Don Hutson
| Don Hutson | |
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Positions: End , S , K |
Jersey number (s): 14 |
| born January 31, 1913 in Pine Bluff , Arkansas | |
| died on June 26, 1997 in Rancho Mirage , California | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1935 - 1945 | |
| College : University of Alabama | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Games | 116 |
| Captive yards | 7,991 |
| captured TD | 99 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Donald Montgomery "Don" Hutson (* 31 January 1913 in Pine Bluff , Arkansas ; † 26. June 1997 in Rancho Mirage , California ) was an American American football players and coaches in the National Football League (NFL) . It was the first wide receiver in NFL history that was mainly used to catch passes and was able to gain more than 1,000 yards of space in one season with pass catches . His record of 99 caught touchdowns in one career was only broken 44 years later by Steve Largent .
Player career
college
Hutson attended high school in his hometown and then studied at the University of Alabama from 1932 to 1934 . In addition to American football, he was a sprinter in athletics , and he ran the 100- yard course in 9.8 seconds. American football was a running game oriented sport at the time. Pass catches were the exception and wide receiver were often used to reduce the running backs the way into the end zone freizublocken the opponent and also had the defense play. Although Hutson was 182 cm tall enough for a football career, his body weight of around 72 kg, which he was later able to increase to around 79 kg, spoke rather against a career in football. Hutson had therefore hard it when the football team of his college to find connection, and received until the end of 1933 using time as a starter . In 1934 he made his final breakthrough. In this year's Rose Bowl , his team played against Stanford University and won 29:13. Hutson caught two touchdown passes and gained 165 yards with six pass catches. In 1934 he was also voted All American .
NFL
Many professional coaches considered Hutson, who had exceptional speed and good catching hands, too easy to prevail against tough opponents. At the beginning of his professional career he weighed 84 kg. The interest in a commitment was therefore initially not great. He received two contract offers, from the Green Bay Packers and the Brooklyn Dodgers , and signed both. The managing director of the NFL therefore decided that the club would receive the contract whose contract should be entered earlier with the NFL. Since both contracts were received on the same day, the date and time of the postmark counted. The Packers letter had been postmarked 17 minutes before the Dodgers letter, and the Green Bay crew could show up with Hutson.
Hutson received a salary of $ 175 per game for his first year of play. His head coach , Curly Lambeau , used him as a starter in his first season. His first move was a complete success. He caught a pass from quarterback Arnie Herber , ran over his opponent Beattie Feathers of the Chicago Bears and scored after 83 yards of space gain a touchdown. In his rookie season , Hutson set several season bests. In the next few years he followed up with numerous other best performances and in 1942 he was the first player in NFL history to gain more than 1,000 yards of space from passing catches with 1,211 yards. Since he was also used as safety , he also managed 30 interceptions during his career . In the same year he got 17 touchdown passes in 11 games. This was a league record until 1984. Mark Clayton of the Miami Dolphins caught 18 passes this year, but also had 14 games this had time.
During Hutson's career, the Packers were a top team in the NFL, which had numerous all-stars such as Herber, running back John McNally , center George Svendsen and guard Russ Letlow in their ranks. In 1936 the Packers were able to move into the NFL final and defeat the Boston Redskins 21: 6. On pass from Arnie Herber, Hutson scored a touchdown in the win. In the years 1939 and 1944 further title wins followed. In 1939 the New York Giants had to admit defeat 27: 0, in 1944 they were defeated by the Giants 14: 7. As a placekicker, Hutson contributed two point after touchdown (PAT) to his team's victory and was able to catch two passes for a space gain of 47 yards. Two further finals of the Packers in 1938 and 1941 each ended with defeats for the team. In 1945 Hutson received a salary of 15,000 US dollars per year , which was large for the time . After eleven years as a professional player, Hutson ended his career as a professional player.
Football coach
Hutson was already assisting Curly Lambeau in 1944 . In 1948 he ended his coaching career in Green Bay.
According to the NFL
Hutson was married and died in a nursing home in 1997 at the age of 84. He is buried in Fayette City Cemetery in Fayette , Alabama .
Honors
Hutson was voted All-Pro 10 times and played in four Pro Bowls , the final game of the best players of the season. He has been twice voted NFL Most Valuable Player Award and is a member of the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team , the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team , the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame , the College Football Hall of Fame , the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame . The Packers named a hall after him. Hutson tossed the coin to vote in front of Super Bowl XXII . Many Hutson records still stand today, such as the average touchdowns scored per game (99 touchdowns in 116 games equal an average of 0.85 touchdowns per game). American television station ESPN named Hutson one of the best North American athletes of all time. Hutson was named one of the top 100 football players of all time by The Sporting News magazine .
Web links
- Don Hutson in the nndb (English)
- Don Hutson in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
- Hutson's biography (PDF, 27 kB)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b CV and obituary of Don Hutson New York Times
- ↑ Description of the move ( Memento from June 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1936
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1939
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1944
- ↑ Endgame statistics 1944
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1938
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1941
- ↑ Obituary
- ↑ Don Hutson's Tomb in the Find a Grave database
- ↑ Don Hutson at number 93 on the list
- ↑ Number 6 ( Memento from April 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hutson, Don |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hutson, Donald Montgomery (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and coach |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 31, 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pine Bluff , Arkansas , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 26, 1997 |
| Place of death | Rancho Mirage , California , United States |