Don Hutson

Packers Hall of Fame receiver who single-handedly invented modern pass-catching, retiring with a touchdown-reception record that stood for over four decades.

Born on 31 January 1913 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Don Hutson was an All-American at the University of Alabama before signing with the Green Bay Packers in 1935 in a quirky contract dispute — the NFL awarded him to Green Bay over the Brooklyn Dodgers because his Packers contract had been postmarked 17 minutes earlier. Hutson scored a touchdown on an 83-yard pass in his second career game and went on to revolutionize the receiver position, inventing many of the pass routes still used in football today, including buttonhooks, Z-outs and hook-and-gos. Before his arrival, defenses had never needed double or triple coverage; Hutson's speed and precise route running made such tactics necessary for the first time. Over his 11-year career, entirely with Green Bay, Hutson led the NFL in receiving in eight seasons and in scoring for five consecutive years (1940-44), winning the league MVP award in both 1941 and 1942. When he retired in 1945, he held 18 NFL records, including 488 career receptions, 7,991 receiving yards and 99 touchdown catches — a touchdown mark that stood for more than four decades. Hutson helped the Packers win three NFL championships (1936, 1939, 1944) and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 as a member of its inaugural class. He was later named to the NFL's 50th, 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, and the Packers retired his No. 14, making him the first player in franchise history to receive the honor. He died on 26 June 1997 at age 84.

Exceptional speed and precise, innovative route running that defined the receiver position

Widely regarded as the first great wide receiver and the prototype for the modern position