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J.D. Hill video

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Tcali All Pro

Tcali

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unbelievable talent.i knew him (not close friends but acquaintance) in Buffalo.Nice guy.

Then ran into him briefly in Northern CA when he wasn't in the best of shape.He seems like a good guy with a good heart.So glad he has it together.

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slcbillsbacker Probation

slcbillsbacker

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Got JD's autograph in fall of '80...the day before OJ's ring of fame ceremony. I was delivering hot dog rolls to Rich and went down to So endzone where Hill was playing catch w/ Ralph Wilson. Dang, Ralph looked old & frail THEN! At one point he fell & I thought he might not get up but JD came to his aid and Ralph said JD was always one of his favorite players...he seemed like a really cool dude (for what it's worth)

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Jim Gehman Probation

Jim Gehman

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I hope no one minds if I contribute these excerpts about J.D. from my book: “Then Levy Said to Kelly…”

 

A Rough Start

 

Buffalo’s top draft choice in 1971, J.D. Hill, a wide receiver from Arizona State, experienced a plethora of emotions at the start of his career, beginning with the fourth preseason game on August 29 in Atlanta.

 

"I was sitting on the bench with [quarterback] James Harris, and I said, ‘I wish they’d put us in. We’d show them what we can do!’ Just about a minute after that they called us in," said Hill. "The first pass he threw to me was a 67-yard touchdown pass. We kicked off to them, they fumbled, and the next pass he threw to me was a 69-yard touchdown pass. After the game, I got a message. It said, ‘J.D., your mother has died.’ So I flew to San Antonio, Texas. I’m embarking upon my career and what have you, I’m excited about things, but emotionally now, I’m wrecked. I buried my mother. I hadn’t had any sleep. I had to drive from San Antonio to Dallas, got on an airplane, and flew to Detroit [for the next preseason game]. I met up with the team, and the next night I shouldn’t have even played. I hadn’t practiced. I was emotionally distraught, and I got my knee tore up and my back hurt.

 

"I remember running a slant pattern, and I jumped to catch a pass, and [Lions defensive back] Dick LeBeau hit me on my left knee. [back on the field for a kickoff,] in the process of all the hurry-up and what have you, I went out there and somebody missed a block, and a guy speared me right in the back with his helmet. They carried me off the field, and in the locker room at halftime I hear O.J. [simpson] saying, ‘Let’s go out there and get them for Hill.’ Well, Buffalo won the game, and I ended up going to the hospital and had my first knee surgery."

 

After an exhaustive rehabilitation that included getting advice from basketball star Wilt Chamberlain –"Follow everything they tell you to do, but whatever they tell you to do, do a little bit more. " Hill’s regular-season debut occurred on November 28, when the 0–10 Bills hosted the Patriots at War Memorial Stadium. The rookie caught three passes for a game-high 82 yards and scored touchdowns of 11 and 47 yards less than six minutes apart in the second quarter. Buffalo won, 27–20, for its season’s only victory.

 

 

A Wideout that Blocks

 

Adjustments, even when done reluctantly, are a part of the game. In 1973 Buffalo’s offense centered on running back O.J. Simpson, who on 332 carries would set an NFL record with 2,003 rushing yards. His backfield mates Jim Braxton and Larry Watkins added 908 yards on 206 carries. Rookie quarterback Joe Ferguson added 147 yards more. But receiver J.D. Hill, who was coming off a 52-catch Pro Bowl season, wanted to handle the pigskin, too. However, since the game is played with only one football, and he realized it wasn’t coming his way with any regularity, Hill became a blocker.

 

"[Veteran quarterback Dennis] Shaw is out. Ferguson is in. [Wide receivers] Haven Moses and Marlin Briscoe had already said, ‘We’re out of here.’ They knew about Lou Saban and his running game. They knew Lou wasn’t going to throw," said Hill, who would catch 23 fewer passes than in 1972. "I’m a young kid believing they’re going to use my talents, and the next thing I know we’re running the ball 40 times a game.

 

"There was just me and B.C. [bob Chandler], and then they added Wallace Francis and some other receivers. I’m believing that, ‘Hey, they’re going to throw the ball. We want to win!’ What I ended up finding out was that people were more excited about O.J. running 200 yards a game and trying to get 2,000 yards then we were about winning ballgames. It appeared that way anyway. We weren’t trying to do everything to win."

 

He continued. "I got to the point where I became frustrated, and I got discouraged with the game of football. I was young and didn’t know how to handle a lot of things, so my attitude began to change. We were running O.J. so much, and I wanted to catch the ball. Eventually I said, ‘Hey, listen, I’m not going to get the ball, so I’m going to be an angry wide receiver. I turned into a wide guard and just started blocking. I became one of the best blocking wide receivers in the league, if not the best.

 

"It bothered me that they gave the line the ‘Electric Company.’ The whole team should have been the Electric Company. Everybody blocked! If I don’t block the linebacker, he’s going to shoot in there and mess up the pulling guard and O.J. doesn’t get around the corner. I’m blocking guys that are 6’5" and 255, 260 pounds, and I’m at 190. And at times, they’d put me at double-tight, where I’d have to block with the tackles, Dave Foley or Donnie Green. It bothered me because I was a split end."

 

Hill’s focus on playing without the ball wasn’t unnoticed by his teammates then or later when they look back at what the Bills accomplished that season. "It was on an HBO special. Reggie McKenzie said, ‘If it wasn’t for J.D. Hill, O.J. would never have got 2,003 yards,’" said Hill. "That was my trophy. I can’t put it up on a mantle. I don’t get to look at it, but I’ve got the picture of one of the greatest offensive teams ever assembled on my wall. When I look at that picture, I look at Dave Foley and Reggie McKenzie and Mike Montler and Joe DeLamielleure and Donnie Green, Paul Seymour, and Jim Braxton, O.J. and Bobby Chandler, Joe Ferguson. I know that I was a part of one of the greatest offensive units that was ever assembled. I loved the game, but I wanted to catch the ball. I wanted to win. I wanted to use my talents."

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