Carroll Hardy (Denver Broncos)

[Halas Hall]

Many know Carroll Hardy as the only man to pinch hit for Ted Williams, but it seems like his work as Head of College Scouting with the Denver Broncos beginning in 1970 is overlooked? It seems like he found a lot of members of the Orange Crush defense et al.

Is it accurate to say he found a lot of Broncos?

Thank you.

[7DnBrnc53]

Many know Carroll Hardy as the only man to pinch hit for Ted Williams, but it seems like his work as Head of College Scouting with the Denver Broncos beginning in 1970 is overlooked? It seems like he found a lot of members of the Orange Crush defense et al.

Is it accurate to say he found a lot of Broncos?

Thank you.

In a 1981 issue of Pro Football Weekly, Joel Buchsbaum gave him a lot of praise. It seems to me that Ralston may have used him well, and Red Miller ignored him.

[RRMarshall]

Not only did he pinch hit for Teddy Ballgame, he also pinch hit for Carl Yastzemski, making him one of the few players to pinch hit for 2 HOFers. He was also the hitter on deck when Rich Rollins popped out to Rico Petrocelli in the last game of Boston's 1967 Impossible Dream season.HIs one year in the NFL with the 49ners he caught 12 passes, with 4 going for TDs!

[Cali_Eagle]

He also pinch hit for 2-time MVP and former single-season Home Run leader Roger Maris.

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

Wow -- that's incredible!

Was he an awesome pinch hitter or something? Gotta admit - I don't think I've heard of this guy before. Pinch hit for Williams, Yaz, and Maris? And played in the NFL and was an NFL scout? That's really amazing.

[Bob Gill]

Wow -- that's incredible!

Was he an awesome pinch hitter or something? Gotta admit - I don't think I've heard of this guy before. Pinch hit for Williams, Yaz, and Maris? And played in the NFL and was an NFL scout? That's really amazing.

No, he wasn't much of a hitter. I think he hit .220-something for his career and never really played regularly. But he was usually available as a pinch-hitter because he was sitting on the bench.

And as I recall, the time he pinch-hit for Williams may have been a fluke of some kind. Like Williams fouled a ball off his foot and couldn't stay in the game, or something like that.

[Brian wolf]

Had he stayed with the Niners and not joined the Army, he might have teamed with Billy Wilson for an awesome combination for YA Tittle ... Who was mostly responsible for collecting all the young talent for Denver in the 60s that was wasted or traded away ?

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

Wow -- that's incredible!

Was he an awesome pinch hitter or something? Gotta admit - I don't think I've heard of this guy before. Pinch hit for Williams, Yaz, and Maris? And played in the NFL and was an NFL scout? That's really amazing.

No, he wasn't much of a hitter. I think he hit .220-something for his career and never really played regularly. But he was usually available as a pinch-hitter because he was sitting on the bench.

And as I recall, the time he pinch-hit for Williams may have been a fluke of some kind. Like Williams fouled a ball off his foot and couldn't stay in the game, or something like that.

Ah - okay -- that's great info. And the Williams pinch=hit story then makes a bit more sense. For an analogy, that would be like Terry Crowley pinch-hitting for Eddie Murray if Murray got dinged in the middle of an at bat. Great stuff!

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

Had he stayed with the Niners and not joined the Army, he might have teamed with Billy Wilson for an awesome combination for YA Tittle ... Who was mostly responsible for collecting all the young talent for Denver in the 60s that was wasted or traded away ?

Goose Gonsoulin told me that he was released when Lou Saban took over. Lionel Taylor was released at the same time - before 1967.1966 was also Willie Brown's final season in Denver. So, it may have been Saban/new coach related, although that is just a mere guess.

As for all those Hall of Famers they drafted and never signed, I don't know who wasn't able to sign them or who the scouts were, but they did an incredible job of drafting. My guess is that Denver didn't have the same amount of money that some of the other AFL teams like KC had and might not have been able to compete with the NFL. Plus, location was sometimes a factor in those days -- and some college coaches encouraged players to go NFL because it was more established. Would enjoy knowing if anybody had some real concrete info on how/why Denver missed out on all of that great talent or sent players elsewhere.

[Brian wolf]

Thanks GameBefore ... yeah, it seemed like the Broncos were a farm team for Oak and KC.

I wonder if Hardy had a say in bringing in Charley Johnson, their first winning QB? They also had Moses, Odoms, Armstrong and Upchurch ...