Calvin Hill

COURTESY SPORTS PUBLICITY

The 1969 NFL first-round draft choice was initially recruited by Yale to play quarterback, but with the emergence of Brian Dowling, BK '69, Hill began to practice as a running back. Hill's wide variety of skills made him a constant threat on the field—in addition to rushing for 463 yards his junior year and catching passes for another 227 yards, Hill also threw for several touchdown passes of his own on halfback-option plays.

Even when not given many opportunities, Hill seemed always able to find the end zone, scoring two touchdowns on just 17 carries in one of the Bulldogs' closest games of the season, a 25-13 defeat of Cornell. And in perhaps his finest game of a phenomenal season, Hill caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Dowling in the first quarter of the Bulldogs 30-13 drubbing of Penn before proceeding to rush for 126 yards on a mere 19 carries. In his final game at the Yale Bowl, Hill found the end zone again to tie the Bulldog single-season touchdown and scoring records. Despite the disappointing finish to the season with the 29-29 tie against Harvard, Hill's 14 touchdowns and 89 points during his last year solidified him as one of the greatest Eli rushers ever.

Drafted in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys, Hill won the 1969-70 NFL Rookie of the Year award over O.J. Simpson. After several years in the World Football League, Hill played for the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Browns before retiring in 1981.

—Ted Diskant

Back to Sports...