John Huarte

John Gregory Huarte (born May 20, 1944) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and won the 1964 Heisman Trophy. He then played professionally with a number of teams in the American Football League (AFL), the National Football League (NFL), and in the World Football League (WFL) between 1965 and 1975. Huarte was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

John Huarte
No. 7
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1944-04-06) April 6, 1944
Anaheim, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school:Mater Dei
(Santa Ana, California)
College:Notre Dame (1962–1964)
NFL Draft:1965 / Round: 6 / Pick: 76
AFL Draft:1965 / Round: 2 / Pick: 12[1]
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years and college career

Huarte was born and raised in Orange County, California; his father Joseph was a former minor league baseball player of Basque descent.[2][3] The family ran an orange and avocado ranch and he graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana in 1961.[2]

Huarte played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. During his sophomore and junior seasons, he averaged only a few minutes per game due to injuries and the Irish went 5–5 and 2–7, respectively. As a senior in 1964 under new Irish head coach Ara Parseghian however, he became the starting quarterback as the Irish won all but one game during the 1964 season, in which he was selected as an All-American and won the Heisman Trophy.[2][4] By the end of the season, Huarte threw for 2,062 yards with only 205 passes, an average of over ten yards per pass attempt, many to receiver Jack Snow.[5]

Huarte was a member of the College All-Star team in the annual pre-season game against the defending NFL champions at Chicago's Soldier Field. The 1965 game was in early August against the Cleveland Browns and Huarte was named the game's most valuable player.

College statistics
Season Team Games Passing Rushing
GCmpAttPctYdsAvgTDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
1962Notre Dame 104850.0384.80089.93-14-4.70
1963Notre Dame 9204247.62435.810104.111-53-4.80
1964Notre Dame 1011420555.62,06210.11611155.13770.23
Total2913825554.1%2,3439.21711144.751-60-1.23

Professional career

Huarte was drafted in 1965 by both pro football leagues: he was the twelfth overall selection of the AFL draft and the 76th pick of the NFL draft. He signed with the AFL's New York Jets over the NFL Philadelphia Eagles, but was beaten out for the starting position by fellow-rookie Joe Namath, the first pick of the AFL draft, who had finished eleventh in the Heisman voting as a senior at Alabama.[2] The AFL Jets thus signed both the Heisman Trophy winner and the Alabama star away from the NFL. Huarte was third on the depth chart behind co-starters Namath and Mike Taliaferro and was on the taxi squad. Following the 1965 season, Huarte was traded to the Boston Patriots for Jim Colclough and the draft rights to Wichita State linebacker/center Jim Waskiewicz.[6]

Subsequently, Huarte did see action as a back-up quarterback for several other professional teams from 1966 to 1972.[7][8][9] Out of the NFL in 1973, he played his final two seasons of professional football as the starting quarterback of the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League,[5][10] which folded before the completion of the 1975 season.[11]

After football

Huarte is the founder and CEO of Arizona Tile.[12] In 2005, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[13][14]

Huarte is married to Eileen Devine from Woodside, New York. They have 5 children and 14 grandchildren. In 1977, he started a tile/granite store in San Diego. It has now grown to 30 locations, with over 1000 employees throughout the United States. It is still family owned and operated by John and Eileen Huarte.

See also

References
  1. "1965 AFL Draft". Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  2. Boyle, Robert H. (July 19, 1965). "Show-biz Sonny and his quest for stars". Sports Illustrated. p. 66.
  3. "Joseph Huarte". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  4. "Huarte wins Heisman Trophy". Miami News. Associated Press. November 24, 1964. p. 2B.
  5. Vecsey, George (November 28, 1983). "Huarte: Most unheralded Heisman winner". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (New York Times News Service). p. 16.
  6. "Patriots land John Huarte". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. December 20, 1965. p. 15.
  7. "Huarte makes another stop". Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. November 8, 1967. p. 7.
  8. "Huarte, Flores put on Chiefs' roster". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. October 4, 1969. p. 21.
  9. "Huarte to beef up Bears' roster". Wilmington (NC) Star-News. UPI. September 15, 1972. p. 3C.
  10. "Huarte sparks Memphis win". Ocala Star-Banner. Associated Press. July 19, 1974. p. 3B.
  11. "Troubled World Football League finally makes decision to fold". Florence (AL) Times. Associated Press. October 23, 1975. p. 17.
  12. Our History Archived June 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Arizona Tile. Arizona Tile has become one of the leading tile and slab distributors in the U.S. Accessed July 24, 2011.
  13. "John Huarte". Our Executive Team. Arizona Tile. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  14. "Heisman winner Huarte finally enters college hall". Wilmington (NC) Star-News. Associated Press. August 11, 2006. p. 8C.
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