SOUTH BEND — Former Notre Dame football quarterback Terry Hanratty, who led the Irish to the 1966 national championship as a sophomore, is headed to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Hanratty, who turns 77 on Sunday, will be inducted on Dec. 9 at the 67th National Football Foundation awards dinner in Las Vegas.
A consensus All-American in 1968, Hanratty is the 56th former Notre Dame player or coach selected to the Atlanta-based hall, the most for any program.
A two-time Super Bowl champion as Terry Bradshaw’s backup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted him in the second round in 1969, Hanratty finished in the top 10 of Heisman Trophy voting three times. He finished a distant third as a senior behind running backs O.J. Simpson (USC) and Leroy Keyes (Purdue).
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Hanratty finished his Irish career as the school’s leader in completions, passing yards (4,152) and passing touchdowns (27). He also rushed for 586 yards and 16 more scores.
In the most famous game of Hanratty’s career, however, defensive end Bubba Smith of No. 2 Michigan State knocked Hanratty out with a separated left (non-throwing) shoulder early in the first quarter of an eventual 10-10 tie in the 1966 “Game of the Century.” Top-ranked Notre Dame rallied from a 10-0 deficit behind backup quarterback Coley O’Brien and went on to claim its first national title since 1949.
O’Brien also filled in the next week in the season-ending 51-0 road win over USC as the Irish finished 9-0-1 and claimed the first of two national titles under coach Ara Parseghian.
A native of Butler, Pa., outside Pittsburgh, Hanratty finished his pro career in 1976 with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He made 18 career starts in the NFL and passed for 2,510 yards and 24 touchdowns.
His son Conor Hanratty was an offensive lineman for Notre Dame from 2012-14.
Hanratty is part of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class that includes 18 players and four coaches, including former Notre Dame assistant Urban Meyer.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Former Notre Dame quarterback Terry Hanratty elected to college hall
