Catching up on some birthdays

Don Hutson during his days in the NFL

While we remember that today is the birthday of Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks and Nolan Ryan, let’s not forget the birthday of another Hall of Famer who would turn 111 if he were still with us today.

That would be Don Hutson, an inaugural member of the NFL's Hall of Fame.

Before Hutson becomes the NFL's first great receiver, he is a star outfielder in the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league system.

Playing as “Don Hutchinson” in his hometown of Pine Bluff, Ark., Hutson bats .312 over 132 games in 1936, his first season in pro baseball for the Cardinals' Class C team.

Hutson, who dies in 1997, dabbles for another season in the New York Yankees’ system before concentrating full-time on football.

Don Hutson in 1963

Playing for the Green Bay Packers, Hutson leads the NFL in receptions eight times and in scoring five times before retiring in 1945 after 11 seasons.

Eighteen years later, Hutson is part of the NFL Hall of Fame's inaugural class of inductees, a 1963 group that includes George Halas, Jim Thorpe, Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski.

Also in that class is Cal Hubbard, who later becomes a member of baseball's Hall of Fame as an umpire.

Before then, Hutson – in those 11 seasons with Green Bay – catches 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. All records now gone – and that is OK with Hutson, who before he dies in 1997 sees the San Francisco 49ers’ Jerry Rice break those records.

“I love to see my records broken, I really do,” Hutson says. “You get a chance to relive your life, the whole experience.”