60 Heroes: Howton Forges a Union

Billy Howton was an All-American wide receiver from Rice University who

was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 1952

draft. Howton represented the Packers at the first ever meeting of the

NFLPA Board of Player Reps in late December of 1956. He brought with

him a list of four grievances, and the second on his list was his

teammates’ demand for clean towels, t-shirts, socks, and athletic

supporters for the second of two-a-day practices in training camp. This

created the long-standing legend that the NFLPA was formed by the

Packers in 1956 because of their desire to have “clean socks and jocks.”

Howton was a mainstay in the NFLPA throughout its early years, and was

one of only three players to attend every player rep meeting between

1956 and 1961. He was elected as the NFLPA’s first President in 1958,

and was best known for the ultimatum he personally gave the owners in

1959 which would have them establish a pension plan for the players or

defend an antitrust suit brought by the NFLPA in federal court. The

result was the establishment of the Bert Bell NFL Player Retirement Plan

later that year. The next year Howton challenged Commissioner Bert Bell

and the league on their use of player likenesses on trading cards, and

later co-opted the revenue from trading cards so it could be used for

player benefit. After a brief stint with the Browns, Howton stepped down

as NFLPA President in 1961, and finished his career playing for the

Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1963. After he retired, he remained involved

as a representative of retired players at Player Rep meetings, and

served as one of the NFLPA representatives on the pension committee

until 1970.