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Alabama football: 15 greatest Crimson Tide NFL careers ever

By Joey Loose

Sep 11, 2021; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban on the sidelines against the Mercer Bears at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2021; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban on the sidelines against the Mercer Bears at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /
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FILE PHOTO October 1941; Green Bay, WI, USA; Don Hutson and left halfback Cecil Isbell look on as Curly Lambeau diagrams a play. Before he abruptly retired following the 1942 season, Isbell (center) was on his way to becoming one of the greatest passers of pro football’s first 50 years. Mandatory Credit: Green Bay Press-Gazette via USA TODAY NETWORK
FILE PHOTO October 1941; Green Bay, WI, USA; Don Hutson and left halfback Cecil Isbell look on as Curly Lambeau diagrams a play. Before he abruptly retired following the 1942 season, Isbell (center) was on his way to becoming one of the greatest passers of pro football’s first 50 years. Mandatory Credit: Green Bay Press-Gazette via USA TODAY NETWORK /

Greatest Alabama football career No. 1: Don Hutson

We’re going all the way back this time because Don Hutson was one of the earliest legends of football. He actually was part of the 1934 Alabama team that was named national champions, with the two ends of that team being Hutson and Bear Bryant.

Though not intending initially to pursue professional football, Hutson was eventually signed by the Green Bay Packers and would become an important piece in their offensive attack under Curly Lambeau. In fact, Hutson would become the NFL’s top pass catcher for almost his entire 11-year career.

Hutson was named First Team All-Pro for eight straight seasons. He led the NFL in receiving yards seven times, receiving touchdowns eight times, and in many other pass-catching categories and statistics. He also played on the defensive end, leading the league twice in interceptions, and also kicked nearly 200 extra points in his career.

Additionally, he was a three-time NFL champion, helping lead the Packers to titles in 1936, 1939, and 1944. He won the then-equivalent of MVP twice in the early 1940s and remains one of the most individually successful football players of all time, even if the era was very different.

Hutson, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, may not have stats that compare to current-day receivers, but he was everything back in the ’30s and ’40s. The Packers’ left end for over a decade, he set the bar for pass catchers back in the day and his #14 will forever hang high at Lambeau Field.

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