Don Hutson

Lore & Background

Hutson joined the Packers in 1935 and played 11 seasons before he retired in 1945. He led the league in receiving yards in six separate seasons and led the league in receiving touchdowns in nine seasons. A talented safety on defense, he also led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. He is the only player to lead the league in receiving touchdowns and interceptions in the same season. Hutson was an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time All-Star, and was twice awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player. He is considered to have been the first modern wide receiver and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the first 1,000-yard receiver in the NFL, doing so in only 11 games. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers. He is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and was selected to the National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, to the 75th in 1994, and to the 100th in 2019.

Reader's Guide

Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. He had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns of 54 and 59 yards in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. He also scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around. Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American by six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other. In an attempt to name retroactive Heisman Trophy winners before its first year of 1936, Hutson was awarded it for 1934 by the National Football Foundation.

Did You Know?

• Hutson's first catch as a professional was an 83-yard touchdown pass from Herber on the first play from scrimmage against the Chicago Bears in the second game of the 1935 season.
• He became the youngest player in league history to lead the league in both receptions and receiving yardage in 1936, a record not broken until 2022 by Justin Jefferson.
• Hutson caught his 38th career touchdown pass on September 29, 1940, breaking Johnny Blood's record.
• He was the first receiver to catch 50 passes in a season, doing so in 1941.
• Hutson repeated as league MVP in 1942 as he shattered most of his own records, catching 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns.