|
This year’s Mardi Gras will kick off with
"The Cajun Cannon"
When you
mention Bobby Hebert's name, the word "championship"
usually
follows.
Hebert, who
was born Aug. 19, 1960 in Cut Off, led the South Lafourche High
School Tarpon football team to the state 4A championship
in 1977. He led the Michigan Panthers to the United States
Football League championship in 1983, and the Oakland Invaders
to the championship game in 1985.
He led the
New Orleans Saints to its first playoff appearance in 1987.
Hebert was a multi-sport athlete at South
Lafourche High School, playing football and basketball. He was
quarterback for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches,
La. The Michigan Panthers in the new United States Football
League selected Hebert in the third round of the 1983 draft, the
34th pick overall. He signed with the Panthers on Jan. 22, 1983.
He had a
distinguished career with the new league. He set the USFL's
record for most touchdowns in a game with 5 on June 26, 1983,
against Chicago. He led the Panthers to the chamionship in 1983,
was named MVP of the championship game and selected the USFL's
Quarterback of the Year, Sporting News Player of the Year, and
quarterback on
The Sporting News' USFL all-star team. In 1983, he was 257-451
for 3,568 yards with 27 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. 1984
didn't produce a championship year for Hebert but he was still
able to go 272-500 for 3,758 yards with 24 touchdowns and 22
interceptions. In 1985, with the league foundering, the Panthers
and Oakland Invaders mergered with Hebert as quarterback. He was
244 of 456 for 3,811 yards, with 30 touchdowns and 19
interceptions in leading Oakland to the title game. He was
granted his unconditional release on July 15, 1985, and signed
with the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 7, 1985.
The Cajun
Cannon had come home.
Or so it seemed. Hebert played seven seasons with his hometown team,
helping to bring the Saints its first winning season and its
first berth in the playoffs as a wildcard in 1987. His early
tenure with the Saints was marred by injury. He sat out two
months of the 1986 season with a broken foot. His later term
with the Saints would be controversial. He sat out the 1990
season in a contract dispute. His feud with Coach Jim Mora
eventually led to his unconditional release on March 1, 1993. He
signed with cross-league rival Atlanta on April 21, 1993 and had
one of his better years, topping it off with an appearance in
the NFL Pro Bowl. He stayed with Atlanta in a back-up role until
the end of the 1996 season. He says he's still ready to play if
anyone needs him.
Hebert was named to the Saints Hall of Fame
in 1999 and inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in
2000.
|
|
PASSING |
|
Year
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
|
Team
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
Atl
Atl
Atl
Atl
|
Games
6
5
12
16
14
9
16
14
10
4
14
|
Att
181
79
294
478
353
248
422
430
103
45
488
|
Com
97
41
164
280
222
149
249
263
52
28
294
|
Pct
53.6
51.9
55.8
58.6
62.9
60.1
59.0
61.2
50.5
62.2
60.2
|
Yds
1208
498
2119
3156
2686
1676
3287
2978
610
313
3152
|
Yds/Att
6.7
6.3
7.2
6.6
7.6
6.8
7.8
6.9
5.9
7.0
6.5
|
Lg
76
84
67
40
54
65
72
98
40
37
57
|
TD
5
2
15
20
15
9
19
24
2
2
22
|
Rating
74.6
40.5
82.9
79.3
82.7
79.0
82.9
84.0
51.0
88.5
72.9
|
| Totals |
Games
120 |
Att
3,121 |
Com
1,839 |
Pct
58.9 |
Yds
21,683 |
Yds/Att
6.9 |
Lg
98 |
TD
135 |
Rating
78.0 |
|
|
INTS |
SACKS |
RUSHING |
Year
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
|
Team
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
Atl
Atl
Atl
Atl
|
Int
4
8
9
15
15
8
16
17
6
1
25
|
Int%
2.2
10.1
3.1
3.1
4.2
3.2
3.8
4.0
5.8
2.2
5.1
|
Sckd
17
5
20
24
22
16
15
29
3
0
27
|
Yds
150
34
119
171
171
134
119
190
17
0
150
|
Att
12
5
13
37
25
18
32
24
9
5
15
|
Yds
26
14
95
79
87
56
95
49
43
-1
59
|
Yds/R
2.2
2.8
7.3
2.1
3.5
3.1
3.0
2.0
4.8
-0.2
3.9
|
Lg
8
7
19
16
11
16
18
14
20
2
25
|
TD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
|
| Totals |
Int
124 |
Int%
4.0 |
Sckd
178 |
Yds
1,255 |
Att
195 |
Yds
602 |
Yds/R
3.1 |
Lg
25 |
TD
1 |
|
FUMBLES |
Year
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
|
Team
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
Atl
Atl
Atl
Atl
|
No.
1
3
4
9
2
5
3
11
2
0
10
|
Lost
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
|
Rec.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
2
|
Ret. TD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
|
| Totals |
No.
50 |
Lost
4 |
Rec.
5 |
Ret. TD
0 |
Information above was compiled by Eddie "Bush"
Bernard
For information about Bobby Hebert visit
http://lafourche.com/sports/hebert.htm and
Bobby's Myspace Website |
