Mal Hammack

Malcolm Eugene Hammack (June 19, 1933 – July 19, 2004) was an American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve years during the 1950s and 1960s. Hammack played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL.

Mal Hammack
No. 31, 33
Position:Halfback, fullback, linebacker
Personal information
Born:(1933-06-19)June 19, 1933
Roscoe, Texas, U.S.
Died:July 19, 2004(2004-07-19) (aged 71)
Valley Park, Missouri, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Roscoe (TX)
College:Arlington State,
Florida
NFL Draft:1955 / Round: 3 / Pick: 26
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:128
Rushing attempts:320
Rushing yards:1,278
Receptions:27
Receiving yards:255
Touchdowns:8
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life

Hammack was born in Roscoe, Texas in 1933.[1] He attended Roscoe High School,[2] where he played for the Roscoe Plowboys high school football team. After graduating from high school, he attended Arlington State Junior College in Arlington, Texas,[2] and played football for the Arlington State Rebels.

Major college career

Hammack accepted an athletic scholarship to transfer to the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Bob Woodruff's Florida Gators football team in 1953 and 1954.[3] As a senior in 1954, he was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and the first recipient of the Gators' Fergie Ferguson Award, recognizing the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage."[3] Woodruff later ranked him as one of the Gators' five best offensive backs of the 1950s.[4]

Hammack returned to Florida to finish his bachelor's degree in 1958, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."[5]

Professional career

The Chicago Cardinals selected Hammack in the third round (26th pick overall) in the 1955 NFL Draft,[6] and he played his entire twelve-year professional career for the Cardinals, in both Chicago (1955–1959) and St. Louis (1960–1966).[7] Hammack was used primarily as a blocking fullback, but he still had 320 carries for 1,278 yards and seven touchdowns in his career.[1]

See also

References
  1. Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Mal Hammack. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  2. databaseFootball.com, Players, Mal Hammack Archived June 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  3. 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 96, 103, 139–140, 181 (2011). Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  4. Tom McEwen, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama, pp. 210–211 (1974).
  5. F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  6. Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1955 National Football League Draft. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  7. National Football League, Historical Players, Mal Hammack. Retrieved May 27, 2010.

Bibliography
  • Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
  • Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
  • Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
  • McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
  • McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). ISBN 0-87397-025-X.
  • Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196-X.
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