Hart, "Jim" (James W.)
Football
b. April 29, 1944, Evanston, IL
Although Hart put up impressive numbers at Southern Illinois University, passing for 3,779 yards and 34 touchdowns, he was ignored by NFL teams because he played at a small school that won only 8 games in his three seasons.
The St. Louis Cardinals signed him as a free agent in 1966 and he became the team's starting quarterback the following season when Charlie Johnson was drafted into the Army. He was named the NFL player of the year after the 1974 season for guiding the Cardinals to the Eastern Division championship. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Hart completed 200 of 388 passes for 2,411 yards and 20 touchdowns that season.
Hart lost the starting job in 1981 and was released by the Cardinals after the 1983 season. He played one more season with the Washington Redskins and then retired. In his 19 professional seasons, he completed 2,593 passes in 5,076 attempts for 34,665 yards and 209 touchdowns. He also ran for 16 touchdowns.