Carroll Hardy passed away this past week. He gained fame as the only player to pinch hit for Ted Williams during his baseball career. But there was much more to Hardy than that, as this article on the cubuffs.com site relates.
Though I was only 9 years old I do remember seeing Hardy play for the minor league Denver Bears in 1965 at the end of his baseball career.
What I remember more was his role with the Denver Broncos. As the cubuffs.com article says:
"As a pro football executive, he was often credited with helping to build Denver's famous "Orange Crush" defense that led to the team's first AFC West Division title and Super Bowl appearance in the 1977 season."
As a big Bronco fan and young season ticket holder in the 70's I wanted to learn more about the game. I saw an ad for a book called "Scouts Guide to the NFL". I ordered it. This 1976 publication was written by Joel Buchsbaum, one of the earliest NFL draft analysts (even before Mel Kiper). In it he speculated that the 77 Broncos would be a threat to take the division title away from the Super Bowl Champion Oakland Raiders. I was stunned - though hopeful of a good Bronco season I hadn't read anywhere that the Broncos could actually beat out the Raiders in 1977. And of course that's what the Broncos did - shocking the pro football world. Buchsbaum gained credibility with me and I always read his draft guides until his death in 2002. Buchsbaum had a unique life of his own - read more about him here.
Buchsbaum once wrote about Hardy's role in the 1974 Broncos draft. The Broncos had selected Randy Gradishar in the first round. When the team's second round pick came up Hardy, as part of the Broncos scouting staff, recommended another linebacker, rated at the top of the Broncos draft board.. "We already have our linebacker," coach John Ralston said. The Broncos drafted defensive lineman Carl Wafer in round 2 (who never did anything in the NFL)
The linebacker who the Broncos scouting staff led by Hardy had rated at the top of their draft board in round 2?
Jack Lambert
Lambert went four picks after the Broncos to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and went on to have a Hall of Fame career.
If this is true, imagine the Orange Crush 3-4 defense with both Gradishar and Lambert! John Ralston deserves a lot of credit for the strong drafts the Broncos had in the early 70's, but Carroll Hardy had a big part in those drafts too. RIP Carroll.
