List of NFL receivers who have won the triple crown

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Don Hutson won four triple crowns in a row and five in total, both records. Don hutson packers.jpg
Don Hutson won four triple crowns in a row and five in total, both records.

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, 1941–44). [4] The most recent triple crown winner was Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams, in 2021. [4]

NFL and AFL receivers who have won the triple crown

Table key
†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)
Receiving triple crown winners
YearNamePositionTeamReceptionsYardsTouch­downsNotesRef
1932 Ray Flaherty† End New York Giants 213505 [5] [6]
1936 Don Hutson† End Green Bay Packers ^345368 [7] [8]
1941 Don Hutson† End Green Bay Packers 5873810Won the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL MVP. [9] [8] [10]
1942 Don Hutson† End Green Bay Packers 741,21117Won the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL MVP. Hutson achieved more than double the numbers of his nearest competitors in all three categories. [11] [8] [12]
1943 Don Hutson† End Green Bay Packers 4777611 [13] [8]
1944 Don Hutson† End Green Bay Packers ^588669 [14] [8]
1951 Elroy Hirsch† End Los Angeles Rams ^661,49517 [15] [16]
1953 Pete Pihos† End Philadelphia Eagles 631,04910Tied with Billy Wilson for touchdowns. [17] [18]
1959 Raymond Berry† End Baltimore Colts ^6695914 [19] [20]
1964 Johnny Morris Flanker Chicago Bears 931,20010Tied with Bobby Mitchell for touchdowns. Surpassed by AFL receivers in all three categories. [21] [22]
1965 Dave Parks† End San Francisco 49ers 801,34412Tied with Bob Hayes for touchdowns. Surpassed by AFL receivers in all three categories. [23] [24]
1966 Lance Alworth† Flanker San Diego Chargers 731,38313 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 1001,50213Voted NFL Player of the Year by the Sporting News. [27] [28] [29]
1992 Sterling Sharpe Wide Receiver Green Bay Packers 1081,46113Two-time Pro Football Hall of Fame semi-finalist [30]
2005 Steve Smith Sr. Wide Receiver Carolina Panthers 1031,56312Tied with Larry Fitzgerald for receptions; tied with Marvin Harrison for touchdowns. [31]
2021 Cooper Kupp* Wide Receiver Los Angeles Rams ^1451,94716Voted the Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award and the Super Bowl MVP. [32] [33]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooper Kupp</span> American football player (born 1993)

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References

  1. ↑ Gordon, Grant. "Rams WR Cooper Kupp captures receiving triple crown". nfl.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  2. ↑ Silver, Michael (December 31, 1990). "Little fanfare after Rice makes 100th reception". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. pp. C1, C2. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ Pavlik, Ed. "Opinion: pro football records should include the AAFC" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Kerr, Jeff (September 8, 2022). "Cooper Kupp by the numbers: Rams All-Pro had greatest season for WR in NFL history in triple crown campaign". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  5. ↑ "1932 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Ray Flaherty - Class of 1976". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  7. ↑ "1936 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Don Hutson - Class of 1963". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  9. ↑ "1941 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Don Hutson voted league's Most Valuable Player". Green Bay Press-Gazette. February 11, 1942. p. 13. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  11. ↑ "1942 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Hutson repeats 'Most Valuable' for Carr Trophy". No. 12. Kenosha News. U.P. January 28, 1943. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  13. ↑ "1943 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  14. ↑ "1944 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  15. ↑ "1951 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Elroy Hirsch - Class of 1968". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  17. ↑ "1953 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Pete Pihos - Class of 1970". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  19. ↑ "1959 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Raymond Berry - Class of 1973". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  21. ↑ "1964 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  22. ↑ "1965 AFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  23. ↑ "1965 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  24. 1 2 "1966 AFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  25. ↑ "1966 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Lance Alworth - Class of 1978". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  27. ↑ "1990 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Jerry Rice - Class of 2010". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Rice grabs Sporting News MVP honors". No. 10. Chapel Hill Daily Tar Heel. February 8, 1991. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  30. ↑ "1992 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  31. ↑ "2005 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  32. ↑ "2021 NFL receiving". Pro Football Reference . Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  33. ↑ DeArdo, Bryan (February 17, 2022). "Rams' Cooper Kupp is first receiver to capture Super Bowl MVP despite not accomplishing this statistic". cbssports.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
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