Don Hutson

Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997) was a professional American football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a split end and spent his entire eleven-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers. Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship Games, winning three: 1936, 1939, and 1944. In his senior season at the University of Alabama in 1934, Hutson was recognized as a consensus All-American and won a national championship with the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. After his career at Alabama, he joined the Packers in 1935 and played eleven seasons before he retired in 1945. He led the league in receiving yards in seven separate seasons and in receiving touchdowns in nine. A talented safety on defense, he also led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. Hutson was an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time All-Star, and was twice awarded the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL Most Valuable Player. Hutson is considered to have been the first modern receiver, and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the dominant receiver of his day, during which he was widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. In 1994, Hutson was selected for the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years.