:Ben Hawkins (American football)

{{Short description|American football player (1944–2017)}}

{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1944|03|22}}

| birth_place = Newark, New Jersey, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|10|9|1944|3|22}}

| death_place = Belmar, New Jersey, U.S.

| number = 18

| status =

| position = Wide receiver

| height_ft = 6

| height_in =2

| weight_lb = 190

| college = Arizona State

| draftround = 3

| draftpick = 36

| afldraftyear = 1966

| afldraftround = 5

| afldraftpick = 38

|pastteams=

• Philadelphia Eagles ({{NFL Year|1966}}–{{NFL Year|1973}})
• Cleveland Browns ({{NFL Year|1974}})
• Philadelphia Bell (1975)

| highlights =

• NFL receiving yards leader (1967)
• Second-team All-American (1965)

|statlabel1=Receptions

|statvalue1=261

|statlabel2=Receiving yards

|statvalue2=4,764

|statlabel3=Receiving touchdowns

|statvalue3=32

|pfr=HawkBe00

}}

Benjamin Charles Hawkins (March 22, 1944 – October 9, 2017), nicknamed "the Hawk", was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1966 to 1973.[http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20992445/former-philadelphia-eagles-wr-ben-hawkins-dies-73 Former Eagles WR Ben Hawkins passes away at 73] He later played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns and the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League (WFL). Hawkins led the NFL in receiving yards while with the Eagles in 1967. He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils and was selected in the third round of the 1966 NFL draft by the Eagles. Hawkins was also selected in the fifth round of the 1966 AFL Draft by the New York Jets but opted to play in the NFL instead.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Hawkins attended Weequahic High School before moving to nearby Nutley and transferring to Nutley High School.[http://nutleyhalloffame.nutleypubliclibrary.org/2009-hawkins/ 2009 Hall of Fame Inductee, Benjamin Charles Hawkins], Nutley Hall of Fame. Accessed November 9, 2019. "Benjamin Charles Hawkins was born in Newark, NJ in 1944. He attended Weequahic High School and Nutley High School." He had two children.

Hawkins died on October 9, 2017, at age 73.