HOUSTON — Billy Howton, a former Green Bay Packers star regarded as one of the most productive wide receivers of the pre-Super Bowl era as well as 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 Friday.
Born in Littlefield, Texas, in 1930, Howton was believed to have been the oldest living NFL player.
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. 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 Packers 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.
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 an All-American in college at Rice and is a member of the Rice Hall of Fame.