Don Hutson

Don Hutson was born on January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He grew up as one of three sons to Roy B. and Mabel Clark Hutson. As a teenager, Hutson played baseball for Pine Bluff’s town team and was an all-state basketball player at Pine Bluff High School. He only played one year of football at Pine Bluff, but his talent was recognized, with Paul “Bear” Bryant recounting how they would hitchhike to watch him play. He attended the University of Alabama, playing as an end for coach Frank Thomas’s Crimson Tide football team from 1932 to 1934. During his college career, he became part of a celebrated passing combination with quarterback Millard “Dixie” Howell. He had six catches for 165 yards, including two touchdowns, in the 1935 Rose Bowl against Stanford. Hutson was recognized as a first-team All-American by six organizations in 1934 and posthumously awarded the Heisman Trophy for 1934 by the National Football Foundation.

Upon graduating from Alabama, Hutson did not initially intend to play professional football. However, Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau recognized his potential for an expanded passing attack. Hutson signed contracts with both the Green Bay Packers and the NFL’s Brooklyn Dodgers. NFL President Joseph Carr ruled in favor of Green Bay due to an earlier signing date on their contract. Hutson joined the Packers in 1935. His first professional catch was an 83-yard touchdown pass in his second game, against the Chicago Bears. He led the league in touchdown receptions in his rookie season and continued to dominate throughout his 11-year career with the Packers from 1935 to 1945. Hutson was instrumental in leading the Packers to three NFL Championships in 1936, 1939, and 1944. He also briefly served as an assistant coach for the Packers from 1944 to 1948, even while still playing.

Throughout his career, Hutson consistently led the league in multiple receiving categories. He led the league in receiving yards in seven seasons and touchdown receptions in nine seasons. In 1940, he also led the NFL in interceptions, demonstrating his versatility as a two-way player. He was named NFL Most Valuable Player twice, in 1941 and 1942. In 1942, he became the first receiver to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season, with 1,211 yards. At the time of his retirement, he held 18 NFL records, including 488 career receptions and 99 touchdown receptions, a record that stood for over four decades. His number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Green Bay Packers. After his football career, Hutson focused on business, co-owning a laundromat with Bear Bryant and later establishing the Hutson Motor Car Co. dealership.