Billy Howton

William Harris "Billy" Howton (born July 5, 1930 in Littlefield, Texas) is a former American football end who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (1952–1963). He played college football at Rice University. He caught a total 503 career passes for a total of 8,459 yards. In doing so, he surpassed then leader Don Hutson to become the all-time leader in receptions and yardage (Since then his ranking has fallen to below 50.) Despite this, he has yet to be name a finalist in Pro Football Hall of Fame balloting. He retired in 1963 after four years with the Dallas Cowboys. He caught 13 touchdown passes in his 1952 rookie season. On October 21, 1956, Howton caught seven passes for a total of 257 yards against the Los Angeles Rams.

Early years
He attended Plainview high school where he was a star in football, basketball and track and field.

After high school, he signed with Rice University where he developed into a great offensive end, establishing a season record for average yards (22.6) on pass receptions, and finishing his college career with 64 catches for 1,289 yards and 12 touchdowns.

During that time, he earned the nickname "Red Fox" not only for the color of his hair, but also for the way he ran pass patterns.

He also experienced success in track and field running the high hurdles. At the 1948 regional meet in Lubbock, he blazed to a time of 14.3 in the high hurdle event, setting a record that stood for several decades. In 1951 he won the high hurdle event in a track meet with the Texas A&M Aggies. He was also a superior performer in the low hurdles.

In 1951 among the many honors bestowed upon him were:
 * Named All-America.
 * Southwest Conference MVP.
 * All-SWC team.
 * Won the George Martin Award for the second straight year (he also won it in 1950), which is given to Rice’s most valuable football player.
 * Played in the East–West Shrine Game.
 * Played in the Chicago College All-Star Game.

In 1971 he was inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame

Green Bay Packers
Howton was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 2nd round of the 1952 NFL Draft.

His rookie season was spectacular, earning immediate comparisons with the legendary Don Hutson, in terms of his speed, hands, and big-play ability. He quickly established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the game leading the NFL in receiving yards with 1,231 yards. He also set a touchdown record for rookies with 13, which was later broken by Gale Sayers in 1965 and by Randy Moss in 1998 in terms of receiving touchdowns.

Howton became a star and one of the most prolific wide receivers in franchise history, while playing seven seasons on Packer teams that posted a 26-56-2 losing record during his tenure under three head coaches: Gene Ronzani (1950-53), Lisle Blackbourn (1954-57) and Ray McLean (1958).

During his seven years in Green Bay, he lead the Packers in receiving for six straight seasons (1952-57), led the league in receiving yards 2 times (1952 and 1956) and touchdowns receptions once (1956). He caught 303 passes for 5,581 yards for an 18.4 yard average. Howton scored 43 touchdowns and earned All-Pro in two seasons (1956-57) and Pro Bowl honors in four seasons (1952 and 1955-57).

Howton also set team records that still stand today:
 * Most receiving yards by a Packers rookie with 1,231 yards in 1952
 * Highest yardage game with 257 yards against the Los Angeles Rams in 1956.
 * Had two 200-plus receiving games - the only Packer receiver aside from Don Hutson, with four, to have more than one.

After the team's worst finish ever - 1-10-1, in 1959 the Packers hired Vince Lombardi, who traded him to the Cleveland Browns for defensive end Bill Quinlan and halfback Lew Carpenter.

Howton became the Packer's player representative and president of the newly formed NFL Players Association in 1958. He was a vocal leader in establishing a pension fund for players, a hotly debated topic with club owners at the time. Through the years, there has been specultation that this was the real reason for the trade.

Cleveland Browns
Howton played one season in Cleveland, leading the Browns in receptions with 39, and experiencing what would be the only winning campaign of his pro career. At the start of the 1960 season, he notified the Browns that he had decided to retire. The Dallas Cowboys convinced him to play in his home state and traded a future draft choice to the Bowns in exchange for his rights.

Dallas Cowboys
Howton came to the Dallas Cowboys in 1960, which remains the worst season in team history. The Cowboys did get off their losing ways with a 31-31 tie against the NY Giants at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 4, their next-to-last game. A late touchdown pass from Eddie LeBaron to Howton finalized the comeback against a Giants team that had made championship game appearances in three of the previous four years.

The first win in franchise history came during the 1961 season opener over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-24, with Howton contributing a game-high 138 receiving yards and a touchdown.

During those early years the Cowboys' roster was in a constant state of flux, but he remained an unquestionable starter, a "go to" player and part of the nucleus of a good offense, that was composed by Eddie LeBaron, Don Meredith, Don Perkins, Frank Clarke, Dick Bielski and Lee Folkins.

Howton led the Cowboys in receiving in 1961 (with a career high of 56 catches) and again in 1962.

His defining moment came on Sept. 29, 1963, when he etched his name into the NFL record book, eclipsing the record for career reception and receiving yards, passing former Packers legend Don Hutson's total of 7,991 yards and 488 receptions.

At the end of 12 seasons in the NFL, Howton put up some impressive numbers: 503 catches, 8,459 yards and 61 touchdowns which may seem average in today's game, but those numbers compare very well against any wide receiver during that era. It also didn't help that he played for the Packers before the Lombardi era and for the Cowboys before they started their dominant run.

In 1974 he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame.

Personal life
Howton was an assistant coach at Rice University for a few years and then worked as a building contractor before getting involved in financial investments in the 1970s.