Carroll Hardy – one of the greatest athletes in University of Colorado history, a 24-year football executive for the Denver Broncos and the only man to pinch-hit for Ted Williams – died Sunday morning at a hospice in Highlands Ranch from complications of dementia.
Hardy was 87. He and wife Janice were to be married 64 years next week. They raised three children in Colorado, Jay, Jill and Lisa.
It takes some time to summarize Hardy’s rich life. Born in Sturgis, South Dakota on May 18, 1933, he was in inducted into both the South Dakota and Colorado sports hall of fames.
Hardy earned 10 letters at CU – four in football, four in baseball and two in track – before graduating in 1955. Drafted in the third round by the NFL San Francisco 49ers that year, Hardy was a halfback/receiver who rushed for 37 yards but also had 12 catches for 338 yards – an astounding 28.2 yards per catch – and four touchdowns.
He then spent the next two years, 1956 and ‘57, in the Army, before deciding to concentrate on baseball where he spent 10 years in the majors for four teams. He is most remembered for coming in to replace the Splendid Splinter in a September 20, 1960 after Williams fouled the first pitch off his foot.
Hardy came in cold and finished Williams’ at-bat by lining into a double play. Eight days later, in the final game of Williams' great career, Hardy replaced him in left field in the 9th inning so the Boston crowd could give Williams an ovation.
Hardy also pinch-hit for Roger Maris in 1958 (hitting a home run) and Carl Yastrzemski.
All that and a case could be made baseball was Hardy’s second-best sport. At CU, he was honorable mention All American in 1953-54 and finished his career averaging 6.87 yards per carry, which still stands as the school record.
He also led the nation as a sophomore in 1952 with 32.2 yards per kickoff return and was fifth as a senior in 1954 with a 41.6-yard punting average. He also had six career interceptions as a defensive back.
Wait, there’s more. Much more. He ran a 9.8-second, 100-yard dash as a track sprinter and his career batting average in baseball at CU was .392.
In 1965, while still playing in the majors, Hardy began working for the Broncos as a scout and along with Janice raised their three children in Boulder. He was the Broncos' director of scouting from 1970-76 and starting in 1977 – the Broncos’ famed Orange Crush season in which a dominating defense carried the team to its first Super Bowl appearance -- new general manager Fred Gehrke promoted Hardy to Broncos’ director of player personnel.
A change of ownership from the Phipps brothers to Edgar Kaiser in 1981 moved Hardy to coordinator of combine scouting where he stayed through 1987, the Broncos’ second consecutive Super Bowl appearance with quarterback John Elway.
Hardy then scouted for the Kansas City Chiefs.
According to a press release authored by longtime CU sports information director and associate athletic director Dave Plati, Hardy and Jan retired to Steamboat Springs for 16 years before moving to Longmont and eventually to the Wind Crest Senior Community in Highlands Ranch.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, funeral services will be private with hopes of eventually having a larger celebration of life gathering.
