Education
The family ran an orange and avocado ranch and he graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana in 1961.
The family ran an orange and avocado ranch and he graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana in 1961.
He then played professionally with a number of teams in the American Football League (American Federation of Labor-Congress), the National Football League (NFL), and the World Football League (WFL) between 1965 and 1975. Huarte was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Born and raised in Orange County, California, Huarte"s father Joseph was a former minor league baseball player of Basque descent.
Huarte played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
During his sophomore and junior seasons, he averaged only a few minutes per game due to injuries and the Irish went 5–5 and 2–7, respectively. By the end of the season, Huarte threw for 2,062 yards with only 205 passes, an average of over ten yards per pass attempt, many to receiver Jack Snow.
The 1965 game was in early August against the Cleveland Browns and Huarte was named the game"s most valuable player. Huarte was drafted in 1965 by both pro football leagues: he was the twelfth overall selection of the American Federation of Labor-Congress draft and the 76th pick of the NFL draft.
He signed with the American Federation of Labor-Congress"s New York Jets over the NFL Philadelphia Eagles, He signed with the Jets, but was beaten out for the starting position by fellow-rookie Joe Namath, the first pick of the American Federation of Labor-Congress draft. who had finished eleventh in the Heisman voting as a senior at Alabama.
Huarte was third on the depth chart behind co-starters Namath and Mike Taliaferro and was on the taxi squad. Following the 1965 season, Huarte was traded to the Boston Patriots for Jim Colclough and the draft rights to Wichita State linebacker/center Jim Waskiewicz. Subsequently Huarte did see action as a back-up quarterback for several other professional teams from 1966 to 1972.
Out of the NFL in 1973, he played his final two seasons of professional football as the starting quarterback of the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League, which folded before the completion of the 1975 season.
Huarte was a member of the College All-Star team in the annual pre-season game against the defending NFL champions at Chicago"s Soldier Field.
Huarte is a member of The Pigskin Club of Washington, District of Columbia