Jim Hart

Lore & Background

Hart was raised just outside Chicago until his father died when he was seven. His mother remarried, and his stepfather encouraged him to play sports. He started playing football as a quarterback at Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois; he also lettered in basketball for three years and played baseball. He received a football scholarship to play for the Southern Illinois Salukis from 1963 through 1965.

After no team picked him in the 1966 NFL draft, his former coach Don Shroyer invited him to a tryout with the Cardinals. He impressed the team and was signed soon after. Hart played in relief of Terry Nofsinger in the final game of the 1966 season on December 17 for the St. Louis Cardinals, who had lost Charley Johnson due to having fulfill a ROTC commitment. Hart completed four of 11 passes for 29 yards in a 38–10 loss to Cleveland.

In the 1967 season, Hart started all 14 games, going 6–7–1 while throwing for 3,008 yards with 19 touchdowns and 30 interceptions on a 48.4 completion percentage. Both his yards and interceptions would prove to be career highs. The following year, he went 8–3–1 in the 12 games he started, throwing for 2,059 yards with 15 touchdowns to 18 interceptions on a 44.3 completion percentage. Hart split time with Johnson for the 1969 season, playing in nine games while starting five, and he went 2–3 with 1,086 yards for six touchdowns and 12 interceptions on a 49.7 completion percentage.

The hiring of coach Don Coryell in 1973 turned things around. From 1974 to 1976, he guided the Cardinals to three straight ten-plus-win seasons along with back-to-back NFC East crowns in 1974 and 1975, leading the 'Cardiac Cards' to ten game-winning drives during that three-year span. The Cardinals played their first playoff game in 26 years with the matchup in Minnesota on December 21, 1974, with Hart leading the Cardinals to the first score of the game on a pass from 13 yards to Earl Thomas in the second quarter.

Although they were tied at halftime, the Vikings would roll to a 30–14 victory. Hart would throw 18-of-40 for 200 yards with a touchdown and an interception while being sacked twice. For the matchup in the 1975 playoffs, they faced the Los Angeles Rams. Hart threw two interceptions that would each be returned for touchdowns, and the Rams would lead 28–9 at half-time, and a nascent run in the second half made the final score 35–23.

Reader's Guide

James Warren Hart (born April 29, 1944) played quarterback for the St. Louis Cardinals (1966–1983) and Washington Redskins (1984). He attended Southern Illinois University. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was named NFC Player of the Year by UPI in 1974. He holds multiple Cardinals franchise records for passing.

Did You Know?

• Hart's 30 interceptions in 1967 were the seventh time in NFL history a player had reached that dubious mark (previous instances: 1942, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1962).
• He was the 10th quarterback in NFL history to appear in 200 games at the position.