In the National Football League (NFL) a receiver is said to have won the triple crown if they lead the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns within a particular season. Finishing joint first in any or all of those three categories is also considered sufficient. [1] The term triple crown has been used to describe the feat at least as far back as 1990, when it was achieved by Jerry Rice. [2]
Since the NFL began keeping statistics in 1932, the triple crown has been won sixteen times by twelve different players. This includes one player (Lance Alworth) who did so in the American Football League (AFL), the NFL having adopted AFL records when the two leagues merged in 1970. [3] Don Hutson of the Green Bay Packers is the only man to win more than one triple crown, having done so five times (1936, 1941–45). The most recent triple crown winner was Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams, in 2021.
† | Indicates the player has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
---|---|
* | Active player |
^ | NFL champions (before 1967) or Super Bowl champions (since 1967) |
Year | Name | Position | Team | Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1932 | Ray Flaherty† | End | New York Giants | 21 | 350 | 5 | [4] [5] | |
1936 | Don Hutson† | End | Green Bay Packers ^ | 34 | 536 | 8 | [6] [7] | |
1941 | Don Hutson† | End | Green Bay Packers | 58 | 738 | 10 | Won the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL MVP. | [8] [7] [9] |
1942 | Don Hutson† | End | Green Bay Packers | 74 | 1,211 | 17 | Won the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL MVP. Hutson achieved more than double the numbers of his nearest competitors in all three categories. | [10] [7] [11] |
1943 | Don Hutson† | End | Green Bay Packers | 47 | 776 | 11 | [12] [7] | |
1944 | Don Hutson† | End | Green Bay Packers ^ | 58 | 866 | 9 | [13] [7] | |
1951 | Elroy Hirsch† | End | Los Angeles Rams ^ | 66 | 1,495 | 17 | [14] [15] | |
1953 | Pete Pihos† | End | Philadelphia Eagles | 63 | 1,049 | 10 | Tied with Billy Wilson for touchdowns. | [16] [17] |
1959 | Raymond Berry† | End | Baltimore Colts ^ | 66 | 959 | 14 | [18] [19] | |
1964 | Johnny Morris | Flanker | Chicago Bears | 93 | 1,200 | 10 | Tied with Bobby Mitchell for touchdowns. Surpassed by AFL receivers in all three categories. | [20] [21] |
1965 | Dave Parks† | End | San Francisco 49ers | 80 | 1,344 | 12 | Tied with Bob Hayes for touchdowns. Surpassed by AFL receivers in all three categories. | [22] [23] |
1966 | Lance Alworth† | Flanker | San Diego Chargers | 73 | 1,383 | 13 | AFL triple crown winner. Alworth would also win the triple crown if NFL players were included, being top in receptions and yards, while tying Bob Hayes for touchdowns. | [24] [25] [26] |
1990 | Jerry Rice† | Wide Receiver | San Francisco 49ers | 100 | 1,502 | 13 | Voted NFL Player of the Year by the Sporting News. | [27] [28] [29] |
1992 | Sterling Sharpe† | Wide Receiver | Green Bay Packers | 108 | 1,461 | 13 | Two-time Pro Football Hall of Fame semi-finalist | [30] |
2005 | Steve Smith Sr. | Wide Receiver | Carolina Panthers | 103 | 1,563 | 12 | Tied with Larry Fitzgerald for receptions; tied with Marvin Harrison for touchdowns. | [31] |
2021 | Cooper Kupp* | Wide Receiver | Los Angeles Rams ^ | 145 | 1,947 | 16 | Voted the Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award and the Super Bowl MVP. | [32] [33] |
Lionel Thomas Taylor is an American former professional football player and coach. Playing wide receiver primarily with the Denver Broncos of American Football League (AFL), he led the league in receptions for five of the first six years of the league's existence. The second player to lead a league in receptions for at least five seasons, Taylor is currently the last to do so. He was the third wide receiver to reach 500 receptions in pro football history. Despite this, he has yet to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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