It was a bold statement at the time, and 44 years on, it still might be true.
On Aug. 3, 1981, Sports Illustrated’s cover bore the helmeted visage of New England Patriots guard John Hannah. The headline read “The Best Offensive Lineman of All-Time.”
Hannah, of course, is an Alabama graduate, who wore No. 73 during his playing days. An Albertville native, he was a first-team All-American for the Crimson Tide in both 1971 and 1972 (the second year unanimously) and as a senior won the SEC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy.
The No. 4 overall pick in 1973 by the Patriots, Hannah added even more accolades at the professional level. In 13 seasons, all with New England, he was a first-team All-Pro seven times and a second-team pick three times, made nine Pro Bowls and was picked to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for both the 1970s and 1980s and the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.
Hannah is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the New England Patriots Hall of Fame. The Patriots also retired his No. 73, one of eight players so honored in the 65-year history of the franchise.
Just what was it that made Hannah so great? Power for one thing.
An accomplished wrestler in high school and college and a record-setting shot-putter at Alabama, Hannah had thighs that measured 33 inches around. In that 1981 cover story, Sports Illustrated’s Paul Zimmerman described his legs as “massive chunks of concrete.”
But the 6-foot-2, 270-pound Hannah was also quick and agile, skills he’d no doubt honed as the leader of the offensive line in Alabama’s wishbone offense. The Crimson Tide switched from a pro-style attack to the run-heavy, option-based offense prior to Hannah’s junior season.
“For all his size and explosiveness and straight-ahead speed,” Patriots general manager Bucko Kilroy told SI, “John has something none of the others ever had, and that’s phenomenal, repeat, phenomenal lateral agility and balance, the same as defensive backs. You’ll watch his man stunt around the opposite end, and John will just stay with him. He’ll slide along like a toe dancer, a tippy-toe. And that’s a 270-pound man doing that, a guy capable of positively annihilating an opponent playing him straight up.”
Hannah was also known for his very high football IQ and love of watching game film. He not only studied opposing defensive linemen, but also fellow offensive linemen he wanted to emulate.
“I got films of some of the other offensive linemen and tried to study them,” Hannah told SI. “I tried to copy (Miami Dolphins Hall-of-Fame guard Bob) Kuechenberg because I thought my style would be suited to his. I also tried to copy Randy Rasmussen of the Jets because we were built similarly, the same wide base.
“… I studied my opponents. Ernie Holmes of the Steelers, for instance, hated to be cut (blocked). So I cut him four or five times. He’d get so mad he’d just keep going for me and forget about the ball carrier. He’d beat me up, but he wouldn’t make many tackles.”
The son of former Alabama and NFL offensive lineman Herb Hannah, John also had two younger brothers who played for the Crimson Tide. Charley was an Alabama defensive lineman from 1973-76 (who also played several years in the NFL), while David played on the offensive line a few years later before knee injuries short-circuited his career.
After scuffling to a 6-5-1 record in 1970, Alabama switched to the wishbone and was off and running. With Hannah helping clear the way for the likes of quarterback Terry Davis and running back Johnny Musso, the Crimson Tide went 11-0 and won the SEC title that season before stumbling vs. eventual national champion Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
Alabama came back with a 10-2 mark in 1972, a season that ended in back-to-back losses to Auburn (in the famed Punt Bama Punt Iron Bowl) and to Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Hannah was off to the NFL after that, stopping first in Hawaii for the Hula Bowl all-star game.
During one Hula Bowl practice, Oakland Raiders coach John Madden remarked “You know, the best player I’ve seen out here is John Hannah.” Madden repeated the praise years later a league-issued questionnaire that asked “if you were to start a new franchise and you could pick one player in the NFL to start your team with, whom would you pick?”
Madden’s answer: “John Hannah.”
