[Photo Credit: Associated Press]
Don Hutson. You say his name now and people question who you are talking about. If someone said his name 50 years ago then people said he was the greatest receiver ever and arguably the greatest football player ever with Jim Brown. For those who do not know about the Alabama Antelope, I am here to educate you on one of the greatest football players to ever play the game.
At the time of his retirement, Don Hutson was:
- First in career receptions with 488. The next closest was Jim Benton with 190.
- First in career receiving yards with 7,991. The next closest was Jim Benton with 3,309.
- First in career receiving touchdowns with 99. The next closest was Johnny Blood McNally with 36.
- First, second(tied twice), third(tied twice), fourth, fifth, and ninth(tied twice) in catches in a season.
- First, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and tenth in receiving yards in a season.
- First, second, third, fourth(tied three times), fifth, sixth(tied twice), and seventh(tied twice) in receiving touchdowns in a season.
- Third most yards per reception in a season.
- Tied for the most catches in a game with 14.
- Second in receiving yards in a game with 237.
- First in receiving touchdowns in a game with 4.
- And towards the top of every other relevant receiving category in league history for a game, season, and career.
Don Hutson held the record for most receiving touchdowns of All-Time for 49 years. Jerry Rice would need to hold the top spot until 2040 in order to match that. Only 10 players right now have more touchdown catches than Hutson and he hasn’t stepped on the field since 1945.
Hutson was always on top of everyone. Over the course of his career, he led the league in receptions 8 times, receiving yards 7 times, receiving touchdowns 9 times, and scoring 5 times.
- The next closest receiver who had the most seasons leading the league in receptions is Lionel Taylor who did it 5 times in the AFL, but if you only want to include NFL leaders then the next closest is 3 times by multiple players such as Mac Speedie, Pete Pihos, Billy Wilson, Raymond Berry, Sterling Sharpe, and Wes Welker.
- The next closest receiver who had the most seasons leading the league in receiving yards is Jerry Rice who did it 6 times.
- The next closest receiver who had the most seasons leading the league in receiving touchdowns is Jerry Rice who did it 6 times.
- Former Patriots Kicker Stephen Gostkowski has also led the league in scoring 5 times and former Patriots Wide Receiver and Kicker Gino Cappelletti led the AFL in scoring 5 times.
Here are Hutson’s season-by-season and career statistics [data provided by Pro Football Reference]:
The casual football fan is going to look at these numbers and think Hutson was a “plumber” and was not good at all. But for his era, these numbers were off the charts.
Hutson also has arguably the greatest receiving season ever in 1942. He accumulated 74 catches, 1,211 receiving yards, and 17 receiving touchdowns in 11 games. In comparison to the NFL in 2022, it would be if a player had the same amount of catches as Tee Higgins, had 15 more receiving yards than DeVonta Smith, and had 3 more touchdowns than Davante Adams.
Let’s keep in mind this was a completely different era. If Hutson played in the NFL in 2022, here is what his season-by-season and career numbers would look like [Link to how inflated statistics are calculated: https://ultegacy.com/2023/04/22/comparing-nfl-eras-using-stats/]:
Of all the inflated statistics, only Jerry Rice’s come close. Here are Rice’s season-by-season and career statistics:
In 9 fewer seasons, Hutson would have 113 more catches, 2,511 fewer receiving yards, and 5 more receiving touchdowns with their statistics inflated to 2022.
The major anomaly in Hutson’s statistics is the 1942 season I mentioned. The reason it is inflated this high is because Hutson at the time was catching more passes than all but four QBs had completed, more yards than every QB but his own, and more touchdowns than every QB but his own. This seems impossible to comprehend in today’s NFL. Just imagine someone catching more passes than Joe Burrow has completions, more yards than Justin Herbert, and more touchdowns than Joe Burrow. This seems incomprehensible, but that’s what Don Hutson did in 1942. While the focus is on just his 1942 season, he also had many other similar seasons where he was doing statistically better than Quarterbacks were in terms of passing.
The numbers are clear and obvious. Now let’s factor in the awards. Hutson won NFL Championships in 1936, 1939, and 1944 and made an appearance in the 1938 NFL Championship game. He was named to 4 All-Star games from 1939 to 1942. The reason he did not make more is that the first All-Star game was in 1938. Also, due to World War II the game had to be removed following the 1942 All-Star Game and was not brought back until after the 1950 NFL Season. Hutson was also given All-Pro Honors every season by different organizations and/or the league itself.
To this day, Hutson is one of three receivers to receive the Most Valuable Player Award by an organization. Jerry Rice was given the Sporting News MVP in 1990 and was named the MVP by multiple other organizations in 1987. In 1955, Harlon Hill was given the Jim Thorpe Trophy for being the Most Valuable Player. Finally, in 1941 and 1942 Don Hutson was given the Joe F. Carr Trophy for being the league’s Most Valuable Player.
As proven by Tom Brady and Jerry Rice, you do not have to be the fastest, strongest, tallest, or smartest player to be one of the greatest to ever play. Hutson gets that same treatment. Hutson was an excellent route runner, quick on his cuts, faster than most players, and had some of the most consistent hands. Some people might not be able to believe that someone like this could be successful in today’s game but Cooper Kupp had arguably the greatest season ever by a Wide Receiver by doing this.
When it comes to receivers, the eventual topic when comparing is who they had throwing them the ball and if it played a major factor in their success. Arnie Herber, Bob Monnett, Cecil Isbell, Tony Canadeo, Irv Comp, Lou Brock, and Roy McKay were the players who were throwing passes to Don Hutson. 7 different passers, 2 are in the Hall of Fame, and there was no production drop from Hutson when someone different was throwing him the ball. Across all 11 seasons, Hutson caught about 40.3% of all completions, 42.8% of all passing yards, and 51.8% of all passing touchdowns made by the Packers. These are inconceivable over the course of 11 seasons in any era.
The name brought up most in this was Jerry Rice. Most people believe he is the greatest receiver ever and I do as well, but Don Hutson’s argument is closer than anyone realizes. In 50 years or so, when Jerry Rice’s numbers are talked about just as Don Hutson’s numbers are currently in 2023, people will not realize just how great Jerry Rice was. Just like people right now do not realize how great Don Hutson was.
-Jordan Burden