Peter Hadhazy – 1944-2006

Ohio Glory General Manager Peter Hadhazy was snakebitten on both ends of his brief time with the team. He was named GM with less than four months to put a team together from scratch. Then, the National Football League decided to suspend operations on the World League of American Football – not allowing Hadhazy another season to continue the building process.

There is little doubt that if given the time, Ohio Glory General Manager Peter Hadhazy would have turned the 1992 expansion team into a winner.

But time was one thing Hadhazy, unfortunately, didn’t have in Columbus.

Named the Glory’s GM less than four months until the team’s first game, Hadhazy had precious little time to hire staff and coaches, and acquire players. He also couldn’t use his expertise from his extensive time in the National Football League, including as GM of the Cleveland Browns in the late 1970s, since he only could sign players under contract to the World League of American Football.

Despite those obstacles – and only having the chance to build the Glory for one season before the National Football League suspended the WLAF in favor of an all-European circuit beginning in 1995 – Hadhazy left a lasting impression on those around him in the organization.

·         Glory Head Coach Larry Little – “I couldn’t work for a better General Manager. Peter was a great communicator, he understood the game of football...and he was a competitor.

"Peter was a great guy as far as knowing entertainment and knowing how to get people in the stands. And I miss him so much, because we had kept in contact. Every time Peter would be in Naples, he would contact me. One time, I met him and we laughed and talked about the team.”

·         Glory Assistant to the General Manager Chris Wolfington – "It wasn't like an NFL team where it was a free market to be able to choose your players. All the players were employed by the league, so it was much more regulated. We weren't in a position to take advantage of Peter's background as much as if it were structured like the NFL. The deck was kind of already dealt a little bit. It was up to the coaching staff to make the most of what they had in terms of players.

“If Peter were in the NFL, he would have been wheeling and dealing with whoever he could find to put together the best players."

·         Glory Special Projects and Game Day Coordinator John Lombardi – “Peter Hadhazy was probably the best person I ever worked for in my life. I learned a lot from him. The tendency for a lot of people would be to micro-manage, but he trusted us and supported us. He made it fun. He didn't do it for us."

·         Glory Director of Merchandising and Novelty Booth Sales Don Patko – "He was a heck of a leader. He listened. He had the experience from his past positions. He had the ability to evaluate to make a final decision. Obviously, we ran a lot of things through Peter. He always would look for a positive."