VIDEO TRIBUTE: Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame’s Kim Hammond Passes Away at Age 72
By Space Coast Daily // July 21, 2017
services planned in Daytona Friday and Saturday
ABOVE VIDEO: Former Melbourne High football standout Kim Hammond, who was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, will always be a hero for Florida State football fans. Hammond died Sunday in hospice in Ormond Beach. He was 72.
Kim C. Hammond, retired Flagler County Circuit Court judge, Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Florida State University Hall of Famer, beloved husband, father and grandfather, died on July 16, 2017.
He was born to William and Virginia Hammond on October 12, 1944 in Miami, Florida. In 1955 he and his brother, Bill, moved with their parents to Melbourne, Florida, where their father was employed by Pan American Airways and was one of the early employees at Cape Canaveral.
Hammond attended Melbourne High School where he excelled in athletics lettering in football, baseball and basketball. He received a football scholarship to Florida State in 1963 and finally had his first big chance to be the starting quarterback in the second game of his senior year.
Eight games later he was an All-American quarterback, finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting and was the Most Valuable Player in the Senior Bowl and Gator Bowl. He was also voted into the Gator Bowl and two FSU Halls of Fame. That year, Hammond graduated with a degree in Business Management and then began to pursue a law degree at the FSU College of Law.
It was at FSU that he met his future wife of 49 years, Jan Dunn. They were married in Jan’s hometown of Daytona Beach in 1968 and immediately moved to Miami after Kim was drafted by the Miami Dolphins.
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Hammond was traded to the Boston Patriots the following year, and was with the Pats for two seasons before retiring from the NFL to complete his law degree. During this time, he also served 6 years with the Army Reserve and National Guard and as a Military Police Officer.
After his graduation from law school in 1972, the Hammonds moved to Daytona Beach. He joined the law firm of Green and Strasser which later became Green, Strasser and Hammond. He practiced in Daytona for seven years, and during that time he was an active member of the community serving in the Daytona Beach Rotary Club, the United Way, Boy Scouts and the Daytona Beach Community College Foundation.
Hammond also served on the board of the Florida Special Olympics, was the Volusia/Flagler Easter Seals Chairman, coached young local athletes in football and baseball, was on the board of the FSU Seminole Boosters and the FSU Alumni Association and served as a Deacon and Elder at First Presbyterian Church of Daytona Beach. In 1979 Governor Bob Graham appointed Kim as a Circuit Judge for the Seventh Judicial Circuit.
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At 35, he was one of the youngest circuit court judges in the State of Florida. Hammond embarked on a legal career that would span 38 years, 31 of which were spent serving as a Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit and as the Administrative Judge for Flagler County. Hammond held numerous leadership positions during these 31 years. He was elected Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit, was a Florida Judicial College Instructor and was an elected Chairman of the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges.
In 2009, the new Flagler County court house was named the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in his honor.
Hammond was a man of many varied interests. Whether it was athletics, music or his professional life, he was passionate about everything he did. He was a lover of his family, books, the Seminoles and trips to the beautiful North Carolina mountains.
He is survived by his adoring wife, Jan; daughter Paige Wolpert (Ed), son Todd Hammond (Lisa), daughter Amanda Rapp (Steve); and his brother, William Hammond (MaryK).
Hammond was known as Granddaddy to his grandchildren: Eva and Thomas Wolpert, Wyatt, Josie and Cora Hammond, and Gregory, Natalie and Britton Rapp.
The family will receive visitors at Lohman Funeral Home on 1423 Bellevue Avenue in Daytona between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday, July 21.
A funeral service for family and church members will be held at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Daytona Beach on Saturday, July 22. Memorial gifts may be given to the National Parkinson Foundation, 200 S.E. 1st Street, Suite 800, Miami, Florida 33131; or to First Presbyterian Church of Daytona Beach, 620 South Grandview Avenue, Daytona Beach, Florida 32118.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is Space Coast Daily’s tribute to Kim Hammond when he was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in May 2013.
KIM HAMMOND: 2013 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
STANDOUT AT MELBOURNE HIGH SCHOOL
Former Melbourne High football standout Kim Hammond will always be a hero for Florida State football fans.
He was the first Seminoles quarterback to guide Florida State to a victory at Florida Field in Gainesville, and, based on his phenomenal performance during that magical season of 1967, he was a lock for selection into the Class of 2013 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
Hammond matriculated at FSU in an era when college freshmen weren’t eligible to play varsity football. He was a redshirt as a sophomore during the 1964 season, played only sparingly during the 1965 and 1966 seasons.
As occurs frequently in sport, it was someone else’s misfortune that afforded Hammond the opportunity to shine. Entering his redshirt senior season, Hammond wasn’t even supposed to be the starting quarterback.
Gary Pajcic was the starting quarterback, and he was coming off a fine 1966 season. When Pajcic injured his arm in an opening game loss to the University of Houston, Hammond stepped in and started FSU’s second game of the 1967 season.
It was his first career start, and, as luck would have it, the opponent was the Alabama Crimson Tide led by legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and future NFL All-Pro quarterback Ken Stabler.
HEISMAN TROPHY FINALIST
The Crimson Tide had not lost in their previous 21 games, were favored by 21 points and the game was scheduled for Legion Field in Birmingham, but instead of being dominated, they embarrassed Bear Bryant by scoring more points than Alabama had allowed the entire previous season.
The final score was 37-37, but the tie was probably the most impressive game the Seminoles had ever played. Hammond completed 23 of 40 passes for 280 yards, impressing “The Bear,” who said of the FSU QB, “He picked us apart like he was picking a chicken.”
As surprising as the Alabama outcome was to many, then almost as surprising, the Seminoles lost to North Carolina State at home, 20-10. So, after three games, the team stood 0-2-1, but they didn’t lose again in 1967.
After reeling off six consecutive wins under Head Coach Bill Peterson, the Garnet and Gold traveled to Gainesville to face the University of Florida at Florida Field in the last game of the season. It was widely assumed that an invitation to the Gator Bowl would be extended to the winner.
On the strength of Hammond’s arm and legs, FSU built an early lead, but, in the second quarter, Hammond was knocked out after being tackled by the facemask. The Seminole offense struggled without Hammond, and by the time he was able to shake the cobwebs clear in the fourth quarter, the Gators had gained the momentum of the game.
In the fourth quarter, Hammond came to the rescue. In three plays Hammond took the Seminoles the length of the field for a touchdown and a 21-9 lead. FSU won, 21-16, and, soon thereafter, got the bid to the Gator Bowl.
During the 1967 regular season, Hammond completed 140 of 241 passes for 1,991 yards and 15 touchdowns, and added 83 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 56 carries. He was second nationally in total yards and finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.
In the Gator Bowl, he set or tied six Gator Bowl records and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player as FSU rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit to tie powerhouse Penn State 17-17. He also put in a stellar passing performance in the 1968 Senior Bowl and was awarded another Most Valuable Player award.
PRO FOOTBALL, CHIEF JUDGE
Hammond’s play and leadership in the1967 season resulted in his selection to the AP and UPI All-American second team.
In addition, he received, from his coaches and teammates, the coveted Crenshaw Award, which is sponsored by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club and given in memory of a special Seminole football player whose courage and fighting spirit was an inspiration to others.
After being drafted by the Miami Dolphins, Hammond played three seasons with the Dolphins and Patriots. During those years he was already preparing himself for his life’s calling by studying law at FSU. After earning his J.D., Hammond practiced law in Daytona Beach for several years.
In 1979, the Flagler Beach resident became a judge, and later the Chief Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit. He was an administrative judge in Flagler County when he retired on Jan. 3, 2011.
We are honored to induct Ken Hammond, star athlete, distinguished adjudicator and member of the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame, into the 2013 class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
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