Chad Hutchinson

Chad Martin Hutchinson (born February 21, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He also is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal.

Early life

Hutchinson started practicing

He was a rare two-sport standout, that also showed the talent to play professional baseball after his fastball was clocked at 94-mph. As a senior, he finished with an 11–0 record, a 1.20 earned-run average, 116 strikeouts and earned the Gatorade National Baseball Player-of-the-Year award.^[2]

College career

Hutchinson accepted a football scholarship from

As a sophomore, he started 11 games, completing 189 out of 315 passes for 2,101 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In the season opener against San Jose State University, he completed 18 out of 36 passes for 302 yards and one touchdown. In the 58–49 win against the University of Oregon, he completed 21 out of 31 passes for 340 yards and tied a school record with 4 touchdowns. In the tenth game against Washington State University he only had one play before leaving with an injured right thumb. In the season finale 21–20 win against the University of California, he completed 21 out of 25 passes for 194 yards and one touchdown.

In July 1998, he left school with two seasons of eligibility remaining, in order to play

His development in football came without the benefit of spring practice, because he also was a starting pitcher for the

As a sophomore, his 8–3 record and 110 strikeouts, helped the team reach the

In 1999, he completed his first full professional season with a combined 9–11 record between the Arkansas Travelers (AA) and the Memphis Redbirds (AAA). He spent most of the season at Arkansas, where he was 7–11 with a 4.72 ERA in 25 starts. He tied for the team lead in wins (seven) and finished second with 150 strikeouts in 141 innings pitched. He struck out 10 or more in three of his starts and was a part of three combined shutouts. He allowed just one hit and had 11 strikeouts in 8 innings pitched during a win at Shreveport (8/6), leading to his selection as Texas League Pitcher for the week ending August 8. On August 27, he was promoted to Memphis and made two starts, going 2–0 with a 2.19 ERA. He earned a win at Vancouver by striking out 11 in 6 innings. On September 27, he was recalled by the St. Louis Cardinals but did not appear in any games.

In 2000, he struggled through an injury-plagued campaign in which he split time between the Memphis Redbirds (AAA) and the Arkansas Travelers (AA). He pitched only 56.1 innings on the year, posting 63 strikeouts and ranking eighth in the Cardinals organization with 10.1 strikeouts-per-nine innings pitched. He opened the season at Memphis, but got off to a bad start before being sent to Arkansas. He pitched well in 8 starts for the Travelers, allowing just one unearned run over 18 innings in one stretch, before being shelved with right elbow problems for more than two months. He returned to pitch three games at season's end, recording 15 strikeouts and 3 walks in 11 innings. He then played for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League.

In 2001, he opened the season on the Cardinals' major league roster and pitching 4 innings in three appearances, before being sent down to the Memphis Redbirds (AAA) on April 22. He remained the rest of the season in Memphis, producing a 4–9 record and a 7.92 ERA in 20 starts. He recorded 111 strikeouts in 97.2 innings and had a 3 game winning streak in July.

Hutchinson spent over four seasons in the Cardinals organization, moving mostly between Class A and Class AAA ball, while compiling a 17–25 record and a 5.63 ERA. He

In 2002, as a 25-year-old rookie, Hutchinson was named the starter after a struggling Quincy Carter lost to the Arizona Cardinals and engaged in a heated sideline argument with Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. Hutchinson's first start was the 17–14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks where Emmitt Smith broke the NFL all-time rushing record. His best game came against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 21–19 victory, when he passed for 301 yards (most yards by a rookie since Troy Aikman in 1989) and 2 touchdowns.^[6] He finished with nine starts, completing 127 out of 250 attempts for 1,555 yards, 7 touchdown passes, 8 interceptions and set an NFL rookie record by throwing 95 straight passes without an interception to start a career (a record later broken in 2016 by Carson Wentz at 134, then by Dak Prescott at 176 in the same season).^[7][8]

In 2003, with the arrival of new head coach Bill Parcells, all positions were opened to competition, and Hutchinson became involved in a publicized quarterback controversy,^[9] when he and Carter competed for a roster spot in the 2002 edition of Hard Knocks, an HBO series that covers the training camp of an NFL team. Carter eventually regained the starting role, bringing stability to the quarterback position and leading the team to a 10–6 record and a playoff appearance. Hutchinson saw his only action of the season in the sixth game against the Detroit Lions, taking over for Carter for the final four drives (including kneel downs), completing one out of two passes for 8 yards.

In 2004, the Cowboys group of quarterbacks had expanded with the trade for yet another former baseball player (Drew Henson) and the acquisition of Vinny Testaverde off waivers, who was later named the starter after Carter was released on August 4. Hutchinson was waived on July 27.^[10] He finished his Cowboys tenure with a 2–7 record, 128 completions out of 252 attempts, 1,563 passing yards, 7 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions. He also became part of a succession of short-tenured quarterbacks following the retirement of Aikman, which included Carter, Randall Cunningham, Testaverde, Drew Bledsoe, Anthony Wright, Ryan Leaf, Henson and Clint Stoerner.

Rhein Fire (NFL Europe)

In 2004, the Cowboys allocated Hutchinson to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe, so he could work on his accuracy and mechanics. He played inconsistently before suffering a sprained right shoulder in the week 8 contest against the Cologne Centurions, forcing him to miss the final 2 games and losing nearly a month rehabilitating it back to health. He had a 3–5 record, completing 126 out of 207 passes for 1,356 yards, 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

Chicago Bears

On September 29, 2004, Hutchinson was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Bears, after Rex Grossman suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third game of the season, reuniting with quarterback coach Wade Wilson who also held that position with the Cowboys.^[11] He would become the fourth quarterback that year to start for the team, after Jonathan Quinn and Craig Krenzel were ineffective in their appearances.^[12]

Grossman was the projected starter entering the 2005 season, until suffering a broken ankle in preseason. Although Hutchinson was initially named the starter, he was eventually replaced in favor of rookie Kyle Orton, after he had poor preseason performances and the decision to sign Jeff Blake to be the backup.^[13] Following his demotion, he was released on August 31.

Personal life

Hutchinson lives with his wife and son. His wife is the sister of baseball player

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference