Hatley was born on March 16, 1930, in Lometa, Texas. His parents moved to Uvalde, Texas, in 1933, where he grew up on the family ranch.[1][2] Hatley attended Uvalde High School and was an all-around athlete, competing in track, baseball, basketball, and football.[1] A March 1948 article in the Austin American-Statesman wrote "In many ways Hatley rates as the year's most phenomenal trackman. A 220-pound football player, Hatley also runs the 100 [metres] in 10.7 [seconds] and high jumps five feet, seven inches, in addition to his shot put duties, where he is a consistent 50-footer. Few men of his size can perform those feats."[3] In May 1948, Hatley won the state high school shot put championship with a throw of 52 feet, five more than second place.[4]
Hatley was selected in the 16th round (186th overall) 1953 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.[13][14] After joining the Bears, he "immediately attracted the attention of line coach Phil Handler because of his speed and agility" and was trained to be the team's left offensive guard.[15] Backfield coach and Pro Football Hall of FamerPaddy Driscoll said of Hatley: "That guy can get out ahead of a halfback in interference better than any man I've seen lately."[15] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that in practice Hatley "has been impressive at guard."[16] In the third exhibition, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he got into a fight with punterPat Brady and was ejected from the game.[17] Hatley ended up playing in ten regular season games, nine as a starter, as the Bears finished with a record of 3–8–1, fourth place in the Western Conference.[18][19][a]
Hatley started the 1954 season with the Bears and was reported as "the sensation of the camp so far," having "won every sprint race to date" despite gaining 15 pounds.[20] Shortly before the first game of the regular season, he was sent on waivers to the crosstown Chicago Cardinals.[21] Overall, in 1954, Hatley played in twelve games and started between eight and eleven of them, as the Cardinals finished 2–10.[18][22] He also made one fumble recovery and returned one kickoff for eleven yards.[18] In 1955, he appeared in all twelve games and started eleven, as the Cardinals finished the season fourth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 4–7–1.[18][23] He recorded one fumble recovery and returned two kickoffs for thirteen yards.[18]
In July 1956, it was announced that Hatley had been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for an undisclosed draft pick.[24] He left the team shortly before the season started to become a full-time competitor in rodeo.[25][1]
1959–1961
While in Dallas for the national rodeo finals in December 1959, Hatley agreed to return to professional football, signing a contract with the Dallas Texans in the newly formed American Football League (AFL).[26] He played briefly for the semi-professional Eagle Rock Athletic Club before signing with Dallas.[27] In August 1960, Hatley was traded to the Denver Broncos.[28] In the home opener, a win against the Oakland Raiders, he recovered a fumble.[29] The Broncos finished the season with a record of 4–9–1, with Hatley starting in all fourteen games.[30]
In 1966, Hatley became the defensive coach,[32] general manager, president, and a player for the newly formed Odessa-Midland Comets of the Texas Football League (TFL).[33] Despite being 36 years old, Hatley ended the season being named to the league's all-star team.[34] In January 1967, he submitted an application for a TFL team in Fort Worth.[35] The application was accepted, with the Fort Worth Texans being the team's name. Hatley was named head coach.[36] In addition to serving as head coach, Hatley also played offensive tackle for the team.[6] The season opener for Fort Worth was played against the Odessa-Midland Comets, his former team.[37] The Texans finished the season with a record of 5–9.[38]
In 1968, Hatley led Fort Worth (renamed the Braves that year) to a 10–2 record, placing second in the Western Division but narrowly missing the playoffs.[39] The following year, Hatley retired from playing, at the age of 39, but continued as head coach and general manager.[6][32][40] The 1969 Fort Worth team played in the Continental Football League (CoFL), and finished with a record of 5–7 in league play, third place in the Texas Division West.[41] Hatley retired from coaching after the season.[32]
Rodeo career
Hatley became interested in rodeo when at Sul Ross and competed in the sport during the football off-season each year.[2] In 1956, he quit football to rodeo full time.[42] He said that year, "handling animals, even the bulls, isn't half as tough as playing football ... I've never gotten hurt in a professional rodeo, but in football, I'm always getting hurt."[43] In the next years he won steer wrestling competitions in Odessa, El Paso, Uvalde, Pecos, and Waco, Texas; Palm Springs, California; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Spokane, Washington.[42] He placed sixth nationally in steer wrestling in 1957 and moved up to fifth in the following year.[1] In 1959, he participated in the National Rodeo Finals and placed thirteenth.[1] He competed only part-time in the 1960s and had his last rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1973.[42]
Later life and death
Hatley later was in the trucking business.[1] He was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1998, which he described as one of the highlights of his life.[1] Hatley died on February 10, 2001, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the age of 70.[1] He was posthumously inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2004.[42]
