Chad Hutchinson

Chad Martin Hutchinson (born February 21, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears.

He also is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.

He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal.

Hutchinson started practicing football late in his life as a freshman in Torrey Pines High School.

He was a two-year starter at outside linebacker that switched to quarterback as a senior, to take advantage of his mobility and arm strength.

Even though he led a run oriented Wing T Offense, he recorded a 50% completion average, 1,441 passing yards and 8 touchdowns.

He was a rare two-sport standout, that also showed the talent to play professional baseball after his fastball was clocked at 94-mph.

As a senior, he finished with an 11–0 record, a 1.20 earned-run average, 116 strikeouts and earned the Gatorade National Baseball Player-of-the-Year award.

Hutchinson accepted a football scholarship from Stanford University over professional baseball.

Although Hutchinson had signed a letter of intent to attend Stanford University and was asking for a $1.5 million signing bonus (at the time one of the biggest bonus ever by a draftee), he was still selected 26th overall in the first round because of his potential, after being drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft.

He decided to attend college, even after the Braves met most of his demands.

In 1996 as a redshirt freshman, he was named the starting quarterback over senior Tim Carey.

He started slowly, but improved during the season.

He suffered a sprained thumb in week seven's 41–9 loss against Arizona State University, forcing him to miss practice the week leading up to the game against UCLA.

He was still able to guide Stanford on an 80-yard drive in the final minutes to pull off a 21–20 win, where he was seven-of-seven, culminating on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brian Manning with 0:58 seconds remaining in the contest.

His best game was the 38–0 win in the 1996 Sun Bowl against Michigan State University, where he earned Most Valuable Player honors after completing 22 out of 28 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown.

He finished the season with 11 starts, 190 out of 312 completions for 2,134 yards, 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

As a sophomore, he started 11 games, completing 189 out of 315 passes for 2,101 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

In the season opener against San Jose State University, he completed 18 out of 36 passes for 302 yards and one touchdown.

In the 58–49 win against the University of Oregon, he completed 21 out of 31 passes for 340 yards and tied a school record with 4 touchdowns.

In the tenth game against Washington State University he only had one play before leaving with an injured right thumb.

In the season finale 21–20 win against the University of California, he completed 21 out of 25 passes for 194 yards and one touchdown.

In the spring of 1996, he played as a true freshman and was named the number two starter in the pitching rotation.

He compiled a 7–2 record, 70 strikeouts (tied for sixth in the Pac-10) and a 3.51 ERA (fourth in the Pac-10).

He also ranked among the league leaders in complete games (4), innings pitched (842) and strikeouts per-nine-innings (7.5).

He helped the team finish with a 41–19 record, a second place in the Pac-10 and an appearance in the NCAA West Regional.

He received first-team freshman All-American and honorable-mention All-Pac-10 honors.

As a sophomore, his 8–3 record and 110 strikeouts, helped the team reach the 1997 College World Series.

As a junior, he had a 10–5 record, making 115 strikeouts in 99.1 innings.

He compiled a career record of 25–11 and ranked eighth all-time in school history in wins and sixth in strikeouts with 299.

His career ERA was 4.80.

He contributed to the team winning the Pac-10 Southern Division championship in 1997 and 1998.

In July 1998, he left school with two seasons of eligibility remaining, in order to play professional baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals.

In two seasons he threw for 4,235 yards, 20 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in 23 starts.

At the time he ranked seventh All-time in the school's career passing list, fifth in career completion percentage, seventh in career completions, eighth in career attempts, ninth in total offense and eleventh in career touchdown passes.

Scouts considered him to be a potential first-round draft choice in the NFL Draft.

His development in football came without the benefit of spring practice, because he also was a starting pitcher for the Stanford Cardinal baseball team.

He was selected in the second round (48th overall) of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

In July 1998, he signed a four-year, $3.5 million contract ($2.4 million signing bonus and a $1.1 million four-year guaranteed contract) to forgo the NFL and play exclusively baseball.

He began his professional career with the Class-A New Jersey Cardinals, registering an 0–1 record in 3 starts.