HOUSTON (AP) — Billy Howton, a former Green Bay Packers star regarded as one of the most productive wide receivers of the pre-Super Bowl era who was a founder and the first president of the NFL Players Association, has died. He was 95.
Howton died in Houston on Monday, according to an obituary. Bradshaw-Carter Funeral Home confirmed his death on Friday.
Howton was born in Littlefield, Texas, in 1930. He was believed to have been the oldest living NFL player.
“We are saddened by the passing of Billy Howton,” the NFLPA said in a post on X. “He was a key figure in the NFLPA’s formation & a pioneer for player rights. Because of Billy’s advocacy as our first president, today’s players have a pension, disability benefits & a voice of their own in the business of football.”
Howton scored the Packers' first receiving touchdown at Lambeau Field in 1957. He was a second-round selection by the Packers in 1952 and became the first NFL rookie with a 1,000-yard receiving season after recording 1,231 yards that year. He led the league in receiving yards twice, was named to four Pro Bowls and was a two-time All-Pro.
He holds Green Bay's single-game franchise record with 257 receiving yards in a 1956 game against the Los Angeles Rams, and when he retired in 1963, he was the NFL's all-time leading receiver in receptions (503) and receiving yards (8,459). He was inducted into the Packer Hall of Fame in 1974.
“For my money, Howton is the toughest pass receiver to cover in the National League,” Hall of Fame safety Emlen Tunnell said before the 1958 season, which was Howton’s last with the Packers.
Howton also had a fan in Baltimore receiver Raymond Berry, who would go on to break his records for catches and receiving yards. Berry, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973, believed Howton deserved consideration.
“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,” Berry once said. “He was an extremely dangerous receiver and had great technique.”
After seven years in Green Bay, Howton was traded to the Cleveland Browns in 1959 and then to Dallas as a member of the Cowboys' inaugural team in 1960. He spent the rest of his career there, playing for coach Tom Landry with quarterbacks Eddie LeBaron and Don Meredith.
Howton was a consistent presence in the NFLPA during its early years and attended every player rep meeting between 1956 and 1961. He represented the Packers at the first NFLPA meeting in 1956 and brought with him a list of four grievances that famously included a need for clean towels, shirts and jock straps for second practices — when NFL teams held two practices a day.
He was elected as the organization's first president in 1958 and threatened to bring an antitrust suit against the NFL if it didn't establish a pension plan for retired players. The league's pension plan was subsequently created in 1959.
Howton was an All-American in college at Rice and is a member of the Rice Hall of Fame. He is survived by his three children, Karin, Kimberly and William.
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