to be selected to the College Football Hall of Fame. A sixth quarterback, Bob Williams, was chosen in 1988.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame also enshrined Hornung, who joins George Connor and Alan Page as Notre Dame's double Hall-of-Famers.
It didn't take Hornung long to show the Hall-of-Fame potential. After playing behind Ralph Guglielmi in 1954, Hornung soon became the "Golden Boy" (a nickname coined by the late Irish trainer Gene Paszkiet) of Irish football. In leading the Irish to an 8-2 record in his junior season, he finished fourth in the nation in total offense with 1,215 yards.
In losing the final game of his junior season against Southern California, Hornung passed and ran for 354 yards, an NCAA record for that 1955 season. He finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy behind winner Howard "Hopalong" Cassidy of Ohio State, among others.
Against a strong Iowa team that season, Hornung rallied the Irish from a 14-7 deficit with a touchdown pass and then the winning (17-14) field goal in the last two minutes of play.
The Notre Dame student body crashed onto the field and carried Hornung off the field before tearing down the north goalpost, the first time that had happened in stadium history. That '55 team was voted No. 9 in the final AP poll.
Big things were forecast for Paul and the Irish in 1956, but with a lineup laden with first-year players, the team struggled, winning only two games.
Hornung led the Irish in almost every statistic. He passed, he ran, he punted, kicked extra points, intercepted passes and ran back punts and kickoffs. Although his total offense figures (passing and running) climbed only to 1.337 yards, his all-around yardage soared over the 2,000 mark.
In a great Heisman race, Hornung edged the versatile John Majors of Tennessee and also finished ahead of such great stars as Tommy MacDonald and Gerry Tubbs of Oklahoma, Jim Brown of Syracuse, Ron Kramer of Michigan and John Brodie of Stanford.
At Notre Dame, Hornung also played on the basketball team in his junior season, helping to win two tough road games.
Green Bay signed Hornung to a three-year contract, but after two disappointing seasons, mostly at quarterback, Paul hit the jackpot in his third year. Vince Lombardi arrived to coach the Packers, and Paul became the kicking and running star that everyone had envisioned.
"My uncle Henry Hoffman in Louisville and Lombardi were the greatest influences of my life," says Hornung. Notre Dame ranks at the very top of his affections.
For more than 30 years, Hornung has been involved in radio and television broadcasting, most of it involving Notre Dame. He worked with Lindsey Nelson on the television replays of Irish games for many years and for the last 30 has worked with the Westwood One radio broadcasts of the games. He also worked as a commentator with CBS-TV and with WTBS.
He also originated an hour-long national TV sports program out of Louisville, where he is still active in real estate and other businesses.
Despite his busy schedule (and a Social Security-eligible age), Paul has plenty of time for Heisman, Hall of Fame and Notre Dame appearances at banquets and golf outings.
"When they got me back in 1953, they got me for life," says Hornung, who is sometimes critical and also praiseworthy of Notre Dame football in his radio commentaries.
Those golden locks are a little on the gray side now and the once-solid football frame is a bit heavier, but the ready smile and great personality have made "the Horn" one for the Irish ages.