Green Bay Packers countdown to NFL football season 2017 – #86, Billy Howton

Billy Howton: Brought speed to Green Bay

Billy howton was a winner, despite playing on one team in his career posting a winning record – the Cleveland Browns.

His statistics stand out when compared to the likes of Antonio Freeman and Boyd Dowler, and that’s why we take the time today to remember him.

In his seven-year career with Green Bay, Howton caught 303 passes with the Packers, recorded 5,581 yards (18.4 yard per-catch) and scored 43 times.

In his rookie season – 1952 – Howton held the record for most touchdowns (13) in a 12-game season that stood for four decades.

In comparison, Howton caught 503 balls during his career; Freeman had 477. Howton accumulated 8,459 yards; Freeman had 7,251. As a Packer, Howton averaged 69.8 yards per game; Freeman averaged 57.3.

See the list below to see the players who have worn #86 over the past 50 years … most of these guys you may not remember – no, neither do I.

If we don’t remember Howton, we should.

His speed and shiftiness was well known. Along with Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch, the two of them helped with the rise in football’s popularity that was to begin to peak in the 1960s.

We highly recommend “Packers by the Numbers: Jersey Numbers and the Players Who Wore Them,” by John Maxymuk – a compendium of stories about the Packers players who wore specific numbers.

Here is how Maxymuk describes Howton:

"Billy Howton “Billy Howton was a fast and shifty end who was a two-time collegiate team MVP at Rice. He was selected in the second round by the Packers and reunited in Green Bay with Tobin Rote, who had graduated two years ahead of Howton at Rice. Bill burst into the NFL with flair. As a rookie, he caught 53 passes for a league-leading 1,231 yards and 13 touchdowns. The 13-touchdown receptions in a 12-game season was a league rookie record not broken until Viking Randy Moss caught 17 in a 16-game season in 1998. Howton quickly was called the “new Don Hutson,” and he would end his Green Bay career , seven yers later, second only to Hutson in most team receiving categories. In 1956, he caught seven passes for 257 yards in one game against the Rams. He was a master of the deep pass and would be named to two All Pro teams and four Pro Bowls in his 12-year career, but the team around him was awful. When Lombardi arrived, one of his first moves was to trade Howton to Cleveland for halfback Lew Carpenter and defensive end Bill Quinlan … [according to Packers defensive coordinator] Phil Bengston noted that Lombardi felt that Howton was slipping and should be traded while his value was still high. Furthermore, Howton was not that big and was not noted for his blocking, which was something at which Lombardi’s ends needed to excel."

Yes, Howton was one of those obscure Packer players who did extremely well. However, because he wasn’t with winning teams, his stock was lower.

But he is surely one to remember.

Next: Top 30 moments in Green Bay Packers history

Packers players who have worn #86 over the course of the past 50 years: