Ken Hobart

Last updated

Ken Hobart
No. 9, 4, 3
Born: (1961-01-27) January 27, 1961 (age 63)
Kamiah, Idaho, U.S.
Career information
Position(s) QB
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight205 lb (93 kg)
College Idaho (1980–1983)
High school Kamiah
Supplemental draft 1984, Round: 1, Pick: 10 [lower-alpha 1]
Drafted by New York Jets
Career history
As player
1984 Jacksonville Bulls
1984 Denver Gold
1985 Edmonton Eskimos*
1985–1987 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1989–1990 Ottawa Rough Riders
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
CFL East All-Star 1985
Awards
Retired #s Idaho Vandals No. 9
Records
  • Most passing touchdowns in a playoff game: 5 (1985; tied) [1]
Career stats
Passing attempts879
Passing completions415
Completion percentage47.2%
TD–INT 31–31
Passing yards5,080
Passer rating 62.6

Kenneth Charles Hobart (born January 27, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the United States Football League (USFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1985 to 1990 and was an All-American at Idaho. [2]

Contents

Early life

Hailing from tiny Kamiah (KAMM-ee-eye) on the Clearwater River in north central Idaho, [3] Hobart was a bespeckled 155-pound (70 kg) [4] wishbone quarterback at Kamiah High School and led the Kubs to the A-3 (now 2A) state title in his senior season. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] In the summer, he played American Legion baseball for nearby Orofino. [10] [11] After graduation in 1979, he enrolled at Lewis–Clark State College in Lewiston, [12] with the intent of playing college baseball as a pitcher and outfielder for the Warriors, [13] [14] and also basketball. [15]

Collegiate career

After a semester at Lewis–Clark State College , Hobart transferred thirty miles (50 km) north to UI in Moscow in January 1980 with the intent to walk-on; he was soon granted a scholarship by Davitch, [15] and became the starting quarterback in his redshirt freshman season. [4] Nicknamed the "Kamiah Kid" by longtime Spokesman-Review columnist Harry Missildine, [3]

Hobart played college football at the University of Idaho from 1980 –1983, starting at quarterback for the Vandals in every game (46) for four seasons. The first two years were in the veer option offense under Jerry Davitch, [13] and the final two in a passing attack under new head coach Dennis Erickson. [16] [17] In Erickson's first season in 1982, Hobart led the Vandals to an 8–3 record in the regular season and advanced to the quarterfinals of the twelve-team Division I-AA playoffs, falling on the road 30–38 to eventual champion Eastern Kentucky, and was named offensive player of the year in the Big Sky Conference and 1st Team All-Big Sky Conference. [18] [19] [20] In Hobart's senior season of 1983, the Vandals again went 8–3, but lost all three games in conference and were not selected for the national playoffs. Throwing for over 10,000 yards in his collegiate career, he was again named All-Conference and was a Division I-AA All-American in  1983. [18] [17] [21] [22] [23] He set 23 passing and total-offense marks in his four-year career. [18]

After losses to rival Boise State in his first two seasons, Hobart led the Vandals to two wins under Erickson; this winning streak over the Broncos reached twelve games in 1993.

Hobart also competed for the Idaho track team in the decathlon and still ranks as one of the top decathletes in the school's history, a program which later produced Dan O'Brien. (Idaho dropped baseball as a varsity sport in May 1980 so he did not play after that.) [24] After his football eligibility was used up, he was also asked to play basketball for the Vandals in January 1984. [25] Hobart graduated in the spring with a bachelor's degree in management. [26]

Hobart was a charter member of the Vandal Hall of Fame, inducted in 2007. [26]

Professional career

Hobart started his professional football career in 1984 with the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League (USFL), as a second round pick in the 1984 USFL Draft. [27] He signed a contract in January of 1984. [4] After four appearances and two starts, he was traded in May to the Denver Gold for a draft pick, [28] [29] and was the starter on June 8, a two-point loss to eventual champion Philadelphia, decided by a late field goal. [30] During his time in the USFL, Hobart played in 10 games, starting 5; passing for 576 yards and rushing for another 160. He also punted for Denver 6 times for 226 yards. [31]

He was the tenth overall selection in the first round of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft by the New York Jets, [32] [33] but never played in the NFL. [34] [35]

When the USFL folded in 1985, Hobart moved north to Canada, where he played for five seasons in the CFL, three with Hamilton and two with Ottawa. The Edmonton Eskimos originally held his CFL rights, and he was traded in June 1985 to Hamilton. [36] That season, he set the CFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback (928) a total that has since only been surpassed 5 times and was winner of the Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy and runner up as CFL MVP. [16] [37] [38] [39] He guided Hamilton to the Grey Cup in 1985, [40] [41] [42] was a member of the championship team in 1986, [43] then broke his left fibula in the second game of the 1987 season. [44]

In 1988, he took a shot at the NFL with the San Diego Chargers who moved him to safety. During training camp he was placed on the injured reserve and waived a few weeks into the season. [45] [46] He stayed in San Diego and sold cars in San Diego and was resigned by the Chargers after the 1988 season, but released a few months later before camp started. [47] [48] He then Moved back to Idaho before returning to the CFL for two seasons with Ottawa. [49]

Personal

Following his playing career, Hobart returned to north central Idaho and resides in Lewiston with his wife Valerie and three children, Zion, Klaree, [50] and Laney.

After his first season in Canada in 1985, Hobart returned to his hometown to co-coach the Kamiah boys basketball team for a season. [35] Ken Hobart is now an official for high school sports in Region II in Central Idaho

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Playoffs (Individual)". CFL Records. TSN.ca. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  2. ↑ CFLapedia.com - Ken Hobart - accessed 2010-05-27
  3. 1 2 Missildine, Harry (September 10, 1980). "Idaho's 'Kamiah Kid': He could be an uncommon football story". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  4. 1 2 3 Stalwick, Howie (January 30, 1984). "Ken Hobart signs huge USFL pact". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 13.
  5. ↑ "Kubs solve Parma defense". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 12, 1978. p. 1B.
  6. ↑ "Kamiah plays for state championship tonight". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 17, 1978. p. 1B.
  7. ↑ "Kubs bring home state title, 16-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 18, 1978. p. 1B.
  8. ↑ idhsaa.org Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine - Idaho high school football - state champions
  9. ↑ "Kamiah's Ken Hobart is state's co-player of the year". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 30, 1978. p. 3B.
  10. ↑ "Hobart leads Orofino into finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 6, 1978. p. 3B.
  11. ↑ "Orofino wins state 'B' title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 7, 1978. p. 2B.
  12. ↑ "Cheff recruits Hobart, Munden". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). June 24, 1979. p. 3C.
  13. 1 2 Missildine, Harry (October 23, 1981). "Hobart can become college grid's doomsday machine". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 27.
  14. ↑ "Ken Hobart (relief pitcher)". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (photo). June 3, 1979. p. 1C.
  15. 1 2 Emerson, Paul (March 23, 1980). "Davitch gets second chance at Hobart". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 11D.
  16. 1 2 Blanchette, John (November 8, 1985). "Hobart isn't a quitter, eh?". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 25.
  17. 1 2 Wright, Josh (October 6, 2009). "Ken Hobart - A family man now". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  18. 1 2 3 "Record-setting Nevada-Reno kicker Tony Zendejas and Northern Arizona speedster". November 30, 1983. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  19. ↑ "All-Big Sky". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 2, 1982. p. 1B.
  20. ↑ "Hobart acclaimed best in the Sky". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). December 4, 1982. p. 12.
  21. ↑ Stalwick, Howie (November 18, 1983). "Hobart's not through". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 29.
  22. ↑ Stalwick, Howie (December 6, 1983). "Hobart named I-AA All-American". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  23. ↑ "Hobart named to Kodak 1-AA first team". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 6, 1983. p. 3B.
  24. ↑ Goodwin, Dale (May 13, 1980). "Baseball is 'out' at Idaho". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 19.
  25. ↑ Stalwick, Howie (January 11, 1984). "Hobart not done with Idaho athletics?". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 24.
  26. 1 2 "Ken Hobart". Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame. Idaho Athletic Media Relations. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  27. ↑ USFL.info - Jacksonville - 1984 Draft - accessed 2010-05-27
  28. ↑ Stalwick, Howie (May 9, 1984). "Confused, bitter Ken Hobart seeking new start with Denver". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 21.
  29. ↑ Stalwick, Howie (May 12, 1984). "Hobart deal wrapped up". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 17.
  30. ↑ "Stars shine in victory over Denver". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 9, 1984. p. 8B.
  31. ↑ "Ken Hobart USFL Statistics" . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  32. ↑ "1984 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  33. ↑ Stalwick, Howie (December 4, 1984). "Where will Hobart be next year?". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B1.
  34. ↑ Stalwick, Howie (January 17, 1985). "Hobart 'waives' hello to $100,000". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 22.
  35. 1 2 "Hobart takes coaching position with Kamiah". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). August 17, 1985. p. 17.
  36. ↑ "Hobart 5th quarterback to join Tiger-Cats' den". The Gazette. (Montreal, Quebec). Canadian Press. June 5, 1985. p. C5.
  37. ↑ "Hobart only unanimous choice for Eastern all-star team". The Citizen. (Ottawa, Ontario). Canadian Press. November 7, 1985. p. C3.
  38. ↑ Blanchette, John (November 8, 1985). "Kamiah Kid learns he can have fun without the sun". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 17.
  39. ↑ Campbell, Don (June 12, 1986). "Ti-Cats want to pounce on Cup". The Citizen. (Ottawa, Ontario). p. C5.
  40. ↑ "Hobart keeps up Canadian frolics". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 20, 1985. p. 1C.
  41. ↑ "Hobart's Ti-Cats fed to Lions in Grey Cup". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 25, 1985. p. 1B.
  42. ↑ Bacon, Dick (November 25, 1985). "'Ifs' haunt Ticats coach Bruno after loss to Lions". Montreal Gazette. p. C2.
  43. ↑ Lee, Greg (June 7, 1987). "Ex-Vandal Ken Hobart hearing talk of trade". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D6.
  44. ↑ Lee, Greg (July 12, 1987). "Hobart faced with a series of bad breaks". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D8.
  45. ↑ "Tuesday's Sports Transactions". UPI. August 24, 1988. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  46. ↑ "https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/09/21/Wednesdays-Sports-Transactions/5544590817600/". UPI. September 21, 1988. Retrieved February 29, 2024.{{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  47. ↑ "Tuesday's Sports Transactions". UPI. February 28, 1989. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  48. ↑ "Thursday's Sports Transactions". UPI. May 19, 1989. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  49. ↑ Stalwick, Howie (September 19, 1989). "Hobart gets handle on rash of bad luck". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. B2.
  50. ↑ "Klaree Hobart". University of Idaho Athletics. (Volleyball). Retrieved September 12, 2017.

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