1936: Packers Defeat Redskins for NFL Title

The NFL Championship matchup on December 13, 1936 took place at the Polo Grounds in New York even though the Eastern Division had been won by the Boston Redskins. Owner George Preston Marshall, upset at the lack of fan support in the franchise’s home city, had the game moved to a neutral site. The weather was at least cooperative – it was sunny with temperatures in the mid-30s, and 29,545 fans showed up.

The Redskins, under first year Head Coach Ray Flaherty, won the division with a 7-5 record, just ahead of the 6-6 Pittsburgh Pirates. The passing game was ordinary, but not the rushing of star FB Cliff Battles (fourth in the NFL in rushing with 614 yards), plus FB Pug Rentner and tailback Eddie Britt behind a line anchored by tackle Turk Edwards. However, Marshall, the imperious owner, had alienated both fans and press in Boston, especially by raising ticket prices on game days without notice.

The Green Bay Packers were the heavily favored opponents, with an outstanding team that carried the tougher Western Division with a 10-1-1 record under Head Coach Curly Lambeau. Lambeau was the first NFL coach to significantly utilize the passing game, and the Packers had a very good one with tailback Arnie Herber (pictured above) throwing primarily to star second-year end Don Hutson (pictured at bottom). Herber led the league in passing for the third time in his career, and also led in attempts (177), completions (77), yards (1239), and TD passes (11). Hutson set new records in pass receptions (34) and receiving yards (526), and also led the NFL in TD catches (8). Green Bay could run the ball, too, with a backfield led by FB Clarke Hinkle (also an outstanding linebacker on defense).

The tone for the game was set on the tenth play from scrimmage, when Battles, who had gained 18 yards on two carries for the Redskins, was injured and lost for the remainder of the day. On the play, his lateral to blocking back Riley Smith was fumbled and recovered by T Lou Gordon of the Packers on the Green Bay 48 yard line. Three plays later, Herber found Hutson on a long pass that covered 48 yards for the first touchdown of the game.

The Redskins came back in the second quarter with a solid 78-yard drive that culminated in a two-yard TD plunge by Rentner. However, Smith’s extra point attempt was wide, and the score at halftime was 7-6 in favor of the Packers.

Green Bay took the second half kickoff and went 74 yards in six plays. A pass from Herber to veteran HB Johnny McNally (aka Johnny Blood) covered 52 yards and set up an 8-yard scoring pass from Herber to end Milt Gantenbein that extended the Packers lead to 14-6.

Things continued to get worse for Boston as their only healthy center, Frank Bausch, was ejected for fighting. Then, in the fourth quarter, Green Bay effectively put the game out of reach when guard Lon Evans blocked a punt by the unfortunate Riley Smith. The play started at the Redskins 22, and once Hinkle recovered the ball, Green Bay was on the three yard line. Bob Monnett, spelling Herber at tailback, ran two yards for the TD. The final score was 21-6 in favor of the Packers.

Green Bay accumulated 220 total yards (to 130 for Boston) with 153 by passing. Herber accounted for 140 yards through the air as he completed 6 of 15 passes with two touchdowns and an interception. Don Hutson led all receivers with 5 catches for 76 yards and a TD. Clarke Hinkle rushed for 56 yards on 19 attempts.

With Cliff Battles sidelined early, FB Don Irwin led the Redskins in rushing with 37 yards on 13 carries. Rentner was Boston’s top passer with 4 completions in 6 attempts for 60 yards. End Wayne Millner caught two passes, the only Redskin to do so.

George Preston Marshall moved his franchise to Washington for 1937; he also signed a passing tailback from TCU, Sammy Baugh, who would elevate the aerial attack and take the team to the next level. But on this day, it was Curly Lambeau’s Packers at the top of the NFL heap.

1965: Rookie Gale Sayers Scores 6 Touchdowns vs. 49ers

In the 1965 college player draft, the Chicago Bears held three choices in the first round thanks to trades with Pittsburgh and Washington. With the third and fourth overall choices, they went with linebacker Dick Butkus from Illinois and Kansas halfback Gale Sayers. Two picks later they drafted Steve DeLong, a tackle from Tennessee who signed with the AFL’s San Diego Chargers instead.

Butkus and Sayers displayed their quality right away as rookies. The 6’3”, 255-pound Butkus took over for Hall of Famer Bill George at middle linebacker and was considered among the elite at the position by the end of the season due to his aggressiveness and ability to cover plenty of ground. Sayers, at 6’0” and 198 pounds, proved equally adept at the halfback position, displaying not only great speed but uncanny running instincts and the ability to effortlessly change direction in the open field.

Through 12 games, Sayers put his all-around skills to good use, rushing for 672 yards on 143 attempts for a 4.7-yard average with 9 touchdowns. He had caught 27 passes for 418 yards, a tidy 15.5 average out of the backfield, with another 5 TDs. In addition, he returned a kickoff for a score, giving him a total of 15 touchdowns thus far on the year. He had gone over the hundred yard mark rushing in the previous two games without carrying the ball more than 16 times in either.

On December 12, playing on muddy turf at Wrigley Field against the visiting San Francisco 49ers, Sayers had one of the greatest all-around games in pro football history. His coach, “Papa Bear” George Halas, who had seen a lot of great days by many outstanding players over the course of a career that dated back to the founding of the league, later called this the best single-game performance that he ever witnessed.

San Francisco had crushed the Bears at Kezar Stadium in the season opening game and the Bears were determined go on the attack by overloading to the left side against the 49ers defense. They did so in their second possession of the first quarter, with QB Rudy Bukich tossing a screen pass to Sayers on second and ten on their own 20 yard line. Getting good blocks, the speedy halfback threaded his way for an 80-yard touchdown.

The Bears were up 13-0 after the first quarter (the extra point attempt after the Sayers TD was missed and Bukich later hit TE Mike Ditka for a 29-yard TD). San Francisco came back to score on a nine-yard pass from QB John Brodie to split end Dave Parks to cut the Chicago lead to 13-7 with five minutes left in the half. Sayers scored on a 21-yard run, leaping over CB Jimmy Johnson at the three to make it 20-7. Back came the 49ers on a 15-yard Brodie pass to HB John David Crow, and in the last minute Sayers caught a 9-yard pass that set up his third touchdown of the game on a seven-yard sweep. Chicago led 27-13 at the half.


Sayers scored his fourth touchdown early in the third quarter on a 50-yard run, sprung by blocks thrown by TE Ditka, flanker Johnny Morris, and G Bob Wetoska. On the next Bears possession, Sayers made it five TDs on a dive from a yard out (pictured; the PAT attempt failed).

It was 47-20 in favor of the Bears after HB Dave Kopay scored for the 49ers and Chicago responded with an 8-yard TD pass from Bukich to split end Jim Jones. Sayers had one more big play to add to the day, however; the 49ers punted and he gathered in the ball at the Chicago 15 yard line. Taking off up the middle, Sayers cut to his left and then back against the flow, blazing into the clear and ending up with an 85-yard return for his record-tying sixth touchdown of the game (tied with Ernie Nevers of the Cardinals and Dub Jones of the Browns).

That was it for Sayers, in spite of the chants from the crowd; when the Bears drove down close once more, it was HB Jon Arnett scoring from two yards out to cap the 61-20 win. As Halas said afterward, “I’d never have forgiven myself if I allowed him to stay in and he was seriously injured.”

For the day, Sayers ran the ball for 113 yards and four touchdowns on just 9 carries. He caught two passes for 89 yards and another TD. With yet another 134 yards on five punt returns, including the touchdown, he had accounted for 336 total yards. Adding the six touchdowns to his season total, he broke the single-season record of 20 set just the previous year by Baltimore’s Lenny Moore.

The Bears lost the season finale, but ended up with a 9-5 record, good enough for third place in the Western Conference. Having dipped to 5-9 in 1964 after winning the ’63 NFL championship, they had gone 9-2 after losing the first three games of the year and were widely considered to be playing better than any other team in the league during the second half of the season. Much of the reason for the turnaround was attributed to the two impact rookies, Sayers and Butkus. As for the 49ers, they ended up in fourth place in the West, with a 7-6-1 tally.

When it was all over, Gale Sayers ended up with a league-leading 2272 total yards, with 867 by rushing (on just 166 attempts for a 5.2 average gain), 507 on 29 pass receptions (a 17.5 average), 660 on 21 kickoff returns (31.4 yards per return), and 238 on 16 punt returns (14.9). With one last TD in the final game, he ended up with a new NFL record of 22 (Cleveland’s Jim Brown, in his last season, was right behind at 21). While the season record has long since been broken, it still stands as the record for a rookie.

1949: Browns Defeat 49ers for Last AAFC Championship

It was fitting that the last championship game of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) would be between the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. The Browns had dominated the league during its four-year run, compiling a 47-4-3 record and winning all of the championships. But San Francisco had the second best team, with a 38-14-2 record. Unfortunately for the 49ers, they were members of the Western Division and placed second behind the Browns in each of the 1946-48 seasons.

In 1949, the AAFC fielded seven teams instead of eight (the Brooklyn Dodgers merged with the New York Yankees) and the division alignments were done away with; the teams played a 12-game schedule (as opposed to 14 in the previous years) and those with the top four records qualified for the postseason.

Cleveland finished in first place with a 9-1-2 record, while the 49ers placed second at 9-3. The New York Yankees, who had twice won the Eastern Division and lost to the Browns in championship games, came in third at 8-4, and fourth place went to the Buffalo Bills at 5-5-2. The Browns defeated the feisty Bills, 31-21, in the first round, while San Francisco beat New York, 17-7.

A few days before the championship showdown on December 11, word leaked that a merger agreement had been reached between the AAFC and NFL and that this would be the AAFC’s final season. Thus, attendance for what was a very strong matchup was just 22,550 at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium.


The Browns, coached by the innovative and exacting Paul Brown, were a balanced team, led by QB Otto Graham (pictured at left) who passed effectively to ends Mac Speedie (the league leader in ’49 with both his 62 receptions and 1028 yards) and Dante Lavelli, and the running of FB Marion Motley (pictured above) and halfbacks Dub Jones, Edgar “Special Delivery” Jones, and Bill Boedecker. San Francisco, under Head Coach Buck Shaw, had the mobile lefthanded QB Frankie Albert, who threw a league-leading 27 TD passes during the season, 12 of them to star end Alyn Beals. FB Joe Perry led the AAFC in rushing (783 yards) and halfbacks Johnny Strzykalski, Sam Cathcart, and Verl Lillywhite were all effective runners. The 49ers also handed the Browns their only loss during the season.

The field was slushy, but there were no turnovers by either team. “Special Delivery” Jones scored the only touchdown of the first half about midway through the first quarter on a two-yard run. Motley provided the most spectacular play of the game in the third quarter when he ran 63 yards up the middle to put the Browns ahead, 14-0.

The 49ers finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter, after a 74-yard drive, when Albert passed for a 23-yard TD to end Paul Salata. But the Browns ground to a third and final touchdown on a 69-yard drive of their own, resulting in a four-yard run by Dub Jones with under nine minutes left to play. The 21-7 score held up, and Cleveland had a fourth and final AAFC championship.

The Browns defense did a good job against the strong 49ers running game. Perry had just 6 carries for 36 yards, while QB Albert was the leading rusher with 41 yards on 5 attempts. As a team, San Francisco gained 122 yards on 33 carries for a 3.9-yard average, well below the average during the season of 5.5. Albert completed just 9 of 24 passes for 108 yards and the TD.

Otto Graham didn’t put up big numbers, completing 7 of 17 passes for 128 yards and no touchdowns. But he ran for 62 yards on 9 carries, putting him third behind Motley (75 yards on 8 rushes) and “Special Delivery” Jones (the workhorse with 16 carries for 63 yards). As a team, the Browns averaged 5.3 yards per attempt in compiling 217 yards on the ground.

The end of the league didn’t mean the end for the Browns or 49ers; both were accepted into the NFL, along with the Baltimore Colts. Cleveland continued to thrive in the older league, participating in six consecutive championship games, and seven in eight years, while winning three of them. It took San Francisco far longer to finally win a championship (following the 1981 season). The Colts folded after a year, only to be resurrected in 1953 out of the ashes of the failed Dallas Texans franchise. And while the AAFC’s Buffalo Bills went down with the remainder of the league, the name was revived by the AFL’s Buffalo entry in 1960.

1961: Giants Edge Eagles 28-24 in Eastern Conference Showdown

The history of the rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants has involved many significant games, often intensely played, and with some memorable performances. The matchup on December 10, 1961 was one such contest, with plenty of drama combined with big plays – and ultimately coming down to a controversial penalty in the final minutes.

Both teams were tied atop the Eastern Conference with 9-3 records as the Eagles hosted the Giants at Franklin Field. New York had won the first encounter at Yankee Stadium four weeks before, ending a five-game Philadelphia winning streak. The Eagles won back-to-back games against the Giants in 1960 on the way to the league championship, and had since made a remarkable transition at quarterback from the retired Norm Van Brocklin to Sonny Jurgensen (pictured below). The Giants had also made a quarterback change, picking up 35-year-old veteran Y.A. Tittle from the 49ers in a preseason trade, who supplanted Charley Conerly (pictured above), 40 years old and showing signs of wearing down in his 14th season. Both teams had also changed head coaches in the offseason, as Philadelphia’s Buck Shaw and New York’s Jim Lee Howell both retired; they were replaced by Nick Skorich and Allie Sherman, respectively.

New York drew first blood on the fourth play from scrimmage on a 46-yard bomb from Tittle to split end Del Shofner. The Eagles responded with a 26-yard Bobby Walston field goal after recovering a fumble by Giants FB Alex Webster. Just prior to the end of the first quarter, Philadelphia scored a touchdown out of the stacked deck formation - three receivers lined one behind the other on one side of the field, and flanker Tommy McDonald on the opposite side. Jurgensen hit McDonald cutting across the middle of the field, and the 5’9”, 170-pound darter completed the 52-yard play to put the Eagles ahead, 10-7.


The Giants fumbled the ball away twice more during the second quarter, but Philadelphia was unable to capitalize. LB Cliff Livingston intercepted a Jurgensen pass at midfield, and at this point Conerly entered the game in place of Tittle, who was having an uncharacteristically flat performance after the initial TD. It looked as though Conerly would do no better when Eagles FS Don Burroughs intercepted a third down pass, but an offside call on the defense nullified the play, and given a second chance Conerly hit TE Joe Walton for a 35-yard touchdown.

New York missed opportunities to extend their lead due to missed field goal attempts of 23 and 34 yards by placekicker Pat Summerall. The halftime score stood at 14-10 in favor of the Giants.

A fumble by Eagles HB Ted Dean set up the next Giants TD in the third quarter, a 26-yard pass from Conerly to Shofner. The Eagles struck back with a 66-yard bomb from Jurgensen to McDonald that quieted the booing home fans and put the ball at the New York 11 yard line. However, they came up empty and the quarter ended with the Giants ahead, 21-10.

Another penalty damaged the Eagles as a 34-yard pass play from Jurgensen to HB Timmy Brown down to the Giants one yard line was called back for offensive pass interference on McDonald. The teams traded punts, with the Eagles getting the field position advantage, and McDonald made up for the penalty on the previous series by scoring a 30-yard touchdown on a pass from Jurgensen to narrow the Giants margin to 21-17.

The Giants couldn’t move on their next possession, and were forced to punt from their 16 yard line. However, Eagles DE Leo Sugar was penalized for making contact with punter Don Chandler in a highly controversial call that changed the momentum of the game. New York made the most of the break, driving down the field to score on Del Shofner’s third TD reception of the game on an 11-yard throw from Conerly.

Philadelphia got the ball back with 2:44 to play and down 28-17. Jurgensen connected with split end Pete Retzlaff for a 61-yard TD, but the Eagles were unable to score on their final possession in the last 18 seconds, and the Giants won, 28-24.

For New York, Conerly completed 6 of 13 passes for 153 yards and, most significantly, three touchdowns. TE Walton led the receivers statistically with 5 catches for 100 yards and a score, but Shofner was the star with three TDs while catching 4 passes for 95 yards. FB Webster led in rushing with 86 yards on 22 carries.

In defeat, the Eagles had won the statistical battle, outgaining the Giants with 455 total yards to 371. Jurgensen completed 16 of 31 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions. McDonald caught 7 passes for a team-record 237 yards and two scores. The Eagles, not a strong running team, ran the ball 23 times for 124 yards to New York’s 38 for 143, and no back had more than eight carries; the leading rusher was Timmy Brown with 64 yards on 7 attempts.

The win put the Giants a game ahead in the race for the conference title, and they tied Cleveland in the season finale the next week to finish in first place at 10-3-1. Philadelphia defeated Detroit to end up in second at 10-4. New York lost to Green Bay in the NFL Championship game while the Eagles faced the Lions again in the meaningless Playoff Bowl; they also lost, and it was costly as Jurgensen suffered a severe shoulder separation that required surgery and lingered into the ’62 season, and OT J.D. Smith broke his leg.

The game was the last hurrah for Conerly, who retired following the season; while he relieved Tittle in both the season finale and title game, it was far less consequentially. Del Shofner, in his first season with the Giants after being dealt by the Rams, caught 68 passes, a career high, for 1125 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Sonny Jurgensen set a new record for passing yards in a season (3723) while tying the record for touchdown passes (32). Tommy McDonald caught 64 passes for 1144 yards and 13 TDs. Both received All-Pro recognition and were selected to the Pro Bowl.

1934: Giants Upset Bears for NFL Title in “Sneakers Game”

The pairing for the NFL Championship game on December 9, 1934 at New York’s Polo Grounds was a rematch of the participants in the first official title game the year before, but also appeared to be a classic mismatch.

The visiting Chicago Bears, champions of the Western Division, had gone undefeated through the regular season at 13-0. Under Owner/Head Coach George Halas, they had allowed only three opponents to score as many as 10 points in a game, with Detroit (arguably the second best team in the league) achieving a high of 16 in a tough Thanksgiving Day encounter. The Bears boasted the first thousand-yard rusher in league history, rookie HB Beattie Feathers, who had compiled 1004 yards on just 119 carries (his season ended early due to injury) for a record 8.4-yard average gain. They still benefited from the power running of veteran FB Bronko Nagurski, who ranked fourth in league rushing with 586 yards and also helped Feathers with his excellent blocking. With HB Gene Ronzani contributing 485 yards at a 5.8 per carry clip, the Bears could rely on the strongest running game in the league (2847 yards and a 5.0 team average gain).

The Giants, coached by Steve Owen, had won the weaker Eastern Division with an 8-5 record. Tailback Harry Newman primarily ran the offense, behind a line led by All-Pros Mel Hein at center, G Butch Gibson, and T Bill Morgan. End Red Badgro tied for the league lead in receiving with Philadelphia’s Joe Carter (16 receptions). FB Ken Strong provided strong running and placekicking. New York had also come closest to beating the Bears during the regular season, losing just 10-9 at the same venue four weeks earlier.

On this day, the Bears were without Feathers and G Joe Kopcha due to injury, while Giants casualties included Newman and Badgro.

There were 35,059 fans present on a bitterly cold day in New York. The Polo Grounds turf was frozen, making footing difficult in many spots (particularly the half of the field that was shaded). The key to the game actually occurred when end Ray Flaherty suggested wearing sneakers to get better traction. Shortly before the opening kickoff, clubhouse attendant Abe Cohen was dispatched to Manhattan College to get sneakers.

In the meantime, the game proceeded with the Giants taking a 3-0 first quarter lead on a 38-yard field goal by Strong. However, the Bears proceeded to score 13 unanswered points. Nagurski (pictured above) plowed over for a touchdown from a yard out in the second quarter and placekicker “Automatic Jack” Manders booted field goals of 17 and 24 yards (although the usually reliable Manders missed a couple during the course of the game). Leading 13-3 after three quarters, it appeared that the Bears would successfully cap their undefeated season.

However, during the third quarter Abe Cohen finally arrived with a sack of sneakers. During a time out, the Giants players, amid much confusion, began changing into them. Halas complained to the officials, but was told that what was occurring on the opposite sideline was within the rules.


The Giants exploded in the fourth quarter thanks to the advantage of better footing. First, backup tailback Ed Danowski (pictured at left) hit end Ike Frankian with a 28-yard TD pass that Frankian had to pull away from a Bears defender as he fell into the end zone, which cut the Chicago margin to 13-10. The Bears did nothing on their next series and after a 20-yard punt, the Giants took the lead, 17-13, thanks to a straight-ahead 42-yard run by Strong.

On the ensuing series, the Giants stopped Nagurski on fourth and two at midfield and again took advantage. With momentum on their side (not to mention better mobility), New York drove downfield, with Strong scoring on an 11-yard reverse to increase the lead to 23-13 (he missed the ensuing extra point attempt).

Chicago attempted a desperation pass on first down, but Giants back Bo Molenda intercepted to set up the final New York touchdown on a 9-yard run by Danowski. The extra point was good, and the final score was 30-13 in favor of the underdog Giants. They had scored 27 points in a span of 10 minutes.

The Giants accumulated 282 total yards to Chicago’s 169 on the icy field. While both teams passed 13 times apiece, the Bears intercepted two while the Giants picked off three. Danowski had the only TD throw of the day. While individual statistics aren’t available, it was Danowski and Strong (pictured kicking below) keying the win – with some help from Manhattan College’s sneakers.

1963: Buffalo’s Cookie Gilchrist Runs for 243 Yards and 5 Touchdowns

Fullback Carlton “Cookie” Gilchrist was a big athlete with an equally big personality. At 6’3” and 250 pounds, he was a behemoth for a running back in the 60s. He had gone directly from high school to the Canadian Football League (after a brief stint in the training camp of the Cleveland Browns), where he was an outstanding player for six seasons, appearing at fullback, offensive tackle, defensive tackle, linebacker, and placekicker. He was named a Divisional All-Star in five of those seasons - as a running back on each occasion and once as a linebacker as well. However, he also developed a reputation for being difficult to manage as he wore out his welcome with three different CFL teams (he started out with two years in the Ontario Rugby Football Union).

At age 27, Gilchrist joined the Buffalo Bills of the AFL in 1962 and was named league MVP by UPI after leading the league in rushing with 1096 yards and scoring 15 touchdowns (13 on the ground). A bruising power runner, he was also an outstanding pass blocker. But injuries that included torn rib cartilage, a broken toe, and sprained ankle ligaments slowed Gilchrist down in ’63. Running at about forty percent efficiency, he gained just 318 yards on 94 carries (3.4 yards per carry) through the first eight games. But then he picked up 125 yards on 26 attempts at Denver in the ninth game; it was a sign that he was returning to form.

Four games later, on December 8, 1963, the Bills hosted the New York Jets at War Memorial Stadium and Gilchrist ran for 243 yards on 36 carries. He not only set a new AFL record but exceeded Jim Brown’s existing NFL record by six yards.

Gilchrist scored the first TD of the game on a four-yard run in the first quarter and went on to accumulate five touchdowns on the day, all by rushing. His longest scoring run of the game was 19 yards in the fourth quarter as he repeatedly pummeled the Jets defense, and he was all the offense that Buffalo needed on this occasion. The final score was 45-14, and the only non-Gilchrist touchdown for the Bills came in the second quarter (after the big fullback had already twice rumbled into the end zone) on a 23-yard pass play from QB Daryle Lamonica to flanker Elbert Dubenion. Of Buffalo’s 370 total yards, Gilchrist had accounted for almost two thirds of it.


The unfortunate Jets had to face the Bills once again the following week at the Polo Grounds in the season finale, and Gilchrist carried 31 times for 114 yards and a TD as Buffalo won again, 19-10. The two wins to close out the regular season allowed the Bills to tie for first place in the weak Eastern Division with a 7-6-1 record. They lost the playoff to the Boston Patriots, 26-8, and Gilchrist was held to just 7 yards on 8 carries. The Jets ended up at the bottom of the division with a 5-8-1 record.

With the late rally, Gilchrist finished third in the AFL with 979 yards on a league-leading 232 carries (the first of three consecutive seasons in which he had the most rushes), for a 4.2-yard average and 12 TDs (he had two receiving scores to give him a total of 14). He was the league’s top rusher for a second time in 1964, but wore out his welcome with Head Coach Lou Saban and was traded to Denver.

Assertive to a fault, Gilchrist was both outspoken and independent-minded – traits not always appreciated in professional athletes, especially ones of color, during that era. But his accomplishments on the field spoke most eloquently to his toughness and ability, and teammates insisted that no matter what was said and done off the field, when it came time to play, Gilchrist was ready.

1952: Billy Howton Becomes First Rookie 1000-Yard Receiver with 200-Yard Game

When end Billy Howton was chosen by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 1952 draft, he wasn’t sure that he wanted to play pro football. At 6’2” and 190 pounds, he thought he might be too thin, and had already accepted a high school coaching job. But Packers QB Tobin Rote, like Howton a Texan who had played collegiately at Rice, convinced him to give it a try. Rote proved, certainly in this instance, that he was a good judge of talent.

Howton not only made the team but had a significant impact in his rookie season. He scored on a 39-yard TD pass from Rote in the season-opening game against the Bears, and accumulated six touchdowns in his first five contests. Sure-handed and fast, he proved to be an outstanding deep threat and drew comparisons to legendary Green Bay end Don Hutson.

On December 7, 1952 in a game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Memorial Coliseum, Howton caught six passes for an even 200 yards. While his longest reception of the day was 76 yards, he didn’t score at all. But he did pass the thousand-yard mark in pass receiving yardage, something that happened rarely in those days and that no rookie had done before in the NFL.

Unfortunately, while the Packers showed improvement on both sides of the ball in ’52, they were no match for the better teams in the league; in this game, the Rams defeated them, 45-27. Both Rote and rookie Babe Parilli saw action at quarterback and, largely thanks to Howton’s heroics, accumulated 287 passing yards. However, they also combined to throw five interceptions, and adding two fumbles, the Packers turned the ball over seven times. The Rams also held Green Bay to 83 rushing yards on 36 attempts.

While the Packers were at one point 6-3 during the season, losses in the last three games on the road against the Lions, Rams, and 49ers gave them a 6-6 record for the season; they finished in fourth place in the National Conference. Still, it was progress, as the team hadn’t had a record anywhere near .500 since 1947. Meanwhile, the win for the Rams was their seventh of an eventual eight straight to close out the regular season, tying them with the Lions for first place in the National Conference with a 9-3 record. They lost the ensuing playoff to Detroit.

Billy Howton caught 53 passes for 1231 yards (an outstanding 23.2-yard average) and 13 touchdowns. He was the only thousand-yard receiver in the league (runner-up Bud Grant of the Eagles had 997). The touchdown receptions ranked second and the yards-per-catch average placed third. His yardage total remained the record for a rookie until Houston’s Bill Groman totaled 1473 yards in the AFL in 1960, and ranked second for another 38 years. The 13 TD catches were the rookie record until broken by Minnesota’s Randy Moss in 1998 (John Jefferson of San Diego tied the mark in 1979).

Quarterbacks Rote and Parilli certainly benefited from Howton’s presence – they ranked second and third in yards per attempt, respectively. Rote led the NFL with an 8.3 TD percentage.

Howton had one other thousand-yard season (1188 in 1956) on his way to retiring after the 1963 season as the career leader in both yards (8459) and receptions (503). However, Raymond Berry passed his career pass receptions mark the following year, and his yardage total in 1966. With the opening up of the passing game since the late 70s, his lifetime totals have been left in the dust and he has largely been forgotten (it didn’t help that he played with the Packers in their long down period pre-Vince Lombardi, and, after a year in Cleveland, with the Cowboys before they began to win). But his rookie season was one of the best ever for a pro receiver.