 1952 Bowman football card | |||||||||
| No. 86, 81 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | End | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1930-07-03)July 3, 1930 Littlefield, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | August 4, 2025(2025-08-04) (aged 95) Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 191 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Plainview(Plainview, Texas) | ||||||||
| College | Rice | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1952: 2nd round, 15th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Billy Harris Howton[1][2] (July 3, 1930 – August 4, 2025) was an American professionalfootball player who was anend for 12 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) with theGreen Bay Packers,Cleveland Browns, and expansionDallas Cowboys.[3] He was a two-time first-teamAll-Pro and four-timePro Bowl selection with the Packers.
Howton playedcollege football for theRice Owls, earning first-teamAll-American honors in 1951. As an NFL rookie with Green Bay, he caught 13touchdown passes, a rookie record that was tied but not broken until 1998.[4] Howton caught a total 503 career passes for a total of 8,459 yards. In doing so, he surpassed then-leaderDon Hutson to become the all-time leader in receptions and yardage. This made him the first receiver with 500 catches in pro football history. In over a half century since Howton's retirement, the dawn of improved passing has seen him drop into the top 50.
Despite his extensive credentials, he has yet to be named a finalist or semifinalist inPro Football Hall of Fame balloting. He retired after the1963 season, after four years with Dallas.[5] In 2004, he was named to theProfessional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class.[6]
Howton was born inLittlefield, Texas.[1] He attendedPlainview High School, where he lettered infootball,basketball, andtrack and field.
Howton playedcollege football atRice Institute inHouston,[7] where he was nicknamed "Red Fox" not only for his hair color, but also for the way he ran pass patterns, which made him a great offensive end, establishing a season record for average yards (22.6) on pass receptions.
At the 1948track and field regional meet inLubbock, he had a time of 14.3 in thehigh hurdle event, setting a record that stood for several decades. In 1951, he won thehigh hurdle event in a track meet against theTexas A&M Aggies. He was also a notable runner in thelow hurdles.
In 1951, he finished hiscollege football career with 64 catches for 1,289 yards and 12touchdowns, on his way to earn the following honors:
In 1971, he was inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame.
Howton was selected in the second round of the1952 NFL draft, 15th overall, by theGreen Bay Packers. As a rookie, he earned immediate comparisons withHall of FamerDon Hutson, with his speed, sure hands, and big-play ability. He established himself as one of the bestwide receivers in the NFL, with a league-leading 1,231 receiving yards.[7] He also set a rookie record with 13touchdowns, which would last until1965 when the total number was broken byGale Sayers. Histouchdown reception mark lasted until1998, when it was broken byRandy Moss.
Howton became one of the most successfulwide receivers in Packers history, while playing seven seasons in losing teams (26–56–2).During his seven years in Green Bay, he led his teams in receiving yards for six straight seasons (1952–57), led the league in receiving yards two times (1952 and1956) andtouchdown receptions once (1956). He caught 303 passes for 5,581 yards with an 18.4 yard average, scored 43touchdowns and earnedAll-Pro in two seasons (1956–57) andPro Bowl honors in four seasons (1952 and1955–57).[8]
He caught 13 touchdown passes in his 1952 rookie season. In his fifth season in1956, Howton caught seven passes for a total of 257 yards against theLos Angeles Rams.
He set team records that still stand today:
Howton was named the Packers' player representative and president of theNFL Players Association in1958, and played a major role in establishing a pension fund for players, which was a debated topic with club owners at the time.
In January1959, the Packers hiredVince Lombardi as head coach and general manager after the team's worst record ever (1–10–1) in1958. In April, Lombardi traded Howton to theCleveland Browns in exchange fordefensive endBill Quinlan andhalfbackLew Carpenter.[9][10][11] Lombardi desired receivers who could block, which was not Howton's strength.[3][12]
Through the years, there has been speculation that hisNFL Players Association ties were the real reason behind the trade.
Howton was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1974.[13]
Howton played only one season in Cleveland, leading the team in receptions with 39, and experiencing what would be the only winning campaign of hisNFL career. At the start of the1960 season, he notified the Browns his intentions to retire.
The expansionDallas Cowboys convinced him to play in his home state and traded a draft choice to the Browns in exchange for his rights.
Howton was acquired by the expansionDallas Cowboys in1960. That season the Cowboys recorded only a tie, which came against theNew York Giants atYankee Stadium on December 4, when a latetouchdown pass fromEddie LeBaron to Howton finalized a 31–31 comeback, against a team that had made championship game appearances in three of the previous four years. Following the season, Howton signed a three-year contract.[14]
The first win in franchise history came during the1961 season opener against thePittsburgh Steelers, 27–24, with Howton contributing a game-high 138 receiving yards and atouchdown.
During his time with the Cowboys, Howton remained a key starter in a league-leading offense, that was composed byEddie LeBaron,Don Meredith,Don Perkins,Frank Clarke,Dick Bielski, andLee Folkins. He led the Cowboys in receiving in 1961 (with a career-high of 56 catches) and again in1962.
On September 29,1963, Howton became theNFL's all-time receiving leader, after breakingDon Hutson's record for career receptions and receiving yards. He retired after the season ended.[15]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1952 | GB | 12 | 12 | 53 | 1,231 | 23.2 | 90 | 13 |
| 1953 | GB | 8 | 8 | 25 | 463 | 18.5 | 80 | 4 |
| 1954 | GB | 12 | 11 | 52 | 768 | 14.8 | 59 | 2 |
| 1955 | GB | 12 | 12 | 44 | 697 | 15.8 | 60 | 5 |
| 1956 | GB | 12 | 12 | 55 | 1,188 | 21.6 | 66 | 12 |
| 1957 | GB | 12 | 12 | 38 | 727 | 19.1 | 77 | 5 |
| 1958 | GB | 12 | 12 | 36 | 507 | 14.1 | 50 | 2 |
| 1959 | CLE | 12 | 12 | 39 | 510 | 13.1 | 36 | 1 |
| 1960 | DAL | 11 | 7 | 23 | 363 | 15.8 | 41 | 4 |
| 1961 | DAL | 14 | 14 | 56 | 785 | 14.0 | 53 | 4 |
| 1962 | DAL | 14 | 14 | 49 | 706 | 14.4 | 69 | 6 |
| 1963 | DAL | 11 | 7 | 33 | 514 | 15.6 | 44 | 3 |
| Career | 142 | 133 | 503 | 8,459 | 16.8 | 90 | 61 | |
Howton left the league after 12 seasons with 503 catches, 8,459 yards, and 61touchdowns. Howton was also the top receiver from those players in the1952 NFL draft, which included futureHall of Famers such asFrank Gifford,Ollie Matson, andHugh McElhenny. Howton was tied for fourth all-time in touchdowns withPete Pihos. Of the six players with at least 60 receiving touchdowns in 1963, only Howton is not in the Hall of Fame. Howton has never been named a semifinalist for the Hall in a half-century since being eligible.[16]Raymond Berry, who passed him as the all-time leader in receptions and touchdowns years after Howton retired, later stated, "I'll tell you a guy who is overlooked is Billy Howton. He was extremely professional in his pass routes. He knew what he was doing to maneuver and fake to get open. He would be effective going inside, going outside, effective going deep. He was an extremely dangerous receiver and had great technique."[17]
In the first meeting of player representatives in December 1956, Howton was the representative present for the Packers, attending each meeting from 1956 to 1961 (one of three to attend all of those meetings) and serving as the first NFLPA President from 1958 to 1961. It was he who delivered an ultimatum to the owners in 1959 that led to the establishment of the NFL Player Retirement Plan rather than see the NFLPA deliver an antitrust suit to them. He later served as a representative of retired players at meetings and was also on the pension committee until 1970.[18]
After his football career, Howton went into business.[1] In 1981, he and two business partners were convicted ofmail and wire fraud in federal court, for a scheme in which they defrauded $8 million in total from a number of institutions, including theUniversity of Pittsburgh,Blue Cross of Florida, and several financial institutions.[19] According to the prosecution, they promised to sell student loans to the institutions before investing the money in gold and then transferring it overseas.[1] Howton was sentenced to five years in prison, of which he served two years before being released.[1]
After his release, Howton moved toMadrid, Spain.[1]
Howton had three children.[1] He was married and divorced twice, to Sandra Bourgoin and then Sue Allen.[1] He was later in a long-term relationship with Carmen Fanlo during his time in Spain; they were together for 30 years, until her death in 2019.[1]
Howton died at a memory care home inHouston on August 4, 2025, at the age of 95.[1][20]