photo by: Matt Tait

Photos of John Hadl, young and old, greeted friends and family members who attended a celebration of life for Hadl on Friday, Dec. 16, 2022 at the Lied Center on the University of Kansas campus.

No matter how they knew him or what they called him, scores of people who were influenced in some way by the late John Hadl flocked to the Lied Center on Friday afternoon for a celebration of life for the Lawrence native and KU legend.

To some, he was known as “coach.” Others knew him simply as Hadl or John or even John Hadl or Mr. Hadl. A select few called him a teammate and to some he was the greatest athlete they ever saw.

To all, though, Hadl was a friend.

Several of Hadl’s friends, family members and a handful of notable KU sports figures attended Friday’s celebration, which featured six speakers, a short highlight film that Hadl himself had narrated years ago and Curtis Marsh playing KU’s alma mater on trumpet to close the event. State representative, Barbara Ballard, also honored Hadl by singing “Love Me Tender,” by Elvis Presley, and “The Twelfth of Never,” by Johnny Mathis.

Hadl died on Nov. 30 at age 82, but it’s clear that his legacy and many wonderful and sometimes unbelievable stories will live on.

Larry Hatfield, one of Hadl’s childhood friends, told a few of them, recalling with great detail Hadl’s addresses and many memorable outings, which included plenty of athletic competitions and sneaking into KU football and basketball games.

Before Hadl passed, Hatfield talked with him about this very day and Hadl told him then that he wanted the celebration to be about his friends. When Hatfield explained that it was supposed to be about Hadl, the former KU quarterback grumbled and reiterated that he wanted it to be about those he loved. So, Hatfield obliged, naming as many of them as he could reasonably fit into his speech.

“John was a legend in his own time,” Hatfield said. “But not in his own mind.”

Former Kansas quarterback David Jaynes, who led the Jayhawks to the 1973 Liberty Bowl, spoke on behalf of all former players and he called it “a tremendous honor.”

Hadl helped recruit Jaynes, a Bonner Springs native, to KU by simply placing a phone call to him. During that conversation, Hadl gave Jaynes his phone number and said he could call at any time. Jaynes, who was working on an art project at the time of the call, wrote the number down in crayon and still has that piece of paper with the phone number with the 714 area code on it to this day.

“I still have it because it meant so much to me,” Jaynes said.

Jaynes also recalled, while working as a ball boy for the Kansas City Chiefs, watching Hadl warm up with San Diego wideout Lance Alworth. He thought to himself, “Man, I wish I could throw the ball like John Hadl.” A few weeks later, while watching Hadl and the Chargers on television, Jaynes watched Hadl deliver a bruising run that left him bloodied and battered and recalled thinking, “Man, I wish I could throw the ball like John Hadl.”

That line got one of the bigger laughs of the day.

Longtime Hadl friend and KU teammate Pack St. Clair, spoke of Hadl’s humility and friendship, calling him “a true hero and true legend.”

“I find it hard to put into words how to describe John,” St. Clair said. “You couldn’t out-friendship or out-love John Hadl.”

Pat Henderson, who spoke on behalf of those who knew Hadl as a fund-raiser for KU’s Williams Fund, called his old friend “a fund-raising machine,” and reminded folks how Hadl was often “the inspiration for the entire athletic department,” as athletic directors and football coaches came and went.

“Everybody knows what kind of a unicorn he was on the field,” Henderson said. “He had the kind of career you name babies, streets and horses after.”

Henderson later said that Hadl perfect embodied the popular KU saying, “Once a Jayhawk, always a Jayhawk,” better than anyone.

Longtime KU supporter Dana Anderson spoke of their days playing golf together in California, recalling a time at a member-guest tournament when Hadl mishit his drive on the first tee in front of 30 or 40 people and apologized, saying he was nervous.

Anderson never really understood how a man who played football in front of tens of thousands of people with 11 players on the other team trying to knock his head off could be nervous teeing off in front of a few dozen golfers.

Hadl’s answer? On the football field, he was confident and knew what he was doing. With a golf club, it wasn’t exactly the same.

“John was not as good at golf as he was at football,” said John Tacha, who hosted Friday’s celebration. “But he always thought the next hole was going to be a birdie.”

Tacha said he once asked Hadl to name the most interesting and entertaining celebrity he ever hung out with while playing quarterback in the NFL. For Hadl, the answer was easy. John Wayne.

“For all of us, John Hadl was our John Wayne,” Tacha said.

Several of Hadl’s friends and family members stayed for a re-ception after the hour-long event ended. The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made in John’s name to the John Hadl Football Legacy Fund through KU Endowment.