Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1984
- Class:
- 1941
When Jackie Hunt scored 27 touchdowns for the 1940 Marshall football team, not only did he establish a new NCAA record – he set a mark that would stand atop the books for another 31 years. After an all-state prep career at Huntington High School, John Seva Hunt chose to stay home and play his college football for Coach Cam Henderson. Hunt helped the team to a 5-4 record during his freshman season of 1938, then led the charge for a combined 24-5 record over the next three years.
Hunt burst onto the national scene as a junior when the tailback in Henderson’s single-wing offense led the way for the No. 1 scoring team in the nation as the Thundering Herd averaged 33.4 points per game in an 8-2 campaign. Marshall won its last five games of the year by a combined margin of 258-12 as Hunt scored 21 touchdowns in that span, and Hunt’s 27 scores on the year stood atop the NCAA charts until Penn State’s Lydell Mitchell scored 28 in a 12-game season in 1971. Hunt was named to several All-America teams, including the Associated Press Little All-America squad, an honor he repeated during his senior season as Marshall logged a 7-1 record. A highlight of that season was a 16-6 win over Wake Forest at Fairfield Stadium, a game in which Hunt intercepted three passes, still a Marshall single-game record. Hunt was then chosen to play in the Blue-Gray All Star Game and in two games featuring college all-stars versus NFL teams. “I doubt there is a better back in America than Jackie Hunt,” wrote famed sportswriter Grantland Rice.
Henderson did not like to publicize individual statistics and so Hunt’s career numbers are a matter of some speculation and guesswork. It is known that he rushed for 1,956 yards on his 43 touchdowns alone, since the scoring plays were always listed in the newspaper reports of the games. It is estimated that Hunt rushed for nearly 4,000 yards in his career and the NCAA estimates that Hunt was the first player to amass more than 3,000 career all-purpose yards.
Following his graduation, Hunt was chosen by the Chicago Bears in the 13th round of the 1942 NFL Draft, but his professional football career was put on hold as he entered the U.S. Army to serve during World War II. After being released from the military, Hunt played in four games for the Bears during the 1946 season, then retired from football. He was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. Hunt was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.
