Paul Hornung Paul Vernon Hornung ( born December 23 , 1935 ) is a retired professional football player , a Hall of Fame running back for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from 1957 to 1966 , winning four NFL titles and the first Super Bowl . He was the first in pro football history to have won the Heisman Trophy , been selected as first overall selection in the NFL Draft , won the NFL most valuable player award , and been inducted into both the professional and college football halls of fame . Two others have followed , running backs O . J . Simpson and Earl Campbell , but neither played on a league championship team . A versatile player , Hornung was a halfback , quarterback , and placekicker . An excellent all - around athlete , he also played college basketball for Notre Dame . Early years . Born and raised in Louisville , Kentucky , Hornung was an outstanding athlete at Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget High School in Louisville , and lettered four years each in football , basketball , and baseball . He was recruited by Bear Bryant at Kentucky in nearby Lexington , but chose to attend Notre Dame instead . Flaget High School was permanently closed in 1974 . College career . After spending his sophomore season of 1954 as a backup fullback , Hornung blossomed as a halfback and safety during his junior year in 1955 . He finished fourth in the nation in total offense with 1 , 215 yards and six touchdowns . His two touchdowns on offense and two interceptions on defense spurred a victory over No . 4 Navy , and his touchdown pass and field goal beat Iowa . In a loss to Southern California , Hornung ran and threw for 354 yards , the best in the nation in 1955 . Hornung , nickname d the " " Golden Boy " , " won the Heisman Trophy in 1956 as the year ’ s outstanding college football player in the United States and is the only player from a losing team ( his Notre Dame team finished 2 - 8 that year ) ever to win the trophy . Highly versatile , he was a quarterback who could run , pass , block , and tackle . Many consider Hornung the greatest all - around football player in Notre Dame history . In the 1956 season , he led his team offensively in passing , rushing , scoring , kickoff and punt returns , and punting . He also played defense and led his team in passes broken up and was second in interceptions and tackles made . He jokes about the fact that he was among the nation ' s leaders in kickoff returns by saying , " We gave up so many points that our opponents were always kicking off to us . " Hornung also played basketball during his sophomore year at Notre Dame . He has said that he attended Notre Dame in part for the opportunity to play basketball , and that he was asked not to continue playing in order to help keep his grades up . At the 1957 College All Star game in August , Hornung had a famous match race with Abe Woodson . This was one of the greatest college all star teams ever assembled . Woodson said , " We had Jim Brown , Jim Parker , John Brodie , Jon Arnett , Len Dawson , Paul Hornung and Tommy McDonald , with Curly Lambeau and Otto Graham as our coaches , and we still lost 22 - 7 to the New York Giants . Oh , well . " Just for fun , Woodson , one of the fastest players ever to put on pads , and Hornung agreed to a match race . Hornung won by five yards . Professional career . Green Bay Packers . After graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in business , Hornung was the first selection overall in the 1957 NFL Draft . He was taken by the Green Bay Packers , with whom he would go on to win four league championships , including the first Super Bowl in January 1967 . He was the only Packer on the roster who didn ' t play in Super Bowl I . A pinched nerve sidelined him , and he chose not to enter the game in the fourth quarter . As a pro , Hornung was one of the most versatile players in the history of the game , playing the halfback position as well as being a field goal kicker for several seasons . Hornung led the league in scoring for three straight seasons from 1959 - 61 . During the 1960 season , the last with just 12 games , he set an all - time record by scoring 176 points . Hornung also passed for two additional touchdowns , which did not add to his point - scoring total . The record stood until the 2006 season , when running back LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers broke the record with 180 points by scoring his 30th touchdown on December 17 , leaving him with four points more than Hornung ' s record with more than two games to play ( but in his 14th game compared to Hornung ' s 12 games ) . In 1961 , he set the record for the most points scored in an NFL Championship game . In Green Bay ' s 1965 championship win , he rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on a very muddy field against the Cleveland Browns . In October of that same year , he set a record for most points in a calendar month with 77 . This was broken in November 2006 by LaDainian Tomlinson , who posted 78 points . Considered by many to be the best short - yardage runner to ever play the game , Hornung was twice voted the league ’ s MVP and was chosen as an All - Pro twice and named to the Pro Bowl twice . He is one of only five players to have won both the Heisman Trophy and the NFL ' s Most Valuable Player Award . In 1965 , in the twilight of his career ( at age 28 ) , Hornung scored a team - record five touchdowns in a 42 - 27 win over the Baltimore Colts . Hornung ' s five TD ' s were overshadowed by the record - tying six touchdowns scored by Chicago ' s Gale Sayers later that same day against San Francisco . But the Packers ' victory over the Colts proved important for the Packers , as they wound up tied with the Colts in the Western Conference standings at season ' s end ( forcing an extra playoff game which the Packers would win in overtime to advance to the NFL Championship ) . In that NFL Championship game , Hornung ran for 105 yards and a touchdown in the Packers ' 23 - 12 championship victory over the Cleveland Browns . A pinched nerve in Hornung ' s neck severely curtailed his playing time in 1966 , and Hornung did not see action in Super Bowl I , when the Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs , 35 - 10 . Hornung was selected in the expansion draft by the New Orleans Saints , who later traded for Hornung ' s backfield mate at Green Bay , former LSU All - America n Jim Taylor . Hornung never suited up for the Saints , as the neck injury forced him to retire during training camp . Taylor & Hornung were affectionately known as " Thunder & Lightning " by Packer fans of the early 1960s . Paul Hornung holds the record for most games with 30 + points ( 2 ) , the most games with 25 + points ( 3 ) , and the most games with 13 points in a season ( 8 games in 1960 ) . He is also the oldest player ever to score 5 touchdowns in a single game ( 29 years , 354 days ) . He also holds the dubious distinction of having missed an NFL record 26 field goals in 1964 . Honors and awards . In addition to the honors previously mentioned , Paul Hornung was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame . He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990 . Also , the " " Paul Hornung Award " " is given out annually to the state of Kentucky ’ s top high school player . Starting in 2010 , an award named in Hornung ' s honor is given out to the most versatile college football player in the nation . Hornung ' s number 5 was also unofficially retired by the Packers on July 10 , 1967 , as there has not been a ceremony to have his number on the wall of retired numbers at Lambeau 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 31 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 . Hornung had an appearance in the 1968 movie " The Devil ' s Brigade . " 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 [ sports league ] . "