Oliver Joel "Lil' Joel" Hunt (October 11, 1905 – July 24, 1978) was

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 ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player and coach of football. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

from 1925 to 1927 and served as the head football coach at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in 1938 and the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

in 1939. Hunt also played professional baseball in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

and briefly with the St. Louis Cardinals of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

as a player in 1967.

College football playing career

Hunt played for Texas A&M from 1925 to 1927. While in college, Hunt was a

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 ...

, punter,

place kicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Speci ...

and defensive player. Playing in 27 games during his career, he scored 30

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s, 5

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball ...

and 29 extra points. His 19 rushing touchdowns in 1927 was a school record that stood for 85 years until it was broken by

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner

Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a mem ...

in 2012. The trophy’s namesake, Coach

John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

, who was the head coach at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

during Hunt's years at Texas A&M and saw Hunt play, asserted that Hunt was "the greatest all-around player I ever saw."

Coaching and professional baseball career

After college, Hunt served as head football coach at Marshall (Texas) Junior College (1928–1929). He also played professional baseball, spending most of his time in the minor leagues, but also playing 16 games in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1931–32. Hunt posted a .182 batting average (4-for-22) with 2 runs, 1

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, 3 RBI and 4

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

. He accepted 13 total chances at right field without an error for a 1.000

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Hunt was assistant coach at

(1930–1932) and at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

(1933–1936). He became the head football coach at Georgia in 1938 and completed his only season there with a 5–4–1 record. At Georgia, Hunt was a surprise replacement for the popular head coach Harry Mehre. Although Hunt's 5–4–1 record as a head coach was respectable, his most important contribution to

Georgia Bulldogs football The Georgia Bulldogs football program represents the University of Georgia in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Div ...

was a coaching assistant that he brought with him, Wally Butts. Butts became Georgia's head coach in 1939 and continued in that position until 1960. After Georgia, Hunt became the head football coach at the

in 1939, where he had a disappointing 0–7–1 record. Following his brief stint as head coach at Georgia and Wyoming, Hunt returned to being assistant coach: again with LSU (1940–1941, 1945–1947). At LSU in the 1940s, Hunt coached the

kicking A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

and punting. He was not impressed with the length of punts, as a long return might nullify the advantage. Regarding a particularly gifted player for Ole Miss, Hunt told Alvin Dark that "A thirty-five-yard kick out of bounds is better than a sixty-yarder that he gets his hands on." Dark recalled that at every practice, Hunt would station him at the 40-yard line and have him aim for a flag out of bounds just before the goal line. If the ball were kicked to that spot during a game, the team it was kicked to would start their offensive drive at that location. Hunt later coached with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

(AAFC) in 1949, the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

of the

National Football League 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 ...

(NFL) in 1950, and at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

in 1955.

Honors and later life

Hunt was inducted into the

as a player in 1967. He died in

Teague, Texas Teague is a city in Freestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,384 at the 2020 census. Settlement The area was first settled around the time of the Civil War. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, a small community kn ...

on July 24, 1978.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Joel 1905 births 1978 deaths American football quarterbacks Baseball outfielders All-America Football Conference coaches Baltimore Colts coaches Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Houston Cougars football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches St. Louis Cardinals players Texas A&M Aggies baseball players Texas A&M Aggies football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football players Wyoming Cowboys football coaches Columbus Red Birds players Houston Buffaloes players Rochester Red Wings players Junior college football coaches in the United States United States Army officers College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Curry County, New Mexico Players of American football from New Mexico Baseball players from New Mexico Laurel Cardinals players