James Clark Hudson (March 31, 1943 – June 25, 2013) was a professional
American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
. He was one of the first players to ever win a national championship in college and a Super Bowl as a professional. Hudson played for the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
from 1965 to 1970, playing in both the
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
and
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
. He started in
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...
for the Jets, and made a key interception just before the end of the first half.
Early life
Hudson was born in
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1 ...
, but he grew up in
La Feria, TX, where his father, Maurice, a retired steelworker, had settled with his family. He was a stand-out athlete, excelling in basketball, track and football in high school. In 1961, he won the 2A State Championship in discus with a throw of 169–9.
College
Jim Hudson played at various times
wide receiver,
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)#Offen ...
,
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
and
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
at Texas and also returned punts. He began at Texas in 1961, and in 1962, his first year on the varsity, he played wingback and defensive back.
The following year, he played defense on the team that won the 1963 national championship. That season, he led the team in interceptions and recorded 5 tackles in the
1964 Cotton Bowl
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 Patriarc ...
win over #2 Navy.
Hudson was moved to quarterback at the start of the 1964 season, but he was injured before the season started and replaced by
Marvin Kristynik
Marvin Christopher Kristynik is a former football player and coach who started as quarterback for the Texas Longhorns in the mid 1960s. He was the third-string quarterback on Texas' first national championship team in 1963, before becoming the s ...
. Hudson's only start at quarterback came in the 2nd week against Texas Tech. He was injured on the first scoring play at the end of the first quarter and replaced by Kristynik for good. He saw little play for the rest of the season, until the
1965 Orange Bowl
The 1965 Orange Bowl, part of the 1964–65 bowl season, was the 31st edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1964–65 bowl season, It matched the top-ranked Alab ...
against #1 and National Champion
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. Kristynik struggled early, and Hudson was put in after a penalty turned a punt into a first down. He hit
George Sauer
George Henry Sauer Sr. (December 11, 1910 – February 5, 1994) was an American football player, coach, college sports administrator, and professional football executive.
Career
Sauer attended the University of Nebraska where he was an All-Amer ...
for a 69-yard touchdown pass and helped lead Texas to victory. In the process, he attracted the attention of Jets scouts who had come to watch Crimson Tide quarterback
Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...
.
Records
* UT Record - Longest pass in a bowl game, (69), surpassed by
James Street in 1969
* UT Record - Longest touchdown pass in a bowl game, (69), surpassed by
James Street in 1969
Pro
Undrafted, Hudson was signed by the Jets as a defensive back in 1965 joining his former teammate Sauer and opponent Namath. He and Sauer would continue as teammates for the New York Jets for five years from 1965 through 1969.
Hudson only played in 2 games in 1965, but he saw much more playing time from 1966 to 1969, recording 14 career interceptions over that period. In 1968, his best season, he had 85 tackles and 5 interceptions—7th best in the AFL—including one in the first half of
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...
and he earned all league honors.
Though most famous for his Super Bowl interception, his best game was likely the AFL Championship game just before that. The Jets might not have even made it to the Super Bowl if not for Hudson's play in that game. After stopping
Warren Wells
Warren Wells (November 14, 1942 – December 27, 2018) was an American college and professional football player, who played wide receiver for five seasons, with the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders. He had success with the Raiders with one 1,00 ...
at the Jets 6 yard line following a 40-yard pass, Hudson was instrumental in keeping the Raiders out of the endzone on the following three plays, forcing Oakland to settle for 3. He knocked down another likely touchdown at the goal line in the 4th forcing another field goal. Then, on the last drive by the Raiders, he stopped
Hewritt Dixon
Hewritt Frederick Dixon, Jr. (January 8, 1940 – November 24, 1992) was an American professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played for ...
1 yard short of a 1st down on a 4th and 9 play, giving the ball back to the Jets and sealing the 27–23 win for the Jets. During the same season, Hudson was thrown out of the infamous
Heidi game
The ''Heidi'' Game or ''Heidi'' Bowl is the name given to a 1968 American Football League (AFL) game between the Oakland Raiders and the visiting New York Jets. The contest, held on November 17, 1968, was notable for its exciting finish, in ...
.
The last two years of his career, his playing time reduced as knee injuries took their toll.
He played through three knee operations and a bad back, then retired after six seasons.
Later life
After retiring from the NFL, he and former San Diego Chargers quarterback,
John Hadl
John Willard Hadl (February 15, 1940 – November 30, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 16 years. He won an AFL championship with the San Diego C ...
formed and Austin-based real estate firm. When, in the 1970s, one of his clients asked him to join him the horse-racing business, Hudson became a successful trainer of
quarter horse
The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at s ...
s in Texas. He then switched to training thoroughbred horses in the 1980s, racing them at Louisiana Downs and then Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.
[
] Then he came back to Texas for the inaugural season of Lone Star Park.
He was inducted into the University of Texas Men's Hall of Honor in 2012.
Hudson later returned to Austin, Texas where he lived with his second wife Lise, until his death there on June 25, 2013. He died from what was originally deemed Parkinson's dementia, but since doctor's believed this had been caused by football-related trauma; his brain and spine were donated to researchers studying the relationship between head trauma and neurological disease at Boston University. They later defined the cause of death as
traumatic dementia encephalophathy. He was 70 years old at the time of death.
Jim Hudson, former Longhorn, dies
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Jim
1943 births
2013 deaths
American football safeties
New York Jets players
Texas Longhorns football players
Sportspeople from Steubenville, Ohio
American Football League players
American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
American horse trainers
People from La Feria, Texas
Players of American football from Texas