Joseph Glenn Hackett (born September 29, 1958) 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

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

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).

Biography

Hackett was born on September 29, 1958, in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

. His younger brother Dino Hackett also played in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

College career

He played football and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

at the collegiate level at Elon College and was a two sport All-American in baseball and football.

Baseball career

Hackett was drafted by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in 1980 and by the Texas Rangers in 1981.

Football career

Dallas Cowboys

Hackett signed with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in May 1981, but was released on August 24, 1981

Washington Redskins

As a free agent, he signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

on April 2, 1982. The Redskins cut him on June 21, 1982.

New Jersey Generals

Hackett signed with the

New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...

of 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 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 ...

) on November 11, 1982. He was assigned jersey number 82 and spent a significant amount of time on the injured reserve list with a broken hand as well as on the developmental squad. He was activated for game 3 of the 1983 season.

San Antonio Gunslingers

He was selected by the San Antonio Gunslingers in the 14th round (81st player selected) of the

expansion draft on September 6, 1983. He would see extensive playing time for the Gunslingers in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. In these two seasons, Hackett played in 36 games and had 63 receptions for 946 yards, including eight

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

receptions. Due to the financial problems that the Gunslingers incurred they released all 46 players on July 22, 1985, just minutes before the deadline to pay the players for two overdue paychecks.

Denver Broncos

On May 16, 1986, Hackett signed a free agent contract with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

He played in 16 regular season games and in three playoff games, including

Super Bowl XXI Super Bowl XXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

for the

during their 1986 Season. He returned in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, but was released as part of the final roster reductions on September 7, 1987.

Green Bay Packers

Hackett played for 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 ...

and

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. On Sunday, October 9, 1988, at

Milwaukee County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953 Milwaukee Braves season, 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also ...

, Hackett would catch his first and only

touchdown reception from a two-yard pass thrown by

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 ...

Don Majkowski Donald "Majik" Vincent Majkowski (born February 25, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit Lions. He played ...

in a 45–3 victory against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. In early December 1988, Hackett was placed on the injured reserve list with severe back spasms.Injuries slowing Packers
''The Milwaukee Sentinel'', accessed March 25, 2012

Personal

After the completion of his athletic career Hackett moved back to his hometown of Pleasant Garden, NC. He married Deborah Maret in 1987 and they have two children. Their son, Jody, born January 27, 1989, went on to play football at Elon University and their daughter, Haley, born May 11, 1990, played basketball at Appalachian State University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, Joey 1958 births Living people American football tight ends Denver Broncos players Green Bay Packers players Elon Phoenix football players New Jersey Generals players San Antonio Gunslingers players Players of American football from Greensboro, North Carolina People from Pleasant Garden, North Carolina Players of American football from Guilford County, North Carolina