Another of my old school favorites passed away recently. Ben Hawkins was a few years ahead of me at Nutley High. I recall sneaking under the fence at the Park Oval to watch him terrorize Montclair and Clifton on Saturday afternoons.
He went on to a great career at Arizona State and played for the Eagles and Browns in the NFL and with Philly in the WFL. He led the NFL in receiving yards in 1967.
He was known for having that loose chinstrap flapping around when he played. In the video at the bottom he explains how that habit came to be and shows a few clips of him having his helmet knocked off.
Nice little video. Love hearing that north Jersey accent he never really lost.
RIP, Hawk
Cool video bob. Thanks for posting
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob. Ben Hawkins was one of the 2 or 3 posters I had hanging in my room in the early 1970s. Also had a #18 Kelly green mesh jersey (not necessarily Eagles) for our pickup football games.
ReplyDeleteSad to hear he is gone. What a treat to see not only the interview, but actual vintage video of some of the highlights he referenced in his talk! You see, I also had a Hawkins poster AND I made a rather detailed home-made "the Hawk", #18 t-shirt for OUR pickup games. Thanks so much for posting this.
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