Cedrick Ward Hardman (October 4, 1948 – March 8, 2019) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played in the

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) for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

and the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

, then played in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) for the

Oakland Invaders The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The team can t ...

. Hardman's thirteen-year football career lasted from 1970 to 1981 in the NFL and ended as a player/coach in 1983 with the Invaders. Hardman held the record for most sacks in a season for the 49ers recording 18 sacks in only 14 games during the 1971 season with the 49ers until 2012, when it was broken by Aldon Smith with 19.5.

College career

Hardman played college football at North Texas State University, (renamed the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

in 1988). Hardman was an All-

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

football defensive lineman. In a historic manner, Hardman recorded 30 sacks in his senior season at North Texas State including an 11-sack performance in North Texas' 1969 Homecoming game against Tulsa. Hardman represented North Texas State in the Blue-Gray and Senior Bowl all-star games in 1970 earning defensive most valuable player honors after recording 4 sacks in each game. Including the all-star games, Hardman accounted for 38 sacks during his final year at North Texas. During his first two seasons at North Texas Hardman lined up on the same defense as future

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

enshrinee "Mean"

Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1981. A ...

. Hardman started playing college football as a defensive back, then moved to linebacker in his sophomore season. His final two college years were spent playing defensive end. Hardman was selected with the ninth overall selection in the first round of the

1970 NFL draft The 1970 NFL draft was the 35th National Football League draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1970, at the Belmont ...

by the

Professional career

NFL career

Hardman is the current all-time sack leader for the San Francisco 49ers franchise, recording 107 sacks between 1970 and 1979. He also had with the Raiders in 1980 and 1981 ( in 1981). The NFL did not start to officially recognize the sack until the 1982 season, so, unofficially, Hardman's career sacks ranks him tied with Clyde Simmons for 30th all time. Hardman was a two-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

er in 1971 and 1975. After changing teams, he was a member of the

Super Bowl XV Super Bowl XV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

championship squad.

USFL career

On October 20, 1982, Hardman was the first player signed by the

of newly formed

. Hardman served as a player/coach during the team's inaugural 1983 season, as the Invaders won their division with a 9-9 record.

Acting career

Movies

* ''

House Party A house party is a type of party held at the home of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, word of mouth, pos ...

'' (1990) – Rock * '' Stir Crazy'' (1980) – Big Mean * '' The Candidate'' (1972) – Actor

Television

*'' The Fall Guy'': "Pilot" (1981) – Righteous (2 episodes) *'' Police Woman'': "The Company" (1975, credited as Cedrick Hardman) – Large Man *''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'': "Blood Relations" (2014) – Hand double

Personal life

Hardman is related to current NFL defensive tackle Jonathan Marshall of 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 ...

References

External links

Cedrick Hardman's Official Website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardman, Cedrick 1948 births 2019 deaths Players of American football from Houston American football defensive ends Burials at Pacific View Memorial Park San Francisco 49ers players Oakland Raiders players National Conference Pro Bowl players North Texas Mean Green football players Oakland Invaders players