Editing Bob Hayes (section)

==Professional football career==
===Dallas Cowboys===
The [[Dallas Cowboys]] selected Hayes in the seventh round (88th overall) of the [[1964 NFL draft]] with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, taking a chance that the Olympic sprinter with unrefined football skills could excel as a [[wide receiver]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19641209&id=PyEmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CP4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2456,1931474 Cowboys and Giants Sign 2 Speedsters]. Gettysburg Times. December 9, 1964</ref> He was also selected by the [[Denver Broncos]] in the 14th round (105th overall) of the [[1964 AFL Draft]], with a future selection. Hayes has been credited by many with forcing the NFL to develop a [[zone defense]] and the [[bump and run coverage|bump and run]] to attempt to contain him.<ref name="profootballhof.com">[http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/story.jsp?story_id=3095 Enshrinement » Class of 2009 announced] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203071341/http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/story.jsp?story_id=3095 |date=February 3, 2009 }}. Profootballhof.com. Retrieved on May 30, 2015.</ref>

Hayes' first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns with 12 and 13 touchdowns, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rank|first=Adam|url=http://www.nfl.com/photoessays/0ap2000000324888/NFL-players-from-historically-black-colleges|title=NFL players from historically black colleges|publisher=[[National Football League]]|date=February 10, 2014|access-date=February 27, 2014}}</ref> In 1966 Hayes caught six passes for 195 yards against the [[New York Giants]] at the [[Cotton Bowl (stadium)|Cotton Bowl]]. Later, in the [[Dallas Cowboys]]-[[Washington Redskins]] match-up, Hayes caught nine passes for 246 yards (a franchise record until [[Miles Austin]] broke it with a 250-yard performance on October 11, 2009, against the [[Kansas City Chiefs]]). Hayes' speed forced other teams to go to a zone since no single player could keep up with him. Spreading the defense out in hopes of containing Hayes allowed the Cowboys' talented running game to flourish, rushers [[Don Perkins]], [[Calvin Hill]], [[Walt Garrison]] and [[Duane Thomas]] taking advantage of the diminished coverage at the line of scrimmage. In the 1967 season, Hayes led the NFL in punt return yards, and went on to set an NFL playoff record with 141 punt return yards in Dallas' 52-14 win over the [[Cleveland Browns]]. Hayes also caught 5 passes for 145 yards in that game, including an 86-yard touchdown catch.

Hayes is also infamous for two events, both involving the NFL championship games in [[1966 NFL Championship Game|1966]] and [[1967 NFL Championship Game|1967]], both against the [[Green Bay Packers]]. In the 1966 game, on the last meaningful play of the game, Hayes missed an assignment of blocking linebacker [[Dave Robinson (American football)|Dave Robinson]], which resulted in [[Don Meredith]] nearly being sacked by Robinson and as a result throwing a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted by [[Tom Brown (safety)|Tom Brown]]. In the 1967 NFL championship, the "Ice Bowl" played on New Year's Eve, 1967, Hayes was alleged to have inadvertently disclosed whether the upcoming play was a pass or run because on running plays he kept his hands inside his pants to keep them warm and the Green Bay defense knew they didn't need to cover him.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/12127344/nfl-chilling-recollection-classic-ice-bowl | title=A chilling recollection of 'Ice Bowl' | date=January 7, 2015 | access-date=February 19, 2016}}</ref>

On July 17, [[1975 NFL season|1975]], he was traded to the [[San Francisco 49ers]] in exchange for a third round draft choice (#73-[[Duke Fergerson]]).<ref>{{cite web| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19750718&id=ALslAAAAIBAJ&pg=1047,3651557&hl=es | title=Bob Hayes, Traded By Dallas To San Francisco | access-date=February 19, 2016}}</ref>

Hayes wore No. 22 with the Cowboys, which would later be worn by [[running back]] [[Emmitt Smith]].

===San Francisco 49ers===
In [[1975 NFL season|1975]] with the [[San Francisco 49ers]], Hayes teamed up with [[Gene Washington (American football, born 1947)|Gene Washington]] in the starting lineup. On October 23, he was waived after not playing up to expectations, in order to make room for [[wide receiver]] [[Terry Beasley]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19751023&id=MRQ9AAAAIBAJ&pg=5030,3103651&hl=es | title=San Francisco waives Bob Hayes | access-date=February 19, 2016}}</ref>

===Multiple offensive threat===
In addition to receiving, Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading [[punt returner]] in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and two touchdowns, including a 90 yarder against the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]. He was named to the [[Pro Bowl]] three times and First-team All-Pro twice and Second-team All-Pro twice. He helped Dallas win five Eastern Conference titles, two NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first-ever Super Bowl victory after the 1971 season, making Hayes the only person to win both an Olympic [[gold medal]] and a [[Super Bowl#Super Bowl winners|Super Bowl ring]]. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and the bump and run was refined, Hayes' value was as a decoy rather than a deep threat.

===Cowboy records===
Hayes was the second player (after [[Franklin Clarke]]) in the history of the [[Dallas Cowboys]] franchise to surpass 1,000 yards (ground or air) in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he led the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total [[touchdowns]] (13) and total receiving touchdowns (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average (his yards per catch average remains a franchise record, while his touchdown reception record stood until 2017, when it was broken by [[Dez Bryant]].) He also rushed for 68 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and three touchdowns.

In [[1965 NFL season|1965]] he also started a streak ([[1965 NFL season|1965]]–[[1966 NFL season|1966]]) of seven consecutive games with at least a [[touchdown]] catch, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with [[Franklin Clarke]] ([[1961 NFL season|1961]]–[[1962 NFL season|1962]]), [[Terrell Owens]] ([[2007 NFL season|2007]]) and [[Dez Bryant]] ([[2012 NFL season|2012]]).

His 7,295 receiving yards are the sixth-most in [[Dallas Cowboys]] history. To this day{{When|date=February 2023}}, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.

In 2004, he was named to the [[Professional Football Researchers Association]] Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/hall-of-very-good-2004.htm |title=Hall of Very Good |access-date=July 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005051004/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/hall-of-very-good-2004.htm |archive-date=October 5, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>