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Terrence Hugh Hanratty (born January 19, 1948) is a former
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 wi ...
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 Am ...
who played in college at Notre Dame and in 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 majo ...
during the 1960s and 1970s. He earned two
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
rings as the backup quarterback for the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
. Hanratty's son Conor also played football at Notre Dame as an
offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that ...
.


College career

Hanratty attended St. Paul Butler Catholic School and
Butler Senior High School Butler Area Senior High School is a coeducational public senior high school in Butler, Pennsylvania, United States, serving grades 10–12. It is the senior high school for the Butler Area School District. The school was founded in 1908, moved to ...
in western Pennsylvania, before attending the University of Notre Dame where he was a three-year starter and twice an
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n, as well as a
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 har ...
candidate. Hanratty and Jim Seymour formed a passing/receiving duo leading Notre Dame to the national championship in
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
. Hanratty was also a teammate and friend of halfback Rocky Bleier at Notre Dame before the two were teammates in Pittsburgh.


Professional career

In 1969, Hanratty was selected in the second round of the
NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...
by the Steelers' new head coach,
Chuck Noll Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...
, and was the starting quarterback for a short time before losing the job to the Steelers' No. 1 1970 overall draft pick
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst an ...
. Hanratty was the last Pittsburgh-area native to start a game at quarterback for the Steelers, until Homestead native
Charlie Batch Charles D'Donte Batch (born December 5, 1974) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft and played 15 seasons in t ...
filled in for an injured
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...
for two games during the team's Super Bowl-winning season in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
. Hanratty suited up for Super Bowl IX, but did not see action. In 1975, Hanratty played in only one regular season game, for only two plays. However, he played more in the postseason, getting into two playoff games. In the
AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
he finished the game at quarterback, taking the Steelers' last two offensive snaps, after Bradshaw was hurt. He also finished Super Bowl X at quarterback in what turned out to be his last game as a Steeler, taking the team's last four offensive snaps. Hanratty was placed on waivers by the Steelers in September 1976 and picked up in October by the expansion
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
, who infamously lost every game they played that season. As the backup quarterback to
Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his ...
, Hanratty made a handful of appearances, and his sole start came in Week 13 against his old team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hanratty was pulled in favor of Spurrier after throwing just four passes: one was intercepted, two incomplete, and one caught for a one-yard loss. The 42–0 defeat was Hanratty's last appearance in the NFL; he retired after the 1976 season. He finished his career with 2,510 passing yards, 24 touchdown passes, and 35 interceptions. He completed 38 percent of his pass attempts, which led to an overall quarterback rating of 43.0.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanratty, Terry 1948 births Living people All-American college football players American football quarterbacks Players of American football from Pennsylvania Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Sportspeople from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area Pittsburgh Steelers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players People from Butler, Pennsylvania