Tuesday, January 11, 2022

THE RECEIVING TRIPLE CROWN: The Elite Eight

By TJ Troup 
Tweet by ESPN
I saw on Twitter that ESPN (Eternally Stupid Putrid Network) has again failed to do complete research. Stating that only four men have led the league in the receiving triple crown is not only foolish, but the men omitted from the list rank with the greatest/best and of course most productive receivers of all time. I mean the NFL did start in 1920, right? That means "all-time" starts then? 

Just checking.
Pete Pihos
Who should be added to the list you ask? Dave Parks in 1965, Johnny Morris in 1964, Raymond Berry in 1959, Pete Pihos in 1953, Elroy Hirsch in 1951, and the Alabama Antelope who is the Babe Ruth of receivers—Don Hutson accomplished this four consecutive seasons 1941 through 1944 and five times overall. 

Additionally, Lance Alworth achieved this feat in the AFL in 1966 and reaching way back—Ray Flaherty was the first to do it in 1932. That was the first year the NFL had reliable statistics.

So, with these eight plus the four since the 1970 merger, the total of receiving triple crown winners is eleven with the feat being achieved sixteen times in NFL history. 
Don Hutson
Maybe ESPN should have given me a decent offer all those years ago when they wanted to hire me? Then we would not have to be subjected to this complete failure to tell the complete story.

11 comments:

  1. Coach, did Pihos and his inside routes help pioneer the tight end position ?

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  2. ....yes Brian, he did help "pioneer" inside routes, yet he would be aligned tight, flexed, and split, and his patterns towards the sideline are also textbook. Film study of him is very enjoyable, as he was a true craftsman though he was not the fastest receiver in the league. Only player ever to lead the league in receptions the last three years of his career.

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  3. Hi Coach - I know we're talking NFL here but Lance Alworth did this in the AFL in 66. I'd love to see you give him a shout out. He dominated that league and was the best receiver in pro ball in the 60's (along with Paul Warfield).

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    1. We added it in for the sake of completeness---appreciate the comment

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    2. Didnt Alworth play that season with broken wrists or was that 65 ?

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  4. ....my error John Steele, and thanks for the correction, yes the statement by the Eternally Stupid Putrid Network was about the NFL, yet will gladly include Lance A. Simply the best player in AFL history, and having coached wide receivers at the college level.....Lance was the complete package, and a game breaker. Both Warfield and Alworth are part of my all-time 4 receiver alignment.

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  5. Trying to coax the coach ...

    Ray Berry or Don Hutson inside, Rice or Moss outside, to go with Alworth, Warfield ?

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  6. my mom had several dates with Pete Pihos while she was in nursing school at Philadelphia General in the mid-late 40s.

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  7. It irritates me that whenever anyone in the national media discusses seasonal records, it's always "post-merger", as if professional football did not exist before the "merger".

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    1. and more irritating is in this ccase they don't even to both adding the qualifier of "post-merger" or "Super Bowl era" . . . it's just "In NFL History"

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