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Here is a lesser known story about the great Don Hutson and his exploits for the Green Bay Packers.
Most Hutson bio’s tell of Don’s rookie year (1935) and his debut against the Bears. All the Packers (& Pro Football, for that matter) were awed by Don’s catch of an 83 yard bomb for his first Packer catch which beat the Bears in Green Bay, 7-0. However, many of the old Packers will tell you that Don’s SECOND Bear game in ’35 was even more amazing. The rest of the ’35 season, George Halas was complaining about Hutson and the Bear’s fluke (according to Halas) loss to GB in September. Halas felt Hutson was a gimmick player, a part-timer that couldn’t stay on the field for 60 minutes. Halas also railed at the Bears that they had to beat the Packers in the ’35 rematch in Chicago. The other thing that Halas demanded was that the Bears stop Don Hutson.
Halas’s orders were followed to a “T”, for 57 & ½ minutes. The Bears mauled both the Pack and Hutson all game long. With 2 minutes and 30 seconds to go, the Bears were in control 14 -3. When Hutson went in for a final series, Halas and the Bears bench were screaming at the defense to stop Hutson and maim him if they could. Don was triple teamed and couldn’t even get off the line. Then, on third down, Arnie Herber brought Hutson from one side to the other and threw Don a quick strike in the flat. The whole Bear defense converged on Hutson. Don ducked, faked , made full pivots and eluded tackler after tackler. Don finally worked his way into the Bear secondary, faked to the middle, and cut to the sideline alone. There, he went into his sprinter gear, and out-ran the entire Bear team to make it 14 - 10. Accounts of the game stated that all 11 Bear defenders had shots at Hutson, but nobody could tackle the “Alabama Antelope”.
The Packers kicked off to the Bears who proceeded to run out the clock. On the second plunge into the line, the Bears fumbled the ball. It was GB’s ball, deep in Bear territory, with only seconds to go. Wrigley field was now a madhouse as the fans and the Bear bench were screaming at their players to stop the Pack. Arnie Herber was at his finest as he had Hutson slant over the middle. As half the Bear D converged on Don, he swiftly pivoted and ran the equivalent of the “fade” pattern to the back corner of the end zone. Observers estimated Herber had a window about a foot in which to put the ball. Arnie threw it in there and Don dove and made his usual once in a lifetime catch for the Packer victory. The Packer players would always talk about that victory & how great it was to run off the field to total silence!
That game raised Don’s status from a good rookie to a respected player, one you could count on in the clutch. All the veterans realized that they had to protect Don, because he could make them all a lot of money.
In 1999 Paul Zimmerman picked the All Time NFL team. His wide receivers? Don Hutson, Lance Alworth, Raymond Berry, and Jerry Rice. In his comments about Don included this statement “ I'd never forgotten a story told to me by a Green Bay fan who swore he saw Hutson snatch a ball with one hand -- with the palm turned down.”
I know about that catch, the story of the catch and its legacy will be long be remembered in Packer lore. It tells what a great player Don was, but also what a great man he was.
Like Paul Zimmerman, I never saw Don play. But I, too, heard about that catch. This is the story as I heard it.
The Packers were losing to the Chicago Cardinals in the opening game of 1939. This was a game they had to win. A loss to the Cards would be a blot on their record that could knock the Pack out of the ’39 race. Not many teams would lose to the Cards that year (they’d only win one game) so a loss would be a huge negative.
The Pack finally got the ball in the last two minutes, down 10 -7. There was no time to run, and kicking a field goal was a pretty iffy proposition in 1939. The Packers needed to score on this possession. On third and long, Arnie Herber tried to get off a desperation pass to Hutson. The Cardinals had Don double covered on the sideline. Herber misfired on his pass as it was way ahead of both Hutson and the two defenders. But Hutson performed a miracle. He lunged out and picked the pass off to make a one handed catch. He moved so fast it was difficult to see the play, but all the fans along the sideline saw Hutson reach out and snare the pass. The ball was maybe a foot or two off the turf, but Hutson was able to catch the back of the ball at ankle height with his palm down, a foot or so from the sideline! He then sprinted down near the Chicago goal. The Packers soon scored to turn the near upset loss into a win, 14 – 10.
When I was a kid, I would hear the tale of Hutson’s miracle catch from several people, my dad, old time Packer fans, Champ Seibold, and the odd broadcaster. The catch fell into the area of Packer lore. There were no photographs or even written accounts of Don’s catch, it became an anecdotal legend.
Then, in July 1994, GM Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren dedicated the new Don Hutson indoor practice facility. They invited Don to the dedication and made a presentation to him in front of the invitees and the media. Ron Wolf was perfect as he stated he felt he “was in the presence of Pro Football Royalty” by being up there with Don. At the mention of being royalty, Don blushed with embarrassment and dropped his head. After all these years, he was still the shy country kid from Arkansas!
Other light remarks were made to relax Don, then Wolf spoke once more.
“Don, I’ve always heard people tell about that miracle catch against the Cards, could you tell me a little bit about that”?
(I was always a Ron Wolf man, but I’m a Wolf fanatic now. That was the perfect question. After years of hearing about the catch, now I’d hear about it from the man himself.)
But, it wasn’t to be. Don just hemmed and hawed and made a statement that “Aw, people get to telling stories over the years”. This comment wasn’t made with false modesty, but with true humility. The shy guy from the U of Alabama was no braggart and wasn’t about to start now. A world class athlete, a HOF football player, but an even better human being, that was Don’s legacy, and it a great one. A legacy for all time.
Most Hutson bio’s tell of Don’s rookie year (1935) and his debut against the Bears. All the Packers (& Pro Football, for that matter) were awed by Don’s catch of an 83 yard bomb for his first Packer catch which beat the Bears in Green Bay, 7-0. However, many of the old Packers will tell you that Don’s SECOND Bear game in ’35 was even more amazing. The rest of the ’35 season, George Halas was complaining about Hutson and the Bear’s fluke (according to Halas) loss to GB in September. Halas felt Hutson was a gimmick player, a part-timer that couldn’t stay on the field for 60 minutes. Halas also railed at the Bears that they had to beat the Packers in the ’35 rematch in Chicago. The other thing that Halas demanded was that the Bears stop Don Hutson.
Halas’s orders were followed to a “T”, for 57 & ½ minutes. The Bears mauled both the Pack and Hutson all game long. With 2 minutes and 30 seconds to go, the Bears were in control 14 -3. When Hutson went in for a final series, Halas and the Bears bench were screaming at the defense to stop Hutson and maim him if they could. Don was triple teamed and couldn’t even get off the line. Then, on third down, Arnie Herber brought Hutson from one side to the other and threw Don a quick strike in the flat. The whole Bear defense converged on Hutson. Don ducked, faked , made full pivots and eluded tackler after tackler. Don finally worked his way into the Bear secondary, faked to the middle, and cut to the sideline alone. There, he went into his sprinter gear, and out-ran the entire Bear team to make it 14 - 10. Accounts of the game stated that all 11 Bear defenders had shots at Hutson, but nobody could tackle the “Alabama Antelope”.
The Packers kicked off to the Bears who proceeded to run out the clock. On the second plunge into the line, the Bears fumbled the ball. It was GB’s ball, deep in Bear territory, with only seconds to go. Wrigley field was now a madhouse as the fans and the Bear bench were screaming at their players to stop the Pack. Arnie Herber was at his finest as he had Hutson slant over the middle. As half the Bear D converged on Don, he swiftly pivoted and ran the equivalent of the “fade” pattern to the back corner of the end zone. Observers estimated Herber had a window about a foot in which to put the ball. Arnie threw it in there and Don dove and made his usual once in a lifetime catch for the Packer victory. The Packer players would always talk about that victory & how great it was to run off the field to total silence!
That game raised Don’s status from a good rookie to a respected player, one you could count on in the clutch. All the veterans realized that they had to protect Don, because he could make them all a lot of money.
In 1999 Paul Zimmerman picked the All Time NFL team. His wide receivers? Don Hutson, Lance Alworth, Raymond Berry, and Jerry Rice. In his comments about Don included this statement “ I'd never forgotten a story told to me by a Green Bay fan who swore he saw Hutson snatch a ball with one hand -- with the palm turned down.”
I know about that catch, the story of the catch and its legacy will be long be remembered in Packer lore. It tells what a great player Don was, but also what a great man he was.
Like Paul Zimmerman, I never saw Don play. But I, too, heard about that catch. This is the story as I heard it.
The Packers were losing to the Chicago Cardinals in the opening game of 1939. This was a game they had to win. A loss to the Cards would be a blot on their record that could knock the Pack out of the ’39 race. Not many teams would lose to the Cards that year (they’d only win one game) so a loss would be a huge negative.
The Pack finally got the ball in the last two minutes, down 10 -7. There was no time to run, and kicking a field goal was a pretty iffy proposition in 1939. The Packers needed to score on this possession. On third and long, Arnie Herber tried to get off a desperation pass to Hutson. The Cardinals had Don double covered on the sideline. Herber misfired on his pass as it was way ahead of both Hutson and the two defenders. But Hutson performed a miracle. He lunged out and picked the pass off to make a one handed catch. He moved so fast it was difficult to see the play, but all the fans along the sideline saw Hutson reach out and snare the pass. The ball was maybe a foot or two off the turf, but Hutson was able to catch the back of the ball at ankle height with his palm down, a foot or so from the sideline! He then sprinted down near the Chicago goal. The Packers soon scored to turn the near upset loss into a win, 14 – 10.
When I was a kid, I would hear the tale of Hutson’s miracle catch from several people, my dad, old time Packer fans, Champ Seibold, and the odd broadcaster. The catch fell into the area of Packer lore. There were no photographs or even written accounts of Don’s catch, it became an anecdotal legend.
Then, in July 1994, GM Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren dedicated the new Don Hutson indoor practice facility. They invited Don to the dedication and made a presentation to him in front of the invitees and the media. Ron Wolf was perfect as he stated he felt he “was in the presence of Pro Football Royalty” by being up there with Don. At the mention of being royalty, Don blushed with embarrassment and dropped his head. After all these years, he was still the shy country kid from Arkansas!
Other light remarks were made to relax Don, then Wolf spoke once more.
“Don, I’ve always heard people tell about that miracle catch against the Cards, could you tell me a little bit about that”?
(I was always a Ron Wolf man, but I’m a Wolf fanatic now. That was the perfect question. After years of hearing about the catch, now I’d hear about it from the man himself.)
But, it wasn’t to be. Don just hemmed and hawed and made a statement that “Aw, people get to telling stories over the years”. This comment wasn’t made with false modesty, but with true humility. The shy guy from the U of Alabama was no braggart and wasn’t about to start now. A world class athlete, a HOF football player, but an even better human being, that was Don’s legacy, and it a great one. A legacy for all time.
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