:Kevin Hardy (defensive tackle)

{{Short description|American football player (1945–2024)}}

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

{{sources|date=October 2014}}

{{Infobox CFL biography

| name = Kevin Hardy

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1945|7|28}}

| birth_place = Oakland, California, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|5|6|1945|7|28}}

| death_place = Danville, California, U.S.

| team =

| number = 86, 73, 80

| status =

| position1 = Defensive tackle

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 276

| college = Notre Dame

| NFLDraftedYear = 1968

| NFLDraftedRound = 1

| NFLDraftedPick = 7

| NFLDraftedTeam = New Orleans Saints

| playing_years1 = 1968

| playing_team1 = San Francisco 49ers

| playing_years2 = 1970

| playing_team2 = Green Bay Packers

| playing_years3 = 1971–1972

| playing_team3 = San Diego Chargers

| career_highlights =

• 2× National champion (1964, 1966)
• First-team All-American (1967)
• Second-team All-American (1966)
• Third-team All-American (1964)

| NFL = HAR115105

}}

Kevin Thomas Hardy (July 28, 1945 – May 6, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round (7th pick overall) of the 1968 NFL draft. He was an All-American out of Notre Dame where he also lettered in basketball and baseball.{{cite book|last=Becnel|first=George|title=When the Saints Came Marching in: What the New Orleans NFL Franchise Did Wrong (and Sometimes Right) in Its Expansion Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0_uR4fnmXTsC&pg=PA54|access-date=8 June 2016|year=2009|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781438991870|page=54}}

Hardy played in the NFL for four seasons and never for the team that drafted him. He was sent along with a 1969 first-round selection (7th overall–Ted Kwalick) as part of a compensation package to the San Francisco 49ers as a result of the Saints signing free agent Dave Parks. This was the second of only four times the NFL exercised the Rozelle rule.[https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/407/1000/2281018/ Mackey v. National Football League, 407 F. Supp. 1000 (D. Minn. 1975) – Justia.com.] Retrieved December 11, 2023.[https://www.prosportstransactions.com/football/DraftTrades/Years/1969.htm 1969 NFL Draft Pick Transactions, January 28 (Rounds 1–12) & 29 (Rounds 13–17) – Pro Sports Transactions.] Retrieved December 11, 2023. He appeared in most games during these seasons but was unable to force his way into the starting lineup.

In September 1970, the 49ers traded Hardy to Green Bay in exchange for a second-round pick in the 1971 NFL draft. In June 1972, Green Bay traded Hardy to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for a first-round draft pick in 1972.

Hardy was a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll. He died in Danville, California on May 6, 2024, at the age of 78.[https://fightingirish.com/football-all-american-and-three-sport-star-kevin-hardy-passes-away/ Football All-American And Three-Sport Star Kevin Hardy Passes Away][https://obituaries.neptune-society.com/obituaries/walnut-creek-ca/kevin-hardy-11808670 Kevin Thomas Hardy]