Leonard Moore Hauss (July 11, 1942 – December 15, 2021) 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 ...

player who was a center in the

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(NFL) for 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 ...

(now Washington Commanders) from

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. A five-time

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selection, he was named one of the 70 Greatest Redskins. Hauss played

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for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

and was selected by the Redskins in the ninth round of the

1964 NFL draft The 1964 NFL draft was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday, December 2, 1963. The first overall pick was Dave Parks, an end from Texas Tech, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. The AFL draft was two days e ...

Early life

Hauss was born on July 11, 1942, in Jesup, Georgia to Leonard and Ida Hauss. Hauss attended Jesup High School (now Wayne County High School), where he played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

as a fullback, lineman, and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He overcame a knee injury to play three years on the varsity (1956-59). As a senior, he rushed for 1,500 yards and scored 15

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 ...

s, and led the team to the Georgia Class AA championship. He was named to the All-Region, All State, All-Southern and prep All-America teams.

College career

Hauss attended and played

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. While successful as a fullback in high school, he lacked the speed to star at that position in college, and he became a center and linebacker. Hauss suffered an ACL injury as a sophomore, but through hard work and a demanding workout regimen he created for himself, he was able to return to play. He received All-Southeastern Conference honors as a sophomore. Hauss was a member of the

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fraternity.

Professional career

Hauss was drafted in the ninth round (115th overall) of the

. He started his first game at center four games into the 1964 season, replacing Fred Hageman, a job he would not lose until retirement. Hauss helped lead the Redskins to the

Super Bowl VII Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

in 1972. He started 192 consecutive games for the Redskins between 1964 and 1977. He also started the seven post-season games in which he appeared. He was named to the

five times, in 1966, 1968–1970, and 1972. He was named second team All Pro by the

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(AP) and

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(UPI) in 1974 and 1975, as well as first team All-Conference by the AP and ''The Sporting News'' in those years. In 1978, he was replaced by Bob Kuziel. He was close with teammate quarterbacks Sonny Jurgenson and Billy Kilmer. His coaches included hall of famers

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( ; June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be among the greatest coaches and leaders in Ame ...

and George Allen.

Honors

He is a member of the Washington Commanders Ring of Fame. In 2002, he was named among Washington's 70 greatest players in franchise history, and in 2012 was named among the 80 greatest. He is a member of the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

(1981) and the Wayne County Sports Hall of Fame.

After football

After retiring from the NFL, Hauss entered the financial services industry, and had a 30-year banking career.

Death

Hauss died on December 15, 2021, at the age of 79. He was survived by his wife of 59 years, Janis (Johnson) Hauss with whom he went to high school, and their daughter and grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hauss, Len 1942 births 2021 deaths Washington Redskins players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players National Conference Pro Bowl players Georgia Bulldogs football players People from Jesup, Georgia Players of American football from Wayne County, Georgia National Football League Players Association presidents Trade unionists from Georgia (U.S. state)