Donald Montgomery Hutson was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League.
55 Facts About Don Hutson
2.
Don Hutson played as an end and spent his entire 11-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers.
3.
Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship Games, winning three: 1936,1939, and 1944.
4.
Don Hutson joined the Packers in 1935 and played 11 seasons before he retired in 1945.
5.
Don Hutson led the league in receiving yards in seven separate seasons and in receiving touchdowns in nine.
6.
Don Hutson 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.
7.
Don Hutson was the dominant receiver of his day, and is widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history.
8.
Don Hutson was the first 1,000 yard receiver in the NFL.
9.
Don Hutson held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns.
10.
Don Hutson was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
11.
Don Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
12.
Don Hutson was selected to the National Football League 50th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 50 years in 1969, to the 75th in 1994, and to the 100th in 2019.
13.
Don Hutson said that is where he got his quickness and agility.
14.
Don Hutson played at end for coach Frank Thomas's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934.
15.
Don Hutson scored the winning touchdown over Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on an end-around.
16.
Don Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American for six different organizations and received a second-team selection by one other.
17.
When he graduated from Alabama, Don Hutson did not plan on playing professionally.
18.
Don Hutson had thrived in this scheme, leading Lambeau to conclude that he would be the perfect fit for Green Bay's offense.
19.
Don Hutson caught six touchdowns total in his rookie season, which led the league.
20.
Don Hutson scored the first touchdown of the game, on a 48-yard pass from Herber in the first quarter.
21.
Don Hutson became the youngest player in league history to lead the league in both receptions and receiving yardage, a record not broken until 2023 by Minnesota Vikings receiver, Justin Jefferson.
22.
Don Hutson completed the season with 34 receptions for 536 yards and eight touchdowns, which were all league records, and helped Herber set the NFL season passing yards record.
23.
In 1938, Don Hutson had nine touchdown receptions, again setting the league record, as he led the Packers to another NFL Championship Game, this time against the New York Giants.
24.
Don Hutson again led the Packers to the championship game, for a rematch against the Giants.
25.
Don Hutson had two receptions in the game for 21 yards and a rushing attempt that went for three yards.
26.
In 1940, Don Hutson scored seven touchdowns and kicked 15 extra points to lead the league in scoring by edging out Rams fullback Johnny Drake by a single point.
27.
In 1941, Don Hutson became the first receiver to catch 50 passes in a season, doing so while again leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns.
28.
Don Hutson scored two rushing touchdowns, for a total of 12.
29.
Don Hutson received six of the nine first place votes, finishing ahead of his quarterback Cecil Isbell, who received two first place votes.
30.
Don Hutson repeated as league MVP in 1942 as he shattered most of his own records; he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaged over 110 receiving yards per game.
31.
Don Hutson again received six of nine first place votes for the Joe F Carr Trophy.
32.
In February 1943, Don Hutson announced his retirement from football due to a lingering chest injury.
33.
Don Hutson changed his mind and returned for the 1943 season and caught 47 passes for 776 yards and eleven touchdowns, leading the league in all three.
34.
Don Hutson threw his first and only completed pass of his career: a 38-yard touchdown pass to Harry Jacunski against the Bears.
35.
Don Hutson returned as a player in 1944 and again led the league with 58 receptions, 866 yards, and nine touchdowns, while serving as assistant coach.
36.
Don Hutson kicked five extra points in the quarter, for a total of 29 points, which as of 2015 remains a record for points by a player in a single quarter.
37.
Don Hutson rushed for three touchdowns, scored two touchdowns on blocked punts, and had an interception return touchdown for a career total of 105.
38.
Don Hutson scored at least six receiving touchdowns in each of his 11 seasons.
39.
Don Hutson led the NFL in receptions eight times, including five consecutive times: 1941 to 1945.
40.
Don Hutson led the NFL in receiving yards seven times, including four straight times: 1941 to 1944.
41.
Don Hutson led the NFL in scoring five times: 1941 to 1945.
42.
Don Hutson's four receiving touchdowns in a game has been surpassed three times and tied several times, but his four in a single quarter has yet to be matched.
43.
Don Hutson invented many pass routes still in use today, including the chair route.
44.
At his peak, Don Hutson was a challenge to defend, mainly because no one had ever seen anything like him in the NFL before.
45.
For many of his 11 seasons, Don Hutson was the Packers' kicker.
46.
Don Hutson added 172 extra points on 183 attempts and seven field goals on 15 attempts for another league record 823 points.
47.
Don Hutson led the league in extra points made and attempted in 1941,1942 and 1945 and in field goals made in 1943.
48.
Don Hutson was a player-coach during the last two seasons of his playing career.
49.
Don Hutson served on the Packers board of directors from 1952 to 1980, when he was elected a director emeritus.
50.
Don Hutson was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1951, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, as an initial member.
51.
Don Hutson was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
52.
Don Hutson is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, inducted in 1972 along with his quarterbacks, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell.
53.
Don Hutson was named to the NFL's 1930s All-Decade Team and 50th Anniversary Team in 1970, and in 1994 he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.
54.
Don Hutson was classified I-A for the military draft, but had three daughters, so was able to avoid conscription.
55.
Don Hutson was the youngest receiver in NFL history, at the age of 23 during the 1936 season, to lead the league in both receptions and receiving yards during a single season.