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]
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Don_hutson_packers.jpg/220px-Don_hutson_packers.jpg)
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.
NFL and AFL receivers who have won the triple crown
edit† | 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] |
References
edit- ^ Gordon, Grant. "Rams WR Cooper Kupp captures receiving triple crown". nfl.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "1932 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ "Ray Flaherty - Class of 1976". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ "1936 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Don Hutson - Class of 1963". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ "1941 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "Don Hutson voted league's Most Valuable Player". No. 13. Green Bay Press-Gazette. February 11, 1942. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ "1942 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "1943 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "1944 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "1951 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "Elroy Hirsch - Class of 1968". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ "1953 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "Pete Pihos - Class of 1970". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ "1959 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "Raymond Berry - Class of 1973". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ "1964 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "1965 AFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "1965 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "1966 AFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "1966 AFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "1966 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "Lance Alworth - Class of 1978". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ "1990 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "Jerry Rice - Class of 2010". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "1992 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "2005 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "2021 NFL receiving". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ 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.