By Eric Goska
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Don Hutson was the
NFL’s most valuable player in 1942. |
Don Hutson was a target long before the term became popular in NFL circles.
Ninety years have passed since Hutson first suited up for the Packers in the summer of 1935. Nearly 80 years have elapsed since he snagged his last reception in December of 1945.
So much has been written about the legendary end. What more can be said?
In April, I punched the following into Google: “Was Don Hutson targeted 20 times in a game?”
Here is what came back: “It is very unlikely that Don Hutson was targeted 20 times in a single game. While Hutson was a dominant receiver and a prolific scorer, modern football statistics, including targeting data, weren’t kept during his playing days in the 1930s and 1940s. Even if he had been targeted that many times, it would be an exceptionally high number compared to the norms of that era.”
Even AI (artificial intelligence) can’t cover Hutson effectively! Hutson was targeted 20 or more times not once, but twice.
Directing that many passes to one receiver in a game is rare. Stathead, the search engine available through Pro Football Reference, reveals how infrequently it occurs.
Since 1978, there have been 12,618 instances of a receiver being targeted 10 or more times in an NFL regular-season game. The number drops to 1,269 when a threshold of 15 or more is used. It becomes a trickle – 67 – when the bar is raised to 20 or more.
This downward trend exists among Green Bay receivers as well. Since 1978, the numbers have been 423 (10-plus), 43 (15-plus) and two (20-plus).
James Lofton (21) and Davante Adams (21) are the only Packers receivers to have been targeted 20 or more times in a game in the last 47 years.
It’s time to add Hutson – and one other – to that short list.
Quick pause before we dive in. Intended targets cannot be determined for all passes from the era in which Hutson played. On average, three to four throws per game cannot be assigned to a particular receiver. Therefore, the numbers noted here are minimums, as Hutson – and others – could have been targeted more often.
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| Don Hutson on the move against the Rams in 1945. (Green Bay Press-Gazette photo) |
During his first five seasons (1935-1939) Hutson was targeted 10 or more times in a game on six occasions. In 1940, he enjoyed double-digit outings six times as he became the first Packer to be targeted 100 or more times in a season.
That season – 1940 – was the first in which the Packers averaged more than 25 pass attempts per game. With Cecil Isbell (150 attempts), Arnie Herber (89) and Hal Van Every (41) leading the way, Green Bay launched 283 aerials, second most behind the 362 of the Eagles.
Hutson (112 targets) was easily the Packers’ favorite. Carl Mulleneaux (37) was a distant second with Andy Uram (19) and Ray Riddick (18) the only others to exceed 15.
In order, Hutson was targeted 5, 12, 7, 13, 14, 6, 17, 9, 12, 4, and 13 times in 1940. His high-water mark of 17 came in a 14-7 loss to the Bears at Wrigley Field, a game in which he likely became the first Packer to be targeted 10 times in one half (second).
Hutson caught 45 passes in 1940, second to the 58 of the Eagles’ Don Looney. Looney, quite possibly, was targeted more than 100 times that season as well.
In 1942, Hutson hauled in an NFL record 74 receptions as the Packers, for the first time, averaged 30 pass attempts per game. The Alabama Antelope (127 targets) again was Green Bay’s top gun, with Andy Uram (35) and Lou Brock (24) a distant second and third.
By game, Hutson’s targets were: 9, 8, 5, 19, 12, 11, 16, 20, 22, 3, and 2. He was sought out 20 or more times in consecutive games in November: in a 38-7 loss to the Bears at Wrigley Field and in a 21-21 tie with the Giants in the Polo Grounds.
With five Packers passes unaccounted for in the Big Apple, Hutson’s total could have been higher than 22. Unfortunately, without a complete play-by-play we can only speculate.
When speaking of Hutson that day, reporters tended to focus on the numerous records he extended and the drought he ended.
“Playing as usual without shoulder or hip pads which hamper his speed, Hutson broke his career-long Giant jinx,” wrote Jack Smith of the New York Daily News. “He had never before scored a touchdown against them."
Hutson grabbed two.
Hutson played three more seasons after his 14-catch, 134-yard performance against the Giants. Though targeted often, he never again ventured into 20-plus territory.
One Packers player who did was Bob Mann. He tied Hutson record against the Rams in the 1951 season finale when 22 passes came his way. He snagged 11 for 123 yards.
For nearly 35 years, Hutson and Mann remained a duo without equal. Lofton joined them in a 24-10 loss to the Saints in 1986. Adams climbed aboard in an 18-16 loss to the Lions in 2015.
As noted at the outset, rare is the receiver who is targeted 20 or more times in a game. Hutson – a focal point in any game in which he played – may be the only NFL receiver to have been in the crosshairs to that extent in consecutive games.
Hutson in 1940
Hutson in 1942
