Eric Ellsworth Hipple (born September 16, 1957) is an American public speaker and a former 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 ...
player. He played as a
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
for 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 ...
of 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). 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 ...
for the
Utah State Aggies
The Utah State Aggies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Utah State University, located in Logan, Utah. Utah State fields 16 – seven men and nine women – National Collegiate Athletic ...
.
Early life and education
Eric Hipple was born in
Lubbock,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.
Hipple attended
Utah State University
Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...
with an athletic scholarship.
At and , he was a star
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
for the team, having earned an all-
Pacific Coast Athletic Association selection as a senior in 1979 to go along with winning PCC championships in 1978 and 1979. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the university's
Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. He was named to the All-Century team in 1993. In 2012, he was inducted into the Utah State Hall of Fame.
College statistics
Career
Hipple was selected by 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 ...
in the fourth round of the
1980 NFL draft
The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York Sh ...
. Hipple spent the 1980 season entirely on the bench while
Gary Danielson served as the starting quarterback. Hipple made his first appearance in a game in Week 5 (October 4) of the following season, throwing 4-of-15 for 102 yards and two interceptions in a loss. After the first six weeks had ended, Hipple was tapped to start against the Chicago Bears on October 19 due to Danielson suffering an injury, which resulted in him going 14-of-25 for 336 yards to go along with four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a 48-17 victory where he threw just four total passes in the second half. The jersey worn by Hipple from that game was collected by the
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 ...
. He would start the remainder of the season, going 6-4 as a starter as Detroit finished 8-8; he threw 2,358 yards with 14 touchdowns to 15 interceptions with a passer rating of 73.4.
In the strike-shortened 1982 season of nine games, Hipple started the first four games while Danielson started the last five as Detroit made the postseason in an eight-team NFC playoff bracket. For the postseason game against the Washington Redskins, Hipple was tapped to start the first playoff game for the team since 1970. He went 22-of-38 for 298 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown by
Jeris White) as Detroit lost 31-7 in a game where they trailed 10-0 from the first quarter on. Hipple was the undisputed starter for the 1983 season, and he threw for 2,577 yards with 12 touchdowns and 18 interceptions as the Lions went 9-7 but Hipple suffered moderate tear of his left knee ligament against Tampa Bay in the season finale (which meant he would be out for roughly 2-6 weeks) that resulted in Danielson serving as the starter for the Divisional Round playoff game against 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 ...
, which Detroit narrowly lost. Hipple played in just two games of the 1984 season due to knee issues. The team signed him to a two-year contract on March 26, 1985. Hipple would start the first fifteen games of the 1985 season before being used in relief for the finale that ultimately saw the Lions go 7-9 while he passed for 2,952 yards with 17 touchdowns to 18 interceptions.
Hipple started the first ten games of the 1986 season, which saw them win just three games before
Joe Ferguson and
Chuck Long finished out the season. He threw for 1,919 yards with nine touchdowns to 11 interceptions. Hipple had 63% of his passes (192-for-305) result in a completion to lead the NFL. He was the first Lion to lead in completion percentage since
Bobby Layne in 1955 and is currently the last Lion to finish as a leader.
Hipple missed the entire 1987 season due to a sprained thumb. Long would be tapped to start as quarterback for the Lions the following year while Hipple was named the backup. He played in just five games. Hipple appeared in one game of the 1989 season. He started against the Vikings on October 8 and threw 7-of-18 for 90 yards and three interceptions with one rushing touchdown in a 24-17 loss. He suffered a broken ankle during the game. The following month, on November 7, 1989, the Lions cut him from the roster, which now had
Bob Gagliano and
Rodney Peete start games. The game against the Vikings was the last one that the 32-year-old played in. In total, Hipple made appearances in 102 games (with 57 starts) and threw for 10,711 total yards and 55 touchdowns to 70 interceptions. He went 28-29 as a starter.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Post-athletics career
Hipple has been married twice.
After retiring, Hipple started his own business, Hipple & Associates, an insurance business targeted toward car dealers. In 1995, he was hired for the pregame show on Lions broadcasts, which he worked until 2000. In 1998, he attempted to kill himself by jumping out of a car window, but it was reported as merely an accident with non life-threatening injuries. In 2000, his 15-year-old son committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
. Hipple soon became involved in educating people about the dangers of
depression.
Hipple delivers speeches on
suicide prevention
Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public healt ...
and
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
at high schools, youth groups, members of the military and their families, local organizations and corporations.
He is the Outreach Coordinator of the Depression Center of the
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
.
A documentary film by the Depression Center features Hipple.
He also co-authored a study about depression and pain in retired professional football players.
Hipple's book, ''Real Men Do Cry'', was published in 2008. It discusses Hipple's playing career with the Lions, his bouts with depression, and details of the warning signs of teens who have died from suicide.
Personal life
In 2000, Hipple's 15-year-old son Jeff died by suicide via shotgun.
Hipple has acknowledged he has also suffered from bouts with depression,
including his adolescence.
After his son's death, Hipple abused drugs and alcohol,
and was convicted of drunk driving and served time in jail.
He filed for bankruptcy as well.
In 2005, Hipple disarmed a man wielding a knife at a party in Michigan.
In other media
A football poster of Hipple can be seen on the wall in the 1983 feature film ''
Mr. Mom''.
He was a guest star in the show ''
Home Improvement
The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...
'' as himself (Season 3, Episode 18), building a house for
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...
that guest starred various athletes alongside a special appearance by President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
.
References
External links
*
"Freeing Eric Hipple" ESPN video feature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hipple, Eric
1957 births
Living people
Players of American football from Lubbock, Texas
American football quarterbacks
Utah State Aggies football players
Detroit Lions players