 Hart at the 1953 NFL Championship | |||||||||||||||
| No. 82 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | End Fullback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | November 2, 1928 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died: | September 24, 2002 (aged 73) South Bend, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 257 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Turtle Creek (Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Notre Dame (1946–1949) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1950 / round: 1 / pick: 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Leon Joseph Hart (November 2, 1928 – September 24, 2002) was an American professional football end and fullback who played for eight seasons, from 1950 to 1957, with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award playing college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1949.
Hart is the only lineman to win three college football national championships and three NFL championships. He is the most recent of only two lineman ever to win the Heisman Trophy. Also, he is one of four players, along with Angelo Bertelli, Cam Newton, and Joe Burrow to win the Heisman Trophy, a national championship, and be the first overall pick in the NFL Draft all in the same one-year span.
Hart was a pioneer for NFL player benefits, risking his pro career and initiating union talks targeting support for a reasonable standard of living for all players during the 1954 season, well before the eventual formulation of the NFLPA. He also spearheaded an initiative for the inclusion of players who retired prior to the 1959 season in the NFL pension plan.