Tony Hunter
Episode 128
12 JULY 2021
He was a tight end in the National Football League, having been the twelfth overall pick in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, with whom he played for two years before going on to play two more seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, all following a collegiate career as a four-year starter for the University of Notre Dame where he led the Fighting Irish in receiving each of his last three seasons and was first-team All-American as a senior. During his time with the Bills, he made the NFL’s All-Rookie team. Plus, during his NFL career he won a division title and got within a game of the Super Bowl, and along the way he played alongside future Hall of Famers.
Notable guest quotes:
“My mom was a single mom of four who basically dedicated her life to the betterment of her children. That’s my angel. She passed about six years ago.”
“(Gerry Faust) was talking to me about coming to (Archbishop) Moeller (High School). I had been in public schools my whole life up until that point, but Moeller was a private, Catholic school that was a part of the Greater Cincinnati Catholic School League.”
“I decided I wanted to give Moeller a shot, and… it turned out to be the best decision I ever made in my life… And while at Moeller I converted to Catholicism.”
“A lot of people who saw me play as a youngster… felt like I could’ve played pro baseball as well as play football. And also basketball… I was a two-sport All-American in both football and basketball in high school.”
“Coach Faust was a devout Christian Catholic, very spiritual person… watching how he worshiped and the kind of human being that he was, he really took on a fatherly role for me in high school.”
“I used to go in for prayer by myself. They had a little chapel in the school that was basically open all the time and I would go in there in high school. And at Notre Dame… I was right next door to the school church, which was always unlocked for the most part. And I would always go in and sit down there and be at prayer.”
“It’s tough, when… basically your full-time job is playing football and being a student at Notre Dame… It was very tough at times and… I think it was my spiritual foundation that really got me through that.”
“It was a blessing. It was a great time for me and my family. I was the twelfth pick taken in the first round (of the NFL Draft).”
