John Hadl

At 84 years old, John Hadl has this physical status:

With the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, and Houston Oilers, John Willard Hadl (born February 15, 1940) is a former American football player and National Football League quarterback.

He was voted to two Pro Bowls and was an AFL All-Star four times.

Hadl attended collegiately at the University of Kansas and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

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College career

Hadl played quarterback and defense at the University of Kansas as a sophomore, and was named Student of the Century by the school. He was an All-American at halftime and at quarterback in 1961.

Hadl was the first Kansas player to be selected twice for All-America (1960 and 1961) for his abilities as a quarterback and halfback. Hadl also excelled as a defensive back, punt returner, and punter; he led the nation in 1959 with a 45.6-yard punting average. Hadl's No. 83 is a symbol of honour. Kansas' 21 jerseys is one of only three footballers to have retired. Hadl was selected for the all-conference team for three seasons, and he finished with 1,345 yards passing and 1,041 yards rushing. Hadl also holds two Kansas records: the longest interception return, a 98-yard run against TCU, and the longest punt, 94 yards against Oklahoma.

The Jayhawks were ranked in the top 20 for their junior and senior years, finishing 15–5–2. Hadl was running the offense. In the Bluebonnet Bowl, he wrapped up his Kansas career by leading his team to a 33–7 victory over Rice. In addition, he was named MVP in the East-West Shrine Game and the College All-Star Game.

Professional career

Hadl had a 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and 210 lb (95 kg) at a time. In 1962, he joined the San Diego Chargers in the American Football League, after deciding to play with them over the Detroit Lions (who selected him in the first round of the NFL Draft).

Hadl played in every game of his first season, although his first use was more effective in the second half than the first, despite starting ten of fourteen games. Bobby Jackson's first pass in the AFL came at a thirty-yard loss to the Denver Broncos. He made his first appearance against the Houston Oilers on September 23, but he went 1-of-4 for six yards before being thrown out for Dick Wood. During the season, the Chargers had three quarterbacks, including Jack Kemp. Hadl had his highs and lows during this season, including three touchdowns and three interceptions on 7-of-14 passes over Oakland, as the first three games with three interceptions) was a success. He won just one of his nine starts, doing so in an 11-of-24 effort for 161 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception game against Oakland on December 2, 1962.

Despite winning four games this season, the Chargers rose to eleven for the 1963 season, thanks in to Tobin Rote's purchase of 35-year-old Tobin Rote as the team's new starting quarterback. Although Rote started each game, Hadl did take part in mop-up service, throwing 28-of-64 for 542 total yards and six interceptions. Rote and Hadl will both play a significant role against the Boston Patriots in the AFL Championship Game, with Hadl going 7-of-11 for 132 yards with both a passing and a running touchdown. Hadl also made two punts for the Chargers, kicking two of them for 75 yards.

Hadl started eight of the fourteen games the following year, while Rote did the other six. Hadl went 6-2 while throwing for 2,157 yards on eighteen touchdowns and fifteen interceptions with a 53.6 completion percentage, and he was named an AFL All-Star. However, it was Rote who started against the Buffalo Bills and old teammate Kemp, who is now quarterbacking the game. Hadl was called in after Rote's miserable 10-of-26 for 118 yards and a touchdown with a stumbling receiving corps (Lance Alworth and Keith Lincoln were both injured), but the Chargers lost 20-7. Hadl's punting duties increased as he punted 62 times for 2,447 yards, with one of his kicks going 71 yards.

In 1965, he was named San Diego's starting quarterback. He led the team to a 9-2-3 record while throwing 2,798 yards (a league record) for twenty touchdowns and 21 interceptions as well as a 50.0 percent completion rate, which was good for his second straight AFL-All Star appearance. Hadl made his third appearance and final appearance in the AFL Championship Game this year. Hadl's first appearance in a playoff game since being greeted by the Bills for the first time, had 11-of-23 for 140 yards and two interceptions as the Chargers were defeated 23-0. Hadl punted for the second time in a row, throwing 38 times for 1,544 yards. Over the course of two seasons, Hadl would punt just three times for a hundred yards.

He started twelve of his fourteen games the following year (Steve Tensi started the other two). Hadl was 7-4-1 while throwing 2,846 yards for 23 touchdowns and fourteen interceptions for a 53.3 completion percentage, but the Chargers' third-ranked offense was not strong enough to warrant a playoff spot for the first time in four years. During the fifth game of the season, Hadl began a streak. He threw a touchdown pass against the New York Jets on October 8. Hadl will throw for at least one touchdown pass during the remainder of the season, and his streak will persist into next season (October 8, 1966 - November 19, 1967) with at least one touchdown pass. Hadl appeared in every game of the 1967 season, going 8-5-1 for 3,365 yards with 24 touchdowns and 22 interceptions while having a 50.8 completion rate and leading the league in yards gained per pass completion with 15.5. He grew in 1968, leading the league in completions, challenges, yards (3,473), touchdowns (3,473), interceptions (32, which was a career high) and interceptions (32), despite his career high completion percentage and an All-Star selection. Despite going 9-5, it was only good enough for third place in the Western Division. The Chargers were a team in disarray during the final season of the AFL in 1969. After going 4-5, famed coach (and prospective member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame) Sid Gillman resigned due to health reasons. Hadl will be playing in ten games while Marty Domres played four games, and Hadl won five of his first five games. Hadl was named an AFL All-Star once more for 2,253 yards with ten touchdowns and eleven interceptions for a 48.8 completion rate. He was voted Most Valuable Player in the AFL All-Star Game.

The Chargers' fortunes dwindle in the post-AFL-NFL merger years, as the Chargers did not have another winning season until 1978. Hadl quarterbacked the team for the first three seasons. He went 4-5-3 in 1970, finishing with 2,388 yards with 22 touchdowns and fifteen interceptions for a 49.5 completion percentage. With a 6-8 record and premier numbers in the first year, he led the league in completions, attempts, yards (3,075), touchdowns (21) and yards per game (219.6). Hadl's second quarterback in history to lead two different leagues in passing yards (the first was Otto Graham), and it was the third time in six years (1965-1968) that he had led in passing.

He went 4-9-1 in his last year with the Chargers in 1972, passing for 2,449 yards and 26 interceptions (a league record) while still having a 51.4 completion percentage and a Pro Bowl pick.

Hadl was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for defensive end Coy Bacon and running back Bob Thomas before the 1973 season. In his first season with the Rams since 1968, he had his first winning season since 1968 and first playoff appearance since 1965, leading them to a 12-2 record and passing for 2,008 yards with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while having a 52.3 completion percentage. He was named National Football Conference Player of the Year and Pro Bowl candidate this season, as well as the Pro Bowl. He played for the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium in the NFL playoffs last year, as the NFL playoffs at the time only featured eight teams with rotated hosting positions. In a late fourth quarter rally in which the Rams were down by a single point with ten minutes to go before the defense collapsed, he went 7-of-23 for 133 yards with an intercept.

The following year was a turning point for both franchises. Hadl was the Rams' first five games, losing 3-2 before being recalled by James Harris. Hadl, 34, was traded to the Green Bay Packers for five draft picks, including first and second round picks for 1975 and 1976 as well as a third round pick in 1975. According to reports, head coach and general manager Dan Devine felt that an experienced quarterback was the only thing standing between the Packers and their second playoff appearance since 1967, and that came after an unsuccessful trade for Archie Manning and the New Orleans Saints fell through. The trade turned out to be an unbridled disaster; it is considered one of the worst (if not worst) trades for a starting quarterback in NFL history, at least in terms of relevance. In his first three seasons, Packers coach Devine led them to a combined record of 19-19-4, which included a playoff loss in 1972. The Packers went 6-8 for the 1974 season before Devine left Notre Dame, leaving Bart Starr as coach. Although he would lead them to just one playoff victory as a coach, he had only three of nine seasons as a coach.

At the same time, the Rams used the picks acquired in the trade to attract many of the players that allowed them to control the NFC West for the remainder of the 1970s and lead them to their appearance in Super Bowl XIV. Hadl himself expressed the surprise he felt when being sent to Green Bay in 1974: "I really didn't believe it." I didn't expect anyone to be so desperate.

Hadl threw for 1,752 yards with eight touchdowns and fourteen interceptions and a 47.5 completion percentage on two teams, while the other teams had a combined record of 6-5. 1975 was his first and only full season with the Packers, and despite being sacked 35 times in a 4-9 season, he throws for six touchdowns and 21 interceptions for 2,095 yards and 54.1 percent. He then travelled to Houston for the next season, mainly in mop up service for Dan Pastorini. He played six games in a row and won just once, with seven touchdowns to eight interceptions for 710 yards.

Despite his time with Green Bay, Hadl had a record of 82–79–9 in his professional career. Hadl had been sixth in all time in victories at the quarterback position with 82 at the time of his retirement. Each of those quarterbacks, with the exception of Roman Gabriel, are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hadl has his 40th in all-time victories, although he has more victories than Hall of Famers participants such as Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Namath, and George Blanda.

He holds the NFL record for the most tied games (nine) by a starting quarterback. Hadl wore #21 for almost his entire NFL career, with the exception of his first season with Green Bay, where he briefly wore #12 for a brief period of time; the Chargers have since retired his number 21 in honor of LaDainian Tomlinson. Before the NFL introduced a uniform numbering system in 1973, he was the first regular starting quarterback to wear a uniform number greater than #19. Hadl, who was on the top ten of the most touchdowns thrown by a quarterback as late as 1999 (over 20 years after retirement), with him and two others in that list not being members of the Hall of Fame (Dave Krieg and Boomer Esiason being among the others), as his former top tenacity of sixth has declined to 26 with the introduction of increased passing in subsequent years.

Hadl was elected to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2006 by the Professional Football Researchers Association.

Coaching and administrative career

Hadl returned to his alma mater and served as quarterback coach at the University of Kansas in 1978 after retiring as a player after the 1977 season. He served at KU from 1979-81, rising to offensive coordinator under new head coach Don Fambrough. He was once regarded as the "unidentified assistant football coach" who gave improper compensation to Kansas recruits in the early 1980s, which resulted in NCAA sanctioning the football program. Hadl has denied any wrongdoing, and his latest work with Kansas athletics hasn't yielded any suggestion of rules in breach.

Since 1981, he went to the Los Angeles Rams as an assistant coach. He joined the Denver Broncos as the quarterback coach, where he was charged with converting highly coveted draft pick John Elway into a franchise quarterback in 1983.

Hadl, who had been part of the Los Angeles Express and 1985, decided to move forward and became the head coach of the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League (USFL), accumulating a record of 13–23 in the regular season and 1–1 in the postseason. Hadl would later call this decision a "career blunder."

Hadl is now back in Lawrence as the University of Kansas athletic director.

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