John Hannah (American football)

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John Hannah
refer to caption
Hannah in 2010
No. 73
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1951-04-04) April 4, 1951 (age 73)
Canton, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school:Albertville (Albertville, Alabama)
College:Alabama (1970–1972)
NFL draft:1973 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:183
Games started:183
Fumbles recovered:10
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

John Allen Hannah (born April 4, 1951), nicknamed "Hog", is an American former

New England Patriots Hall of Fame
.

Early years

Hannah was born in Canton, Georgia, the son of an NFL player, Herbert "Herb" Hannah, who also played for the University of Alabama as an offensive lineman.

Hannah was raised in Albertville, Alabama, and participated in high school football, wrestling and track at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He won an individual national championship in wrestling at the National Prep Championship in 1967. His high school coach in football, wrestling and track was Luke Worsham, whom Hannah credited in his induction speech at the Pro Football Hall of Fame: "I want to talk to you about Major Luke Worsham who was my high school coach. He is the guy who really taught me and showed me what love was all about. Because he would shoulder my problems, he would always stand by me to offer me encouragement when things got tough and when things were going awry he would make sure he would correct me and get me right back on track."[3] Hannah played his senior season of high school football at Albertville High School, where he graduated in 1969.

College career

Hannah played

University of Alabama under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant from 1970 until 1972, and earned All-American honors twice, in 1971 and then was a Consensus All-American his senior year in 1972. During his tenure Hannah was part of an SEC
championship-winning team. He was named to the University of Alabama All-Century Team and also to the Alabama 1970s All-Decade team. During his time at Alabama he also participated in wrestling, the shot put, and the discus throw. Hannah was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. Bryant would later say that Hannah was the greatest lineman he ever coached.[4]

Professional career

Hannah with the Patriots, circa 1976

Hannah joined the Patriots in 1973 as the 4th overall pick in the

league record
with 181 rushing first-downs, which still stands as of 2022.

Hannah missed only five games out of a possible 191 because of injuries during his career. He also missed the first three games of the 1977 season when he and Gray held out because of contract disputes. In the 1985 season Hannah helped guide the team to its first AFC title and Super Bowl appearance. Hannah retired from the NFL after playing in Super Bowl XX.[10]

Hannah was named to ten consecutive

NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
.

In 1991, he became the first Patriots player inducted into the

New England Patriots Hall of Fame
.

Coaching career

Hannah became an assistant coach at

Governor Dummer Academy in Massachusetts, leaving to accept the head coaching job at Somerville High School in 2004. While concurrently serving as the city's youth development coordinator, Hannah led the Somerville team through one winless season. He left to become a special assistant coach at his alma mater, Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee
, in 2005. He resigned from his coaching position at the conclusion of Baylor's 2005 football season.

Personal life

Hannah's brothers Charley and David were also All-Conference linemen for the University of Alabama. Charley Hannah played in the NFL from 1977 to 1988 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Raiders. Charley was a member of the Super Bowl XVIII winning Raiders.

In the summer of 1972 after his junior year, Hannah married his high school sweetheart, Page Pickens, an Alabama cheerleader. They later had a son and a daughter who were raised in Boston.

References

  1. ^ "SI Vault – Aug. 3, 1981 – Page 1". Sports Illustrated. August 2, 1981. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  2. ^ "NFL 100: At No. 25, John Hannah was maybe NFL's best offensive lineman ever — 'He had no weaknesses'". Steve Buckley. The Athletic. August 15, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  3. ^ "John Hannah's Enshrinement Speech Transcript". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  4. ISBN 978-0-7603-3851-3
    .
  5. ISBN 1-59670-154-4
    .
  6. ^ "John Hannah Bio". Pro Football Hall of Fame.
  7. ISBN 9781596701540
    . Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  8. ^ "1985 New England Patriots Media Guide". New England Patriots. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005. Retrieved January 28, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ "Official New England Patriots – History – Hall of Fame". New England Patriots. Archived from the original on November 13, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ "Super Bowl XX - Chicago Bears vs. New England Patriots - January 26th, 1986". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 16, 2023.

External links

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