HARLON HILLHarlon Hill, a former football All-American at the University of North Alabama, went on to be selected National Football League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player with the Chicago Bears and the namesake for the Division II College Football Player of the Year award. A four-year letterman at North Alabama from 1950-53, Hill serves as an example of the tremendous talents on the Division II level that often went unrecognized on the collegiate level.
A native of Killen, Ala., Hill was born: May 4, 1932 and graduated from Lauderdale County High School and the University of North Alabama, then Florence State Teachers College, with a B.S. Degree in Education in 1955. He also earned a Masters Degree in Education from UNA in 1969.
He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 15th round (174th overall) of the 1954 NFL Draft and earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1954 after catching 45 passes for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 1955 he became the first recipient of the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player. In all he played nine seasons in the National Football League (1954-62) with the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions.
Following his professional football career he became a public school teacher and coach at Brooks High School in Killen, Ala., eventually becoming the school’s principal.
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In 1986 he became the namesake for the Harlon Hill Trophy, presented annually to the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year. The award has been presented for the 28 years in December on the eve of the Division II Football Championship Game in Florence and is now presented in January, following the completion of the college football season.
Hill was inducted into the Lauderdale County Sports Hall of Fame, the University of North Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame, the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
More than 50 years after his playing career ended in Chicago, Hill’s 4,616 receiving yards still rank second best in Bears history, as do his 40 career TD receptions. His 19 career 100-yard receiving games are still the most by any Bears receiver. His four receiving TDs in a game against the San Francisco 49ers on October 31, 1954 is tied for Bears record with Mike Dikta and his 214 receiving yards in that game is still a Bears record.
Hill passed away on March 21, 2013. He was 80.
HARLON HILL THROUGH THE YEARS
1946-49Lauderdale County High School
1950-53Florence State Teachers College
(now University of North Alabama)
1950-53 - Four-year letterman at end
1952-53 - Team Captain
1953 - NAIA All-American
1955 - Received his B.S. degree in Education
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1954-61Chicago Bears
1954 - National Football League Rookie of the Year
1955 - Winner of the first Jim Thorpe Trophy as
National Football League Most Valuable Player
1954, 55, 56 - All-Pro
1955, 56, 57 - Pro Bowl
1956 - Captian of West squad in Pro Bowl
1958Selected to Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame
1962Pittsburgh Steelers/Detroit Lions
1969Received his Master’s degree in Education from University of North Alabama
1976Selected to Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
1986Creation of the Harlon Hill Trophy
1990Inducted into University of North Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame
1998Selected for 50th Anniversary UNA Football Team
2000Inducted into Lauderdale County Hall of Fame
PLAYING CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1953- As a senior at Florence State Teachers College (now the University of North Alabama) in 1953, Hill caught only 12 passes for a ground-oriented, single-wing attack. Hill received small college All-America acclaim as an end and was later drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 15th round of the National Football League Draft. The Bears felt they could afford to wait unitl the late rounds to draft Hill because they knew very little about him the other NFL clubs knew even less.
1954- As a rookie for the Chicago Bears, Hill caught 45 passes for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns to lead the club in all three categories. His performance also helped take the Bears from a 3-8-1 record in 1953 to an 8-4 mark in 1954. On Oct. 31 in San Fransisco, Ca., Hill caught seven passes from quarterback George Blanda for 214 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-27 win over the 49ers. Hill’s fourth TD catch of the day was a game-winning 66 yarder with only 33 seconds left in the game. The four TDs in a game still stand as a Bear’s club record. At the conclusion of the season, Hill was selected All-Pro, played in the Pro Bowl in Los Angeles for the West squad that won 26-19, and was chosen as the National Football League Rookie of the Year.
1955- In his second NFL season, Hill again led the Bears with 42 catches for the 789 yards and nine touchdowns and became the first recipient of the Jim Thorpe Trophy - symbolic of the National Football Leagues’s Most Valuable Player. He also captained the West in a 31-30 Pro Bowl victory and was again named All-Pro.
1956- With 47 catches for 1,128 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1956, Hill helped Chicago to a 9-2-1 record and a spot in the NFL Championship Game against the New York Giants - where they were defeated 47-7. Hill was selected All-Pro for the third consecutive season and made his third straight Pro Bowl appearance as the West won again, 19-10.
1958- A severe ankle injury blunted the speed which had made Hill the NFL’s most feared deep receiver and eventually prompted a shift to defensive back.
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