When Penn State football fans get together and discuss former Nittany Lion greats on the football field, you hardly ever hear the name of former Penn State WR and punt returner extraordinaire, Gary Hayman from Newwark High School in Newark, Del. Hayman, who was Penn State's leading receiver in 1973 with 30 catches for 525 yards [17.5 YPC] and to this day in my mind was one of the top three punt returners in Penn State football history. Whose 19.2 yards per punt return average in 1973 places him second in the Penn State record books for a season punt return average. Hayman passed away on Oct. 1, 2020 at 69 years of age.
I clearly remember sitting in the stands at Beaver Stadium next to my brother, Bill, telling him to pay special attention to Hayman when he was setting up to return a punt. In 1973 Hayman electrified Penn State football fans in Beaver Stadium returning 23 punts for 442 yards [19.2 yards per punt return] with one going 64 yards for a touchdown. Also found out Hayman lead the nation in kickoff returns during the 1973 season. He averaged 29.7 yards per kickoff return.
Hayman was one of my favorite Penn State football players during the 1970s. Over more than 40 years of watching Penn State football, it is my firm belief that Hayman finished his Penn State football career as one of Penn State's top three punt returners in Penn State football history behind O.J. McDuffie and Bruce Branch. Branch leads all former Penn State punt returners with four punt returns for touchdowns, followed closely by McDuffie who returned three punt returns for TDs. Hayman is one of 11 Penn State football players who had two punt returns for touchdowns.
After watching Hayman excite Penn State football fans during the 1973 season, I was convinced Hayman, who was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 5th round of the 1974 NFL draft as a running back, which by the way absolutely mystified me, would have a long NFL career. But that was not in the cards for Hayman. During his rookie season with the Bills in 1974, Hayman replaced an injured O.J. Simpson in a Monday Night football game on ABC and suffered what turned out to be eventually a career ending serious knee injury. Hayman finished his NFL football career in 1975 with Buffalo.
I'll never forget Hayman dancing up and down the field at Beaver Stadium making tacklers in the open field grasping for air during the 1973 season being an unrecognized high school football player coming out of all places from Newark High School in Newark, Del. He was one of the first Penn State football players to get me interested in college football recruiting.
But what I like best about Hayman's life's story-line is what he did with his life after going back to the gettos in Newark, Del. and advocating for the youth in his hometown community of Newark, Del. Hayman ended up coaching a Newark recreational youth football and baseball teams. His son Wes, said in an article written about Hayman in the May/June issue of the 2021 Penn Stater magazine, All over town, people called his father "Coach".
Having attended a segregated elementary school growing up, Hayman as an adult spent decades fighting for equality, reviving an inactive chapter of the NAACP in Newark and serving as its president for 30 years.
Hayman was one of my first Penn State football heros. I want him to be recognized for what he did on the football field when he played at Penn State, but more importantly I want him to be recognized for the life he lived in his hometown of Newark, Del., after his brief Penn State and NFL football career. I will always remember Hayman dancing on the Beaver Stadium turf being in my mind one of the three best punt returners in modern Penn State football history.
I clearly remember sitting in the stands at Beaver Stadium next to my brother, Bill, telling him to pay special attention to Hayman when he was setting up to return a punt. In 1973 Hayman electrified Penn State football fans in Beaver Stadium returning 23 punts for 442 yards [19.2 yards per punt return] with one going 64 yards for a touchdown. Also found out Hayman lead the nation in kickoff returns during the 1973 season. He averaged 29.7 yards per kickoff return.
Hayman was one of my favorite Penn State football players during the 1970s. Over more than 40 years of watching Penn State football, it is my firm belief that Hayman finished his Penn State football career as one of Penn State's top three punt returners in Penn State football history behind O.J. McDuffie and Bruce Branch. Branch leads all former Penn State punt returners with four punt returns for touchdowns, followed closely by McDuffie who returned three punt returns for TDs. Hayman is one of 11 Penn State football players who had two punt returns for touchdowns.
After watching Hayman excite Penn State football fans during the 1973 season, I was convinced Hayman, who was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 5th round of the 1974 NFL draft as a running back, which by the way absolutely mystified me, would have a long NFL career. But that was not in the cards for Hayman. During his rookie season with the Bills in 1974, Hayman replaced an injured O.J. Simpson in a Monday Night football game on ABC and suffered what turned out to be eventually a career ending serious knee injury. Hayman finished his NFL football career in 1975 with Buffalo.
I'll never forget Hayman dancing up and down the field at Beaver Stadium making tacklers in the open field grasping for air during the 1973 season being an unrecognized high school football player coming out of all places from Newark High School in Newark, Del. He was one of the first Penn State football players to get me interested in college football recruiting.
But what I like best about Hayman's life's story-line is what he did with his life after going back to the gettos in Newark, Del. and advocating for the youth in his hometown community of Newark, Del. Hayman ended up coaching a Newark recreational youth football and baseball teams. His son Wes, said in an article written about Hayman in the May/June issue of the 2021 Penn Stater magazine, All over town, people called his father "Coach".
Having attended a segregated elementary school growing up, Hayman as an adult spent decades fighting for equality, reviving an inactive chapter of the NAACP in Newark and serving as its president for 30 years.
Hayman was one of my first Penn State football heros. I want him to be recognized for what he did on the football field when he played at Penn State, but more importantly I want him to be recognized for the life he lived in his hometown of Newark, Del., after his brief Penn State and NFL football career. I will always remember Hayman dancing on the Beaver Stadium turf being in my mind one of the three best punt returners in modern Penn State football history.
