A forgotten champ

 

Billy Howton's college football Bowman Gum trading card. (public domain)

Each day, I see a list of notable birthdays. I noticed that on September 28, Steve Largent turned 71 and the late Charley Taylor would have turned 84. As Largent was my favorite football player when I was growing up, I considered writing about what they had in common.

Two days ago (January 13), I noticed that Jerry Rice had turned 63. Then yesterday, Charlie Joiner turned 79. These two also had the same thing in common: each man was, at one time, the NFL's all-time receiving champion. I knew of two others, Art Monk and Don Hutson, but didn't know how many there were. I decided to find out. 

Here's the All-Time Receptions Timeline. I put in parentheses where the player currently ranks on the all-time most receptions list. You'll notice, for instance, that 22 players have passed Art Monk since Monk retired, but none have caught up to Rice. So they were never #1 on the list; they were never the reception champ. 

It's a small group:

1. Jerry Rice passed Art Monk in 1995. Last year:2004. 1,549 career receptions (1st).

2. Art Monk passed Steve Largent in 1992. Last year: 1994, 940 career receptions (24th).

3. Steve Largent passed Charlie Joiner in 1987, Last year: 1989, 819 (37th)

4. Charlie Joiner passed Charley Taylor in 1984. Last year: 1986,750 (48th)

5.  Charley Taylor passed Don Maynard in 1975, Last year: 1977, 649 (77th)

6. Don Maynard passed Raymond Berry in 1972. Last year: 1973, 633 (82nd)

7. Raymond Berry passed Billy Howton in 1964. Last year: 1967, 631 (83rd)

8. Billy Howton passed Don Hutson in 1963. Last year: 1963,  503 (180th)

9. Don Hutson retired in 1945 with 488 receptions (192nd). Hutson, who also played offense and defense, was the first modern wide receiver. In 1937, only his third year, Hutson passed Charley Malone with 93 career receptions at the end of the season. The receiving stats before Hutson are as relevant as the home run stats before Babe Ruth.

Several of these players were also, unsurprisingly, career leaders in receiving yards. Here's that timeline:

1. Jerry Rice passed James Lofton in 1995. Last year: 2024, 22,895 yards (1st)

2. James Lofton passed Steve Largent in 1992. Last year: 1993, 14,004 (12th)

3. Steve Largent passed Charley Joiner in 1988. Last year: 1989, 13, 089 (20th)

4. Charley Joiner passed Don Maynard in 1986. Last year: 1986, 12,146 (30th)

5. Don Maynard passed Raymond Berry in 1968. Last year: 1973 11,834 (35th)

6. Raymond Berry passed Billy Howton in 1965. Last year: 1967, 9,275 (68th)

7. Billy Howton passed Don Hutson in 1963. Last year: 1963, 8,459 (96th)

8. Don Hutson retired in 1945 with 7,991 yards. He grabbed the career lead from Charley Malone in 1937 with 1,508 career yards at the end of the season. 

Three notable differences in the lists:

1. James Lofton, a deep-ball receiver, is in the place of possession receiver Art Monk on the Receiving Yards Champ list.

2. While Charley Taylor passed Don Maynard in receptions, he never passed him in yards and never became the yards champ.

3. Aside from Rice, the other six players on both lists rank significantly higher on the yards lists than on the receptions list. Example: Largent is 37th in receptions but 20th in yards. While the NFL is more pass-happy these days, the passes are shorter, and yards per catch are significantly less.

I was unfamiliar with one name who was both a receptions and a yards champ: Billy Howton. The two-time All-Pro played for the Packers, Browns, and expansion Cowboys from 1952 to 1963, averaging 16.8 yards per catch. At the end of his final season in 1963, he was fifth all-time in career yards from scrimmage.

I missed the news that Howton passed on August 6th of this year at the age of 95, and was believed to be the oldest living NFL veteran. He was also a founder and the first President of the NFL Players Association. 

According to Stathead, ten receivers who were Howton's rough contemporaries made five or more Pro Bowls between 1946 and 1970, compared to Howton's four. So, I'm not saying that just because he had the best career totals when he retired, that he was among the very, very best receivers of his era. Unlike everyone else on this list, Howton's not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

However, Howton is a champ in both career receptions and career receiving yards; only six other players have accomplished this. And that's why I'm glad I traced the history of the All-Time Receptions and Yards Champs, which allowed me to give Howton his due.  

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Contact James Leroy Wilson for writing, editing, research, and other work at jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com. Visit JL Cells for my non-sports writing.