Leonard Moore Hauss (July 11, 1942 – December 15, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a center 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 ...

(NFL) for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

from

1964 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 Patriarch ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

. A five-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection, he was named one of the 70 Greatest Redskins. Hauss 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 ...

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

Early life

Hauss attended Jesup High School, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

. As a senior, he rushed for 1,500 yards and scored 15

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 ...

College career

Hauss attended and played

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 ...

, where he became a center. He received All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

honors as a sophomore. Hauss was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Professional career

Hauss was drafted in the ninth round (115th overall) of the

1964 NFL Draft The 1964 National Football League draft was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday, December 2, 1963. The first overall pick was Dave Parks, an end from Texas Tech, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. The AFL dra ...

. He started his first game at center four games into the 1964 season, a job he would not lose until retirement. Hauss helped lead the Redskins to the

Super Bowl VII Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

in 1972. He started 192 consecutive games for the Redskins between 1964 and 1977. He was named to the

5 times in 1966, 1968-1970, and 1972. In 1978, he was replaced by

Bob Kuziel Robert Charles Kuziel (born July 24, 1950) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Redskins. He also played for the Charlotte Hornets of the World Football ...

After football

After retiring from the NFL, Hauss entered the financial services industry. Hauss died on December 15, 2021, at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hauss, Len 1942 births 2021 deaths Washington Redskins players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players National Conference Pro Bowl players Georgia Bulldogs football players People from Jesup, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Presidents of the National Football League Players Association Trade unionists from Georgia (U.S. state)