ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine community is mourning the loss of John Huard, one of the greatest football players in the history of the school.
The Hall of Fame linebacker died peacefully on Wednesday morning with his family at his side, according to TV station CBS 13. He was 80.
The list of Huard’s accomplishments both on and off the field is too long to fully capture. The Waterville native was a two-time first team All-American, a College Football Hall of Fame and UMaine Sports Hall of Fame inductee, a member of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame, the first ever member of the Alfond Stadium “Ring of Honor” at UMaine, an NFL player, a college coach, a successful businessman and a dedicated family man.
“We are saddened to hear about the passing of John Huard,” UMaine head football coach Jordan Stevens said in a news release from the university. “John lived an amazing life. He raised an amazing family and gave his all to the game of football. We are grateful for the positive impact John made to the University of Maine and our football program. We will forever honor the legacy of John Huard.”
After his playing career, Huard returned to UMaine as an offensive line coach, and went on to coach in various capacities including as a special teams coach in the United States Football League and as head coach of Maine Maritime Academy. He also ran his own athletic turf business.
“Nobody worked harder to succeed in whatever he did in life than John, whether it be school, football, business, coaching, or family,” former UMaine teammate Walter Nelson said in the university update. “Everything he did and achieved in life he did so with great humility.”
That humility was on clear display in 2014, when Huard spoke with the Bangor Daily News about his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
“I keep telling all of my friends that this is really a reflection of the teams I played on,” Huard said at the time. “We had terrific people at the University of Maine. If you look at the people I played with at the time, 90 percent of them are still married. They are great family people. You have great educators and great business people who did a terrific job extending their athletic careers into life careers.”
With his passing, Huard’s careers both in athletics and in life are being honored by the many people he impacted.
“To me, John Huard is the most powerful figure in Maine Football history,” Jack Cosgrove, former UMaine head coach and quarterback, said in the university news release. “As a player and coach, he impacted outcomes of a tremendous number of Black Bears. He led the 1965 Tangerine Bowl as a player and coached myself and my teammates to the 1974 Yankee Conference championship. He served as a great mentor during my career as a coach at Maine and later became the first Black Bear to be enshrined in the Ring of Honor and to be inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame. His success as a business man and his company, Field Turf, added more to a lifetime of accomplishments. God bless John Huard.”
