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Leon Hart
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 1:23 pm
by JeffreyMiller
Always love to watch film of Hart--he was a terror on the field! Hart was a member of three NFL championship teams with the Detroit Lions (1952, '53 and '57). He was adept at picking up yards after the catch, as he was very tough to bring down. His best year was 1951, in which he earned first-team All-Pro recognition along with his only Pro Bowl appearance after catching 35 passes for 544 yards (15.5 ave) and 12 touchdowns (in a 12-game season!)
Re: Leon Hart
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 5:28 pm
by RichardBak
What makes Hart's 1951 season even more impressive is that he had a total of only 1 catch for zero yards in the first 3 games, after which he exploded offensively. A dozen TDs in the last 9 games (which set a new club mark for TDs) and he also picked off a couple passes at DE.
The knock against Hart was that he wasn't always playing full tilt, and sometimes was regarded as surprisingly "soft" for such a big guy. But since he played both ways his first 3 years in Detroit (1950-52), I guess he could be expected to relax a bit now and then. He also suffered from chronic hamstring problems, which at times really hampered his mobility.