Paul Hornung - Off The Field

Off The Field

Obliged to serve in the U.S. Army, Hornung was called to active duty during the 1961 season but was able to get weekend passes to play on Sundays. His coach, Vince Lombardi, was a friend of President John F. Kennedy, and it was arranged for a pass so Hornung could play in the NFL championship game against the New York Giants.

Sport magazine named Hornung the most outstanding player in the 1961 Championship Game, which led to a tax dispute that cemented the tax status of awards to athletes. Hornung was awarded a 1962 Corvette by Sport magazine, but the Corvette's fair market value was not included on his tax returns for either 1961 or 1962. Because it would have been impossible for Hornung to take possession of the Corvette in 1961 - the game was played on December 31st in Green Bay and the car was in a closed dealership in New York - it was determined that the car should have been included in income in 1962. More importantly for the athletic community, the court also determined that awards for achievement in the field of athletics do not fall under the exceptions provided under section 74(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. From this point on, it became impossible for athletes to exclude any awards they are given for athletics from their gross incomes.

Idolized by fans, and wealthy from numerous commercial endorsements, Paul Hornung enjoyed his success and the good life that fame and money brought. On more than one occasion, he was fined by his team’s coach for staying out past curfew. He is famously quoted as having once said: "Never get married in the morning - you never know who you might meet that night".

His penchant for high-living would prove disastrous when, in 1963, a major scandal erupted and Paul Hornung and another of the league's top stars, Alex Karras of the Detroit Lions, were suspended from football indefinitely by commissioner Pete Rozelle for betting on NFL games and associating with undesirable persons. Forthright in admitting to his mistake, Hornung's image went relatively untarnished, and in 1964 his suspension, and Karras's, were re-evaluated by the League. Both returned for the 1964 season.

Hornung played for the Packers for another three seasons before injury problems forced him to effectively retire at the end of the 1966 season. The one-year suspension to Hornung and Karras for an offense unrelated to drugs would not go matched until that of Pacman Jones for the 2007 season. On the wall around Lambeau Field where the names of Packers' stars are commemorated, the 1963 season is omitted from Hornung's career years, showing 1957-1962 & 1964-67.

In a September 2006 interview with Bob Costas, Hornung stated that it was his belief that it was Vince Lombardi's constant lobbying of NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle that got him reinstated for the 1964 NFL season. In exchange for Lombardi's efforts, Hornung agreed not to have anything to do with gambling, to stay out of Las Vegas and to even forgo attending the Kentucky Derby which he had done annually.

Following his retirement he entered the business world, primarily as a real estate investor, but remained involved with professional football as the producer and host of a nationally televised sports program. He also did commentary on television broadcasts of college and NFL football for several years to a generally favorable reception.

During a radio interview on March 30, 2004, Hornung, speaking about the recent lack of football success at Notre Dame, said, "We can't stay as strict as we are as far as the academic structure is concerned because we've got to get the black athletes. We must get the black athletes if we're going to compete." The response was immediate. The University replied, "We strongly disagree with the thesis of his remarks. They are generally insensitive and specifically insulting to our past and current African-American student-athletes." Famed former Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian also disagreed with Hornung, saying that Notre Dame didn't lower admission standards for him.

Hornung said that he wasn't differentiating between races. "We need better ball players, black and white, at Notre Dame."

Hornung wrote an autobiography, Golden Boy, which was published in 2004. It covers a great deal of his early life and personal experiences that had not previously been publicized during his active career. In September 2006, his book entitled Lombardi and Me: Players, Coaches, and Colleagues Talk About the Man and the Myth was published.

He wrote a letter to Pete Rozelle, upon the commissioner's retirement, crediting him with promoting the NFL's growth and for having been "the best commissioner of any ."