George Hoey was blessed with speed. The Flint native used that asset to the utmost at Central High, the University of Michigan and in the National Football League.
“I had a great experience for being undersized,” said Hoey, 57.
His playing weight was listed anywhere from 160 to 170 but that was no handicap once he got a chance to demonstrate ability.
There were many highlights in his career, but none as spectacular as the first time he handled the football for the St. Louis Cardinals on Nov. 21, 1971. He returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown to trigger a team-record 204 yards on six kickoffs, breaking a 17-year mark.
The yardage total still ranks No. 3 in the Cardinals’ record book and the 103-yarder is No. 4. He earned three letters in football at Central and Michigan and was under contract with six NFL teams before ending his playing career with the New York Jets in 1975.
He spent 17 years in academic capacities at UM before going to the University of Colorado in 1993 as assistant athletic director for academics and compliance. He has been director of student affairs and career development coordinator for the last four years. He returns tonight for induction into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame.
“This is a very humbling experience for me,” Hoey said. It’s incredible because of the other people being inducted. It’s an honor to be from Flint because our athletes are talked about all around the country.” Hoey certainly earned his niche in the Hall of Fame.
He was the first black athlete from Flint to earn a University of Michigan scholarship after a stellar career at Central. He scored 20 touchdowns in his junior and senior years, leading the Saginaw Valley Conference in scoring as a senior and tying for the lead as a junior.
He averaged 6.1 yards per carry as a senior and his career included eight touchdowns via kickoff, punt and interception returns. He was the Indians’ most valuable player in 1964 when he also was a first-teamer on at least three all-state teams. He was City and Saginaw Valley 100 and 200 track champion in 1965.
His arguably greatest day at Central was a no-no. He had punt returns of 66 and 35 yards, an 87-yard kickoff return and a nine-yard run for apparent touchdowns against Port Huron, but two penalties and his own stepping out of bounds nullified all but the 35 yarder.
He was tried as a flanker at Michigan but was switched to defensive back where he set two team records, which still stand. He returned 30 career punts for an average of 17.3 yards and totaled 140 yards in a 1967 game at Minnesota. He led the Big Ten in punt returns in 1967 and ’68.
Hoey was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1969, but was relegated to the taxi squad. He sat out a year because of active service in the National Guard. Then he was waived by the Lions. That move led to a breakthrough in the NFL. St. Louis was in dire need of a kick returner and Hoey’s Central High coach, Bob Leach, who was an assistant coach with the Cardinals, recommended his ex-star.
Leach recalled, “The whole staff got on my case, saying “you want him just because you coached him.’ I called George and told him to tell the Cards he would come at his own expense for a tryout.” He saw action in his first game, but had his record-breaking day a week later. His big day included another kickoff return of 86 yards.
“I just smiled at our next staff meeting,” Leach said.
Hoey later played two seasons with New England and one with San Diego He was signed by Denver, but saw no action before being picked up by the Jets for his final season.
Now he advises Colorado students in all aspects of life. He and his wife, Erin, live an hour away from the Boulder campus along with stepsons William and Sean.
