Why Not Don Hutson as Best SEC Player in History?

by Bryan
(Cordova, Al., USA)

I realize that he played before WWII, but I didn't see a cutoff point, so here are some of Former Alabama WR Don Hutson's highlights.

Without question, Hutson is the "yardstick" player of the pass-receiving profession. He caught a touchdown "bomb" on his very first play as a rookie and wound up with 99 touchdown receptions, a record that stood for more than four decades. When he retired after the 1945 season, Hutson had caught 488 passes. The second-place receiver at the time had just 190 receptions. The other marks Hutson set once filled pages and he still has several notations in the NFL record book.

As of the end of the 2007 NFL season, Hutson still holds the following records: Most seasons leading league in pass receptions (8), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receptions (5), Most seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (7), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving yards gained (4), Most seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (9), Most consecutive seasons leading league in pass receiving touchdowns (5), Most seasons leading league in scoring (5), and Most consecutive seasons leading league in scoring (5) (Source: NFL Record and fact book).

In 1999, he was ranked sixth on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Packer and the highest-ranking pre-World War II player.

Hutson, some 56 years later, would be named to the all-time college football team and displayed the skills that would one day earn him induction into seven different Hall of Fames (Alabama, Arkansas, Green Bay Packers, NFL, College, Wisconsin and Helms Foundation).