Hutson, Donald M.
Football
b. Jan. 31, 1913, Pine Bluff, AR
d. June 26, 1997
As a freshman at the University of Alabama, Hutson was 6 feet tall and weighed only 160 pounds. Many thought he was too skinny ever to be a good football player, but he became one of the greatest pass receivers in history.
He could run the 100-yard dash in 9.8 seconds and he had a long effortless stride that often fooled defenders into thinking he wasn't running very fast. Hutson was also a master of the change of pace, turning on a sudden, unexpected burst of speed to get into the open. He also had a variety of fakes and great hands.
He didn't start for Alabama till near the end of his junior year, but he was an All-American in his senior season, 1934. In Alabama's 29-13 Rose Bowl victory over Stanford, Hutson caught 6 passes for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns.
There was no NFL draft of college players when Hutson graduated. Only two teams really wanted him, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Hutson signed contracts with both teams. NFL President Joe Carr decided that the team that mailed its contract to the league office first would get Hutson. Both contracts were postmarked the same day, but the Packer postmark was seventeen minutes earlier.
Hutson later said it was the best thing that happened to him, because the Packers featured a passing attack and the Dodgers didn't. He was held out of the Packers' opening game in his rookie year but he started in the second game, against the Chicago Bears, and caught an 83-yard touchdown pass on his first play as a professional.
In his 11 seasons with the Packers, he was an All-Pro nine times and he set records that weren't broken until longer seasons and more pass-oriented offenses came along. He led the NFL in receptions eight times, in yards six times, and in touchdown receptions nine times. During the 1940s, Hutson also kicked extra points and short field goals.
When he retired after the 1945 season, he held virtually every NFL pass receiving record: Most receptions in a game, 14, in a season, 74 in 1942, and in a career, 489; most touchdown receptions in a game, 4, in a season, 17 in 1942, and in a career, 99; most yards receiving in a game, 237, in a season, 1,211 in 1942, and in a career, 8,010; and most touchdown receptions in championship playoff games, 9.
Hutson also held three major scoring records: Most consecutive games scoring at least one point, 41, most points in a season, 138, and most points in a career, 825. He scored 31 points in one game, the second highest total in NFL history.