William Patrick (Pat) Hughes
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Sport:
Football |
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Year
Graduated: 1970 |
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Year
Inducted: 1978 |
William Patrick Hughes, captain of Boston University's 1969
Pasadena Bowl football team that posted a 9-1 regular season
record, ranks with Bill Budness among the best players ever
to play linebacker for the Terriers.
A native of Everett, Mass., Pat was a high school All-America
selection under former Terrier "Moody" Sarno. He
turned down scholarship offers from 72 colleges, including
every Big Ten school, Notre Dame, Alabama, Boston College,
and Penn State (to name just a few), in order to play at Boston
University.
Although he weighed over 240 pounds, Pat never lost his speed
and during the winter and spring, he worked out with the Terrier
track team running the dashes, as he had done in high school
where he was a consistent point winner in the 100.
In his senior year, playing on a team with Bruce Taylor and
Fred Barry in the same defensive backfield, Pat was credited
with 27 tackles in a single game against Delaware and 237
on the season. San Diego State coach Don Coreyell called Hughes
the best linebacker he had seen all year.
Pat won All-New England honors as a junior and senior, and
was selected on the AP and UPI All-East teams and on Look
Magazine's District I All-America team. He was a sixth-round
draft choice of the New York Giants and made the team his
first season in the league. In addition to his starting position
as an inside linebacker for the Giants, he captained the defensive
team and called all of the defensive signals.
Following an outstanding career with the Giants, he was traded
to the New Orleans Saints, where he began his ninth season
as a pro.
