James Scott Hunter (born November 19, 1947) 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

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 ...

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 eight seasons in the 1970s. 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

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

before playing in the NFL 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 ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, and

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 ...

Early years

Born in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, Hunter graduated from

Vigor High School Vigor High School, located in Prichard, Alabama, is a public high school that educates grades 9- 12. It is operated by the Mobile County Public School System. It serves most of Prichard. Naming The school is named after Charles Frederick Vig ...

in Prichard. After his senior season, Hunter was named AAAA All-Alabama by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. He committed to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

on December 4, 1965.

College career

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

rules prohibited freshmen from playing on varsity football teams at the time, Hunter played on the freshman-only Crimson Tide in 1966. He took a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

season in 1967, but became the starter in

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 ...

. In

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, Alabama hosted the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

in a nationally televised game on October 4 in prime time for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. In a race of offenses, Hunter outgunned Rebel quarterback

Archie Manning Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982. He also h ...

in a 33–32 win. At the end of his senior year in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, Hunter caught a go-ahead touchdown in the

1970 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl The 1970 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, part of the 1970 bowl game season took place on December 30, 1970, at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference The ...

en route to a tie with

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Hunter was selected in the sixth round of the

1971 NFL draft The 1971 NFL draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used the first overall pick ...

by the

, the 140th overall pick. He started ten games when starting quarterback

Bart Starr Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson T ...

was injured. Hunter started the entire 1972 season and led the Packers to their first division title and playoff appearance since

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 ...

under the tutelage of Starr, who served that season as quarterbacks coach. Hunter threw for 1,252 yards with six touchdowns to nine interceptions with a 55.5 passer rating. In the playoff game versus the Washington Redskins, he went 12-of-24 for 150 yards with an interception and two sacks in the 16–3 loss. In 1973, Hunter played only a fraction of the time, embroiled in a quarterback competition with

Jerry Tagge Jerry Lee Tagge (born April 12, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), World Football League (WFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football ...

and Jim Del Gaizo.

Buffalo Bills

After signing a multi-year deal with the Packers in May 1974, Hunter was traded in July to the

after participating in the

1974 NFL strike Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

. The Bills sent Pete Van Valkenberg and

Steve Okoniewski Steve Okoniewski (August 22, 1949 – February 25, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, and St. Louis Cardi ...

to the Packers in the trade. Playing as backup to

Joe Ferguson Joseph Carlton Ferguson Jr. (born April 23, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football fo ...

, Hunter made only one appearance all year, helping the team to a win against the

on October 16. He was waived during the 1975 training camp and did not play in the NFL that season, instead running unsuccessfully for local government in Mobile.

Atlanta Falcons

Hunter landed with the

in 1976, starting the season on the bench and gaining playing time as the season went on. Hunter started seven games in

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 ...

, until starter

Steve Bartkowski Steven Joseph Bartkowski (born November 12, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons (1975–1985), Washington Redskins (1985) and the Los Ange ...

returned from knee surgery and took over as the full-time starter. Hunter was active for the Falcons but did not play a down in 1978 . Was released during training camp in 1979

Detroit Lions

Hunter's last season in the NFL was

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

with the Detroit Lions, where he backed up Jeff Komlo but still saw some action when the rookie struggled and occasionally challenged for the starting job.

After football

Hunter returned to Alabama and worked as a sportscaster in Mobile for nearly two decades. He worked for WKRG-TV, the CBS affiliate, and then for WPMI-TV, the NBC affiliate. He then worked as an investment broker. He also co-hosts a seasonal radio show on WNSP 105.5 FM called "Talkin' Football" (pronounced Tawlkin-Football) with former Auburn offensive lineman, Tracy Turner. Scott remains great friends with Archie Manning to this day and the two have intercontinental text conversations when Archie is in Europe. Hunter is known for "dropping it in the bucket" and being one of five Alabama quarterbacks (

Blake Sims Blake Sims (born January 4, 1991) is an American high school football coach and former player. He is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Mt. Bethel Christian Academy, a position he has held since 2023. He played college football ...

Tua Tagovailoa Tuanigamanuolepola Donny Tagovailoa ( ; born March 2, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide ...

Mac Jones Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones (born September 5, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). Jones played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he set t ...

, and

Bryce Young Bryce Young (born July 25, 2001) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide football, Alabama Crims ...

) to throw for 400 yards in a game. Hunter is famous for "Keeping It Between the Lines" and not allowing coaching hot seat talk or "who danced with who on Saturday night" to derail conversations. Prior to its closure, "Talkin' Football" was frequently hosted from John Word's Captain's Table, which was in the shadow of the USS ''

''. Hunter would often say that their steaks were "so big that they hang off your plate". Hunter is a commercial pilot with over 4,000 flying hours. He flies a Cessna 182. Hunter was inducted in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. He is married with three children, and resided in

Daphne, Alabama Daphne () is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located along I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 170 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The 2020 United Sta ...

in the late 2000s. He had previously lived in

De Pere, Wisconsin De Pere ( ) is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay metropolitan area. History When the first European, Jean Nicolet, visited the p ...

when he played with the Packers.

References

External links

Raymond James profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Scott 1947 births Living people American football quarterbacks Alabama Crimson Tide football players Atlanta Falcons players Buffalo Bills players Detroit Lions players Green Bay Packers players Vigor High School alumni Players of American football from Mobile, Alabama Players of American football from Daphne, Alabama People from De Pere, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Brown County, Wisconsin People from Prichard, Alabama Players of American football from Mobile County, Alabama