Quote:
Originally Posted by kevrunner
This talks about who did it previously, it’s shocking that it’s so rare:
It’s been a long time since anyone has done that. The last player to hit the 1,000-yard mark in receiving by his team’s eighth game of the season was Charlie Hennigan of the 1961 Houston Oilers in the American Football League. The only other players to reach 1,000 yards by Week Eight were Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch in 1951 and Don Hutson in 1942.
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Hennigan and Lionel Taylor confuse me. They had a million catches - twice what a good receiver was getting in that era - and a lot of yards. But they never get mentioned in Hall of Fame discussions. They were before my time, so I never saw either of them play.
It looks like Hennigan had a short career and he only had two great seasons, but they were really great seasons. 1,746 yards in a 14 game season is astounding. That would be a 2,100 yard season in a 17-game schedule. But I guess he doesn't get considered because he was a flash in the pan.
https://www.pro-football-reference.c...H/HennCh00.htm
Looking at Lionel Taylor's stats, I'm guessing that he got a lot of really short passes, because his career yards per reception was much lower than those of the top receivers (e.g., Maynard, Otis Taylor, Alworth, etc.) But he made up for that with a ton of receptions, and his career stats are in the same general vicinity as Otis Taylor. But I've never heard a peep about Hall of Fame consideration for him. What's the story?
https://www.pro-football-reference.c...T/TaylLi00.htm