Thomas “Red” Hearden came from an athletic family in Green Bay and followed his brother Les as a football star at East High School in the early 1920s. Red was also two years behind another great Hilltopper back, Jim Crowley.

They played together for Head Coach Earl “Curly” Lambeau, who found time to coach East while he was a player-coach of the newly formed Green Bay Packers.

And Red Hearden also followed Jim Crowley to his next stop, the University of Notre Dame. There, Crowley became one of the legendary Four Horsemen backfield, leading the Fighting Irish to a Rose Bowl victory and the consensus national championship in 1924. Hearden was a backup on that team.

Two years later, Red served as Notre Dame’s captain and helped lead Knute Rockne’s team to a 9-1 record, with seven of the victories coming via shutout. Included was Notre Dame’s first ever game against Southern Cal, a 13-12 Irish victory in Los Angeles.

Red went on to play three seasons as a halfback in the NFL – 1927-28 with the Green Bay Packers under Curly Lambeau, and 1929 with the Chicago Bears under George Halas.

Like many of Coach Rockne’s players, Hearden became a coach himself. First at Racine St. Catherine, then an incredible run back at East High, achieving a record of 51-3-1 from 1936-42. His East teams won or shared six conference titles in his seven seasons and posted a 32-game winning streak.

During World War II, Hearden served in the U.S. Naval Reserve and held the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

After the war, Hearden took over as head coach at St. Norbert College and led the Knights to a 40-14 mark from 1946-52. His Green Knights were undefeated in 1946 (8-0), 1950 (7-0) and 1952 (6-0), won a pair of conference titles and even received votes in the AP Top 20.

Red became a Packers assistant coach in 1954-55 under Lisle Blackbourn before spending the 1956 season as an assistant under first-year head coach Milt Bruhn at Wisconsin.

He returned to the Packers in 1957 but suffered a stroke that effectively ended his coaching career. Many have speculated that, had it not been for his health problems, Hearden might well have been elevated to head coach in 1958, when the team went with Ray “Scooter” McLean instead. If Hearden had been elevated and matched his earlier success, it’s likely the Packers would never have needed to hire Vince Lombardi.

Tom “Red” Hearden died at the age of 60 on Dec. 27, 1964.

Among Hearden’s many honors: 1952 Notre Dame Club of Green Bay “Man of the Year;” 1959 St. Norbert College Alma Mater Award; 1980, Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame; and 1986, St. Norbert College Hall of Fame.