RIP—The 49ers' Tommy Hart

By John Turney 

Art credit: David Grove

When the late Mike Giddings, founder of Proscout, Inc., would speak about former San Francisco 49ers' defensive end Tommy Hart, a player he once coached, he was always straight forward with his praise.

"Tommy," he said, "was a favorite."

Sadly, Hart passed away Thursday at the age of 80. His death was announced by the 49ers, with no cause revealed.

"Our thoughts and condolences are with his family," the team said in a prepared statement.

A 207-pound defensive end, linebacker and offensive tackle who played at Morris Brown College a historically black college, Hart was a three-time All-Conference selection, second-team NAIA All-American and a multi-sport athlete who earned four letters in football and three in track as a sprinter and shot putter. 

"One of our best players for three years," said Robert Slocum, his football coach at Morris Brown.

The 49ers noticed.

They made him their tenth-round draft pick 1968 and put him at linebacker, where he was coached by Giddings. But he didn't stay there long. He soon moved to defensive end and became a starter by his third season. By that time, he'd built himself up to 245-250 pounds yet retained his 4.7 speed ... and it was a winning combination.

Starting in 1970, Hart went on a nine-year run (eight with the 49ers and one with the Chicago Bears) where he started 128 straight games and unofficially recorded 80 sacks --  including 17 in 1972 and 16 in 1976 when he was a first-team All-Pro.

That was when he was part of the 49ers' fabled "Gold Rush" - a nickname given a defensive line that led the NFL with 61 sacks, a franchise record that still stands. In fact, in October, 1976, Hart produced six by himself in a Monday Night game vs. the Los Angeles Rams.

"That was the greatest game of my career,," he said afterward. "They have the greatest running game in the conference ... we stopped them, and that's the difference."

Hart thrived that season under new defensive line coach Floyd Peters, who implemented an aggressive pass-rushing scheme — a stark contrast to the Dallas Cowboys'-inspired "Flex" defense Hart had played his first six seasons as a defensive lineman.

However, the magic didn’t last.

In 1978, Hart sought a raise, and 49ers' General Manager Joe Thomas refused -- instead trading him to the Chicago Bears. Two years later, he move on to New Orleans where he was reunited with his former coach, Dick Nolan, who hired him to play the Saints' version of the "Flex" defense. 

As always, Hart performed.

"(Tommy) came up 6-4 and 207 pounds with a 4.65 40," said Giddins. "We kept him on as an outside linebacker, and defensive line coach Paul Wiggin -- we didn't have a strength coach -- bulked him up to 245 in the off-season. (He was) an unsung, solid, smart, hardworking 4-3 defensive who developed top pass-rush moves. (There was) no more solid first-and-10 defensive end."

Hart not only was a favorite of Giddings; he was a favorite of his teammates, too, twice named recipient of the Len Eshmont Memorial Award (1972 and 1976), the 49ers' most prestigious honor given annually to the player who best exemplifies the inspirational and courageous spirit of Eshmont.

In 1993, Hart was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and this past year was included in the third class of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame for his athletic exploits at Ballard High School in Macon, Ga.

Hart played 177 NFL regular-season games with 140 starts, eight fumble recoveries (including two returned for touchdowns) and two interceptions. According to official NFL play-by-plays, he finished with 558 tackles, nine forced fumbles, 22 passes defensed and 83 sacks.

He also played in six playoff games, starting five and recording a half-sack in 1970 and a fumble recovery in 1972.

From 1983-91, he served as an assistant defensive line coach for San Francisco. Then, after a three-year break from football, he joined the Dallas Cowboys, working as a defensive ends' coach from 1996-1997 and the team's West-area scout from 1998 through 2005.