Robert James "Hunchy" Hoernschemeyer (September 25, 1925 – June 18, 1980) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player. A native of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a halfback for the

Indiana Hoosiers football The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers have played their home games at Memorial Stadium (Indiana), ...

in 1943 and 1944 and as a quarterback for the

Navy Midshipmen football The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I Division I (NCAA)#Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) college football. The Naval Academy completed its final season as an NCA ...

team in 1945. He led the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

in both

total offense Total offense, also called total yards, is a gridiron football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a player or team. Total offense differs from yards from scrimmage, which gives credit for passing yardage ...

and passing yards during the 1943 season. He played professional football for ten years in the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC) and

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played for the

Chicago Rockets The Chicago Rockets were an American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1949. During the 1949 season, the team was known as the Chicago Hornets. Unlike the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, a ...

and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

from 1946 to 1948 and was among the AAFC leaders in multiple offensive categories and, when the league folded in 1950, Hoernschemeyer held the league record with 6,218 yards of total offense (4,109 passing yards and 2,109 rushing yards). He then played six years in the NFL with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

from 1950 to 1955. He was the Lions' leading rusher for four consecutive years and was a member of the club's

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

NFL championship teams. He played in the

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

and

1952 Pro Bowl The 1952 Pro Bowl was the NFL's second annual all-star game which featured the league's outstanding performers from the 1951 season. The game was played on January 12, 1952, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in fro ...

s and was selected as a second-team All-Pro player in 1952 and 1953. The

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by w ...

named Hoernschemeyer to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2008.

Early life

Hoernschemeyer was born in 1925 in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He attended Cincinnati's

Elder High School Elder High School is a Catholic all-male, college-preparatory high school in the Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. The high school has been in existence for over 100 years, and is a diocesan high school within the Archdiocese of Cinc ...

, where he became an all-city football player. During a 1942 game, he accounted for all 27 points scored by Elder, on touchdown runs of 21 and 41 yards, a touchdown pass, an interception return of 45 yards for a fourth touchdown and three extra points.

College football

Hoernschemeyer enrolled at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. He began playing for

Bo McMillin Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-t ...

team at age 17 in 1943. He led the NCAA in 1943 with 1,648 yards of total offense and 1,133 passing yards. In 1944, Hoernschemeyer was inducted into the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He was assigned to the Bainbridge Navy Training Center in Maryland, but he was granted a "special order discharge" allowing him to return to Indiana in the fall of 1944, pending his entry into the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. He missed the first game of Indiana's 1944 season but returned to campus two days before the team's game against Illinois. He played only 18 minutes against Illinois. After returning to the starting lineup, he helped lead the 1944 Hoosiers to shutout victories over

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

(20–0),

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

(54–0),

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

(32–0), and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

(47–0). In the summer of 1945, Hoernschemeyer entered the Naval Academy. Playing at the quarterback position, he helped lead the 1945 Navy Midshipmen football team to a 7–1–1 record and a #3 ranking in the final AP Poll, with the only loss coming to #1

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. He left the Naval Academy in February 1946 "due to academic deficiencies."

Professional football

AAFC

In July 1946, Hoernschemeyer signed to play with the

in the

(AAFC). As a rookie, he ranked among the AAFC leaders with 1,266 passing yards (4th), 14 passing touchdowns (2nd), 375 rushing yards (9th), 366 punt and kick return yards (9th), and 3.4 yards per rushing attempt (5th). After playing the first two games of the 1947 season with the Rockets, Hoernschemeyer was traded to the

in a three-team deal that sent the league's 1946 MVP

Glenn Dobbs Glenn Dobbs Jr. (July 12, 1920 – November 12, 2002) was an American professional football player in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). A skilled tailback, quarterback, punter and return specialist, Dobbs was named the AAFC's MVP in ...

from the Dodgers to the

Los Angeles Dons The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the newly formed football league the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 Los Angeles Dons season, 1946 to 1949 Los Angeles Dons season, 1949, and played their home games in the L ...

and 1943

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winner

Angelo Bertelli Angelo Bortolo Bertelli (June 18, 1921 – June 26, 1999) was an American football quarterback who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he won the Heisman Tr ...

to the Rockets. Hoernschemeyer was again among the AAFC leaders in 1947 with 704 rushing yards (6th) and 926 passing yards (8th). On October 17, 1947, he broke two AAFC records in a game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

– an 84-yard run and 179 yards for the game. He continued to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948. When the Dodgers merged with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in early 1949, Hoernschemeyer was assigned to the Chicago team by then known as the

Hornets Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to yellowjackets, their close relatives. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by ...

. Playing at the halfback position for the Hornets in 1949, he was among the AAFC leaders with 1,519 yards of total offense (5th), 1,063 passing yards (5th), 456 rushing yards (10th), and 373 kick return yards (4th). When the AAFC folded, Hoernschemeyer, with five years experience, held the league record for total offense as a passer and rusher.

Detroit Lions

When the AAFC folded, Hoernschemeyer was selected by the

in a special draft of AAFC talent conducted in June 1950. In his first NFL season, he led the Lions with 471 rushing yards on 84 carries, and his average of 5.6 yards per carry was the third highest in the NFL. On Thanksgiving Day 1950, he set two Detroit club records, rushing for 198 yards and a 96-yard touchdown run against the

. His 96-yard run remains tied for the sixth longest in NFL history. He led the Lions in rushing again in 1951 with 678 yards (fourth most in the NFL) on 132 carries. He helped lead the 1951 Lions to a 7–4–1 record and second place in the NFL National Division. For the second year in a row, his biggest play occurred on Thanksgiving Day, this time an 85-yard run against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

that proved to be the longest run of the year in the NFL. After the 1951 season, he was selected to play in the

. In his third NFL season, he helped the 1952 Detroit Lions win the NFL championship. For the third consecutive season, he led the team in rushing yards (457). In the post-season, he rushed 18 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. After the 1952 season, Hoernschemeyer was selected as second-team All-Pro by both the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

. He was also selected to play in the

1953 Pro Bowl The 1953 Pro Bowl was the NFL's third annual all-star game which featured the league's outstanding performers from the 1952 season. The game was played on January 10, 1953, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in fron ...

. In 1953, he led the Lions in rushing (482 yards) for the fourth consecutive year, helping the Lions win their second consecutive NFL championship. He was selected by the United Press as a second-team All-Pro player in 1953. Hoernschemeyer remained with the Lions during the 1954 and 1955 seasons, but his production declined to 242 rushing yards in 1954 and 109 rushing yards in 1955. He suffered a shoulder separation against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

on November 13, 1955, ending his NFL career at age 30.

NFL/AAFC career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Later years

After retiring from football, Hoernschemeyer and former Lions teammate,

Jug Girard Earl Francis "Jug" Girard (January 25, 1927 – January 17, 1997) was an American football player. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as an End (football), end, Halfback (American football), halfback, quarterback, Punter ...

, operated a bar known as the Lions Den on Detroit's east side. He owned the bar until 1966. In 1968, he began working for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

where he remained until his death. Hoernschemeyer and his wife, Marybelle had a son and four daughters. In June 1980, after a 62-day hospitalization and a two-year fight with cancer, he died at St. Johns Hospital in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

at age 54.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoernschemeyer, Robert 1925 births 1980 deaths American football quarterbacks American football running backs Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC) players Chicago Hornets players Chicago Rockets players Detroit Lions players Indiana Hoosiers football players Navy Midshipmen football players Western Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Cincinnati Elder High School alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II