Joseph (Joe) Horn, a retired wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints was born January 16, 1972, in Tupelo, Mississippi. Horn attended Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he played for legendary coach Bob Paroli. He stood out as a quarterback, tailback, wide receiver, and punter. He was voted to the Mid-South 4A All-Star team as a punter. Horn was also a standout basketball player in which he started every game for the Douglas Byrd Eagles as a point guard. Horn played college football at Itawamba Community College (1991-1992) in Fulton, Mississippi where he made 54 catches for 878 yards and seven touchdowns as a wide receiver and a punt returner.
Horn played in the CFL for the Memphis Mad Dogs in 1995, where he ended the season with 77 catches for more than 1,000 yards, and caught the attention of NFL scouts. He began his professional football career when he was drafted in the fifth round by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1996. He was mainly relegated to special teams and reserve duty at WR during his four seasons with the Chiefs. In his years there, he started in only two games, but he was able to garner total yardage of 879 yards on 53 receptions and seven touchdowns.
The New Orleans Saints acquired Horn as a free agent in 2000. As a member of the Saints, Horn was selected to the Pro Bowl four out of his seven years, and set franchise records for receiving yards (1,399), and receiving touchdowns (11-shared with Marques Colston) in a single season. Horn also set career receiving touchdowns. He is the Saints' all-time leader in 100-yard receiving games at 27. Horn had a career year in 2004 with his 1,399 receiving yards being second most in the league. His total was only six yards behind Carolina Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad. The Saints signed Horn to a six-year contract extension in 2005. Horn suffered a groin injury during the 2006 season and was released from the New Orleans Saints after the season ended.
In 2007, Horn signed a 4-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons. However he played just one year for the Falcons and left the team with a record of 27 receptions for 243 yards and one touchdown in 12 games.
In May 2010, Horn was selected for induction into the Saints Hall of Fame. In June, 2010 Horn signed a contract with the Saints. He retired from pro-football two days later as a member of the New Orleans Saints.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Horn was noted for his support for the people of New Orleans and the Gulf region. As a leader of the Saints, he served as a public face of the team in many community events. He frequently visited evacuees in both San Antonio and the Houston Astrodome during the aftermath of Katrina.
