Michael Edward Hudock, Jr. (September 29, 1934 – May 7, 2003) was an

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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He helped the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

to become a national football power for the first time. He went played in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) as an original member of the New York Titans. He played high school football for the Tunkhannock Tigers, graduating in 1952.

College career

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, Hudock was a sophomore in 1954 when the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

finished No. 9 in the nation, the first time they ended a season top 10. In his senior year they were 8–1–1, No. 6 in all three wire polls and Hudock was named honorable mention All-American. Hudock was twice named first-team center for the All-South team in

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 ...

and was selected to play in the Chicago Charities College All-Star Game (an injury meant that he did not play). He had begun his college career at the University of Pittsburgh before transferring to Miami.

Professional career

Although his early professional years were plagued by knee injuries, Hudock became an integral part of another team's rise to prominence in 1960 when he joined the New York Titans for the first American Football League season. The Titans became 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 ...

in 1963 and in 1965 Hudock played for

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 ...

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

year. Taken by the

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

in the 1966 AFL expansion draft, he retired in 1967 after he was traded to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. He became an assistant high school football coach at Old Forge (Pa.), but returned to the Chiefs and played until the end of the season for their injured starting center.

Post-football career

Hudock later served as police chief in Tunkhannock Township, Pennsylvania.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudock, Mike 1934 births 2003 deaths American football centers Kansas City Chiefs players Miami Hurricanes football players New York Jets players New York Titans (AFL) players People from Pittston, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania American Football League players People from Wyoming County, Pennsylvania Miami Dolphins players

College career

Professional career

Post-football career

See also

References