The Baltimore chapter of the NFL Alumni Association held its monthly meeting earlier this week, and guess who came to dinner?
No, it wasn?t Gene Upshaw, executive director of the National Football League?s Players Association. He?s not too fond of many of his fellow alumni these days, especially the ones in this city?s branch. And to say the feeling is mutual would be a gross understatement.
The honored guest was a persistent and outspoken ringleader, who 50 years ago helped form the association, which ? under Upshaw?s direction ? has been accused of being insensitive to many of the now medically strapped players who helped pave the way. For trivia buffs, he retired in 1963 as the NFL?s all-time leading receiver, a distinction he held until Raymond Berry passed him a year later.
Many longtime NFL observers believe there are two reasons why Bill Howton isn?t in the Hall of Fame: his short tenure atop the leader board; and his early involvement in the formation of the Players Association. When the 12-year veteran retired after four seasons with the Cowboys, Howton had eclipsed Don Hutson?s records with 503 catches and 8,459 receiving yards, marks that Berry surpassed almost before the ink was dry in the record books.
Despite spending seven years with the then-dreary Packers, who managed only one winning season in that span, Howton played in four Pro Bowls, leading the league in 1952 with 1,211 receiving yards (in a 12-game season) and setting a rookie record with 13 touchdown receptions. That mark lasted 46 years until Randy Moss broke it with 17 while playing a 16-game schedule in 1998.
Howton may well be the only player in NFL history to retire as the all-time leader in two vital offensive categories without making it to Canton, which still isn?t as surprising as the fact that he?s never even been among the finalists. However, most of the ex-players in the room with him this week were more aware of Howton?s involvement in forming the NFLPA than they were of his overlooked Hall of Fame credentials.
Still spry at 77, Howton has kept his notes from those formative years of the NFLPA ? along with memories of some contentious times with owners. “We didn?t really know what we wanted,” Howton said of the early negotiations. “Better practice conditions was one thing, and maybe $50 for exhibition games ? that would?ve been nice.”
For the record, one of the early “bargaining” requests was for a $5,000 minimum salary (baseball had a $6,000 minimum at the time). In 1959 Howton was instrumental in implementing the players? pension plan. The next day he was traded to the Cleveland Browns. Nice knowing you, watch the door on the way out.
After one season with the Browns, Howton became a member of the expansion Dallas Cowboys, where he saw a lot of familiar faces. “There were 12 teams [before the Cowboys came into existence], and every club had a player representative,” said Howton, “but they never lasted more than a couple of years before getting traded.”
Constant turnover, of course, kept the Players Association from maintaining any continuity, and with expansion the owners found a convenient way to dismantle the group. “We had six player representatives on that first team in Dallas,” said Dick Bielski, the former Patterson Park and University of Maryland star who was Howton?s roommate for two years in Dallas.
A coincidence perhaps?
“I don?t think so,” said Howton, who made Baltimore a stopover on a trip from his residence in Spain to a homecoming in Green Bay at Bielski?s urging ? or command. “He was my roomie. I told him if he didn?t make a stop in Baltimore, he was in deep trouble,” said Bielski.
Like the Baltimore alumni chapter he visited, Howton hasn?t lost his passion for trying to get the NFL ? and the NFLPA ? to recognize the needs of those players from bygone eras who have struggled ? or are struggling ? with health issues. It?s the kind of battle that seems destined to be passed from generation to generation, but Howton remains committed to the long haul. Asked if he thought there was a chance of a resolution in his lifetime, Howton didn?t hesitate. “Yes, I do,” he said.
If he?s right, maybe that would be enough to punch Howton a ticket to Canton and the Hall of Fame.
A Baltimore native who has covered the local and national sports scene for more than 40 years, Jim Henneman is a past president of the Baseball Writers Association of America and an active voter for baseball’s Hall Of Fame. His column also appears weekly in Press Box. He can be reached at [email protected].
