Wendell Hayes

Wendell Hayes (August 5, 1940 - December 28, 2019) was an American professional football running back. He played college football at Oakland City College and Humboldt State University. Hayes played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys (1963) and Kansas City Chiefs (1970 to 1974), and in the American Football League for the Denver Broncos (1965 to 1967) and the Chiefs (1968 to 1969). He played on the 1969 Chiefs team that won the 1969 AFL championship and then defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth and final AFL-NFL World Championship Game.

Hayes was born on August 5, 1940, in Dallas, Texas. His family moved to Oakland, California where he attended Hoover Junior High School (graduating in June 1956), and then McClymonds High School.

At McClymonds, he became a multi-sport athlete. Hayes was a fullback on McClymonds' varsity football team. In 1957, he was honorable mention All-City at fullback. In 1958, he was named second-team All-City at fullback. He was mentored by head coach Earl Meneweather, who became the Oakland Athletic League's (OAL) first African American high school head football coach in 1957. Meneweather had played football at Humboldt State University (where Hayes would ultimately attend college), and was the first person inducted into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 1955. It has also been stated that Meneweather was the first black high school head football coach in California.^{[citation needed]}

Hayes also played starting forward on McClymonds' 1959 championship basketball team that included, among others, future National Basketball Association star Paul Silas and future Major League Baseball player Aaron Pointer. Hayes was honorable mention All-City that season; with the other four McClymonds' starters named first-team All-City. McClymonds' basketball team was undefeated in the 1958–59 season, under coach Paul Harless, and won the Tournament of Champions title in March 1959.

Hayes ran the 100-yard dash and threw the shot put on McClymonds' track and field team. He was the Oakland Athletic League's shot put champion in May 1959. He received All-Oakland Athletic League honors in track.^{[citation needed]}

As a teenager, he was also an amateur boxer.

In the fall of 1959, Hayes entered Oakland City College (formerly Oakland Junior College), where he was a fullback on the football team for two seasons. Oakland City College was part of the Big Eight Conference. He was the team's second leading rusher in 1959. Hayes was twice All-Big Eight in football, and was named to the first-team Big Eight Conference All-Star Team in 1960. Hayes also played forward and guard for Oakland City College’s basketball team during the team's 1959–60 and 1960–61 seasons. He was one of the conference's top scorers in 1960.

After playing two seasons of football at Oakland City College, Hayes later attended Humboldt State College. At Humboldt, as a junior, he became the left halfback on the school's football team in 1962, playing in the Far Western Conference. He also played defense and was the team's placekicker. Hayes was expected to be one of Humboldt's leading football players in the 1963 season, but he lost his scholarship eligibility and did not play another season at Humboldt.