Hall of Fame
Position: Coach
Years: Navy (1959-64), Temple (1970-82)
Place of Birth: Smackover, AR
Date of Birth: March 23, 1926
Place of Death: Oreland, PA
Date of Death: April 12, 2017
The most successful coach in Temple football history and the coach of Navy’s only two Heisman Trophy winners, Wayne Hardin created a Hall of Fame career, leading the Midshipmen and Owl programs to unprecedented accomplishments. His overall coaching record was 118-74-5.
Navy’s head coach from 1959-64 Hardin coached Hall of Famers and Heisman Trophy winners Joe Bellino (1960) and Roger Staubach (1963). Hardin ranks fifth all-time at Navy in wins (38), and his teams beat archrival Army in five of his six seasons. His five consecutive defeats of Army stood unsurpassed until 2007. He took Navy to the 1960 Orange Bowl and the 1963 Cotton Bowl, and he twice led the Midshipmen to a top five ranking (No. 4, 1960 and No. 2, 1963). He also coached NFF National Scholar-Athlete Joe Ince (1963).
The all-time leader in wins at Temple, Hardin served as head coach of the Owls from 1970-82. He led Temple to its only 10-win season in program history during the 1979 season, finishing at No. 17 in both major polls and beating favored California in the Garden State Bowl. Hardin also mentored Owl quarterback Steve Joachim who led the nation in total offense and won the Maxwell Trophy in 1973. He was honored as the 1974 Kodak District II Coach of the Year and was inducted into Temple's Hall of Fame in 1994.
Hardin attended the College of the Pacific, playing football for College Football Hall of Fame coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. A 1998 Pacific Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Hardin earned 11 varsity letters before graduating college in 1948. He was born March 23, 1926, in Smackover, Ark. He passed away April 12, 2017 at the age of 91.
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