Hoyle John Granger ( ;
Retrieved July 29, 2020 born March 7, 1944) is an American 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 who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) and

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(NFL). He played

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for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He was the first pick in the fifth round of the 1966 AFL draft by the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

. He was an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the lea ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

Early life

Hoyle John Granger was born on March 7, 1944. He was a two-time all-state halfback for Oberlin High School (1960, 61). The Oberlin High football team finished as Class B state runners-up in 1958 and 1959 and were Class B State Champions in 1961, the school's only football state title to date. He was named the Class B MVP in 1961 after scoring 199 points and averaging 12.5 yards per carry that season.

College

Hoyle attended

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

out of high school and was a three-time letter winner and three-time all-conference halfback during his time in Starkville from 1963 to 1965. Granger finished his career at

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

third all-time on the school's rushing leaders list (now 25th).

Pro career

Granger was drafted as the first pick of the fifth-round (37th overall) of the 1966 AFL draft by the

. Granger rushed for 388 yards and one touchdown in his rookie season while also accounting for 104 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. In his second season in 1967 he moved to fullback and had a break-out season, rushing the ball 236 times for 1,194 yards and six touchdowns plus 300 yards and three touchdowns receiving. He was named an AFL All-Star that year and led the league in yards from scrimmage that season with 1,494 and was second in rushing yards. He was named an AFL All-Star again in 1968, 848 yards and seven touchdowns, finishing fourth in the league in rushing yards that year. In 1969, Granger rushed for 740 yards and three touchdowns rushing and 330 yards and one touchdown receiving. Granger accounted for only 287 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown for the Oilers in 1970. He spent the 1971 season with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

before returning to the

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in 1972, which was his final season in professional football. In his career, Granger accounted for 4,992 yards from scrimmage and 24 total touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Accomplishments

*Louisiana Class B All-State halfback (1960, 61) *1961 Louisiana Class B MVP *Louisiana Class B State Champion (1961) * All-SEC halfback (1963–65) * AFL All-Star (1967, 68) *1968 AFL yards from scrimmage leader *Currently ranks sixth all-time in rushing yards for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

*Inducted to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. *Inducted to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. *Inducted to the

Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. *Named Greatest Athlete Ever from Allen Parish in 2017

References