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Legendary Packers end Billy Howton passed away this week at the age of 95. The team announced the news today, honoring the man who still holds a number of Green Bay Packers receiving records.
His career accomplishments are as impressive as they are numerous. Despite playing in an era with shorter seasons and less passing, Howton still ranks 17th in team history in receptions, 12th in yards, and 12th in receiving touchdowns. For context, Randall Cobb put up only about 800 more receiving yards and four more touchdowns than Howton did, despite playing in 50 more games than his senior counterpart.
A three-time All-Pro, Howton was inducted into the Packers’ Hall of Fame in 1974, a fitting capper to an impressive playing career — one that also included quite a bit of labor advocacy, too. He was one of the founding members of the NFL players’ union and served as its first president.
Howton’s most incredible accomplishment, though, was the masterpiece he put together in 1952, his rookie year. Playing his first NFL season, Howton caught 53 passes for 1,231 yards and 13 touchdowns. The yardage total surpassed Don Hutson’s team record (and one-upping Hutson was no mean feat) and still stands as the rookie yardage record to this day. Howton’s receiving touchdown mark is still the best rookie total in history as well.
Game after game, Howton put up big numbers throughout the 1952 season. Four times he had at least 150 receiving yards, including a six-catch, 200-yard effort in a loss to the Rams. He averaged a startling 23.2 yards per catch, an insane number that still is among the very best in league history today. According to Stathead, only two players in NFL history have surpassed that figure while catching at least 50 passes in a season. No player in the 21st century has averaged more than 21 yards per catch in a 50-catch season.
And don’t forget: he did all this in only 12 games. Had he kept up the pace, he’d have put up more than 1,700 yards and 18 touchdowns playing in a modern schedule.
Howton had one more great season in Green Bay, putting up 1,188 yards and 12 touchdowns in 1956, leading the league in both categories. Most often, though, he was reliably very good, though he parlayed that reliability into a long and successful NFL career. At his retirement, he was the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards, once again passing Don Hutson in those categories.
And once again, if you’re beating Don Hutson at something, you’re probably doing pretty well for yourself.
