Chris Hanburger didn’t think much about his chances in the NFL. He was so consumed about the draft he didn’t even realize it had been held — a friend informed the linebacker he had been drafted by the Redskins. And Hanburger didn’t want his wife to move to Washington during his first training camp.
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Didn’t think he would stick around that long. So why should she bother?
But Hanburger turned an unlikely career into a Hall of Fame one. It’s ironic, but perhaps the reason he became a Hall of Famer on Saturday is the same reason few gave him a shot in the NFL long ago: his size.
Not that Hanburger viewed it as a plus. In fact, before weigh-ins at training camp, he used to tape 2.5-pound weights to his body just to seem a little bigger.
“Shucks, I’d go to camp at 215, and halfway through the season I’d be down to 200, 205,” he told me for the book “Stadium Stories: Washington Redskins.” “It was my quickness more than anything else. Certainly I couldn’t take people on, so I had to try and set up blockers, so they missed me.”
Hanburger was a good linebacker before George Allen took over as Redskins coach in 1971; he already had made four Pro Bowls. But Hanburger flourished under Allen, who made him study film for the first time in his career.
“I’d never thought to take film home, and it was never offered,” he said in “Stadium Stories.” “It’s amazing the things you can pick up. I learned very quickly that it was a tremendous advantage.”
One lineman tipped off a pass by dragging his hand back; on runs, his hand wouldn’t move.
Hanburger also sat in on meetings with the defensive backs and defensive linemen, becoming a student not only of opposing offenses but the entire defense. He excelled at finding tendencies in opponents that would tip him off on what plays were coming.
Under Allen, he was named the NFC’s defensive player of the year in 1972 and made the Pro Bowl every year from 1972 to 1976 and nine overall.
He deserves to be in Canton. But there’s no doubt it was an unlikely trip.
