Haynes, Abner
Football
b. Sept. 19, 1937, Denton, TX
Probably the American Football League's most exciting player, Haynes was a starting halfback for North Texas State University for three years. He rushed for 1,864 yards and 25 touchdowns in 345 attempts and caught 46 passes for 579 yards and 6 touchdowns during his collegiate career.
Haynes joined the Dallas Texans of the new American Football League in 1960. He was named both rookie of the year and player of the year after leading the league in rushing with 875 yards on 156 carries and in punt returns with 215 yards on 14 runbacks, a 15.4 average.
The Dallas team moved to Kansas City and became known as the Chiefs in 1963. The following year, Haynes was traded to the Denver Broncos. He played for the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets in 1967 before retiring.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Haynes, who had great speed and dazzling moves in the open field, set AFL records with 5 touchdowns in a game and 19 touchdowns in a season in 1961, and with 46 career rushing touchdowns. During his 8 professional seasons, Haynes carried the ball 1,036 times for 4,630 yards, a 4.5 average; caught 287 passes for 3,535 yards, a 12.3 average, and 20 touchdowns; returned 85 punts for 875 yards, a 10.3 average, and 1 touchdown; and ran back 121 kickoffs for 3,025 yards, a 25.0 average, and 1 touchdown. His 12,065 combined yards is the AFL record.