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last mo.

Billy Howton, NFL’s Oldest Living Former Player, Dies at 95

Confirmed by Bradshaw-Carter Funeral Home, his death marks the passing of the NFL’s oldest former player who revolutionized the passing game through record-breaking seasons, leading efforts for player pensions

ARCHIVO - Billy Howton, jugador de los Packers de Green Bay, durante una reunión el 27 de enero de 1958 en Filadelfia. (AP Foto/Bill Ingraham)
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Overview

  • Howton died on Monday in Houston at age 95, with his passing confirmed by Bradshaw-Carter Funeral Home.
  • In his 1952 rookie season with the Green Bay Packers, he became the first NFL newcomer to exceed 1,000 receiving yards, finishing with 1,231.
  • He set the Packers’ single-game receiving mark with 257 yards against the Los Angeles Rams in 1956, a franchise record that still stands.
  • As the inaugural president of the NFL Players Association in 1958, Howton was instrumental in creating the league’s pension and disability benefit program by 1959.
  • When he retired in 1963, he ranked as the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions (503) and receiving yards (8,459) and was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1974.