Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1993
- Class:
- 1972
An All-American in 1971, John Hill was perhaps the greatest offensive lineman in Lehigh football history. The center was named to the New York Times All-East Team and ECAC All-Star First Team. Football Magazine’s college division exemplary player award winner in 1971, Hill played in the East-West Shrine Game and the Coaches All-American postseason game. His leadership was exemplified by the fact that he was named team co-captain his senior year.
After graduating from Lehigh, Hill was a sixth round draft choice of the New York Giants, who used him at center, guard and tackle before waving him after three years of service. Hill then join the New Orleans Saints where he became an outstanding NFL performer from 1975 through 1984, captaining the team from 1980 through 1984. He was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame in July 1992 and named to the club's 25th Anniversary Team and their 45th Anniversary Team. Hill concluded his NFL career in 1985 with the San Francisco 49ers.
Football wasn't the only sport in which Hill excelled. He was also a member of the track and field team at Lehigh and was rated by his former coach John Covert as one of the greatest track and field athletes he has ever coached. Hill’s was a champion at the Penn Relays, and set the school’s indoor (17.40m) and outdoor (18.31m) shot put records in 1972. Both of those records stood for over forty years until Lucas Warning broke Hill’s indoor record in 2016 and the outdoor mark in 2017.
Hill passed away in 2018.
