QB / RB/QB

Arnie Herber

Class of 1966

Seasons13

Career passing yards8,041

TD passes81

When

you

get

old

and

past

your

prime

to

have

a

good

day

–

any

kind

of

a

good

day

–

is

a

memorable

thing

in

a

player’s

life.

What

you

do

in

your

prime

you

expect

of

yourself

but

days

that

come

at

the

end

of

the

trail

provide

unexpected

thrills

whenever

you

think

of

them.

Enshrinement Speech

Although the National Football League didn’t keep official statistics until 1932, Arnie Herber’s third season, there is ample evidence to support the popular contention that Herber was the league’s premier passer. That year, the Green Bay Packer quarterback won the league passing title, something he would do again in 1934 and 1936.

Arnie threw a touchdown pass to give the Packers a 7-0 victory in the first game of his rookie 1930 season. The Packers won NFL titles in both 1930 and 1931 and remained in a perpetual contending position throughout Herber's 11-year tenure. His passes were always a dominating factor but he could also run, catch passes, and punt with the very best.

The arrival of end Don Hutson in 1935 gave pro football its first lethal quarterback-receiver tandem. In Hutson’s second game in the NFL, against the Chicago Bears, he teamed with Herber for an 83-yard touchdown reception. In 1935, the Herber-to-Hutson duo connected 18 times for 420 yards and seven touchdowns. Although an injury in 1937 reduced his effectiveness some, the Herber-to-Hutson mystic continued until Herber retired in 1940.

With many players serving in the military during World War II, the New York Giants brought Herber out of retirement for two more years in 1944 and 1945. He then retired for good with the reputation of being pro football’s great long-distance passer.

Herber was a basketball and football star at Green Bay's West High School who sold game programs as a teenager so that he could see the Packers play. He eventually migrated to tiny Regis College in Denver, but he soon was back in Green Bay, where he worked as a handyman in the Packers’ clubhouse when coach Curly Lambeau decided to give the inexperienced player a tryout. For $75 a game, the Packers inherited the first pro quarterback who consistently used the forward pass with game-winning effectiveness.

Statistics

			Passing							Rushing
Year	Team	G	Att	Comp	Pct	Yds	TD	Int	Rating	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
1930	Green Bay	10	0	0	0.0	0	3	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
1931	Green Bay	3	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	1
1932	Green Bay	14	101	37	36.6	639	9	9	51.5	64	149	2.3	1
1933	Green Bay	11	124	50	40.3	656	3	12	26.2	62	77	1.2	0
1934	Green Bay	11	115	42	36.5	799	8	12	45.1	37	33	0.9	0
1935	Green Bay	11	109	40	36.7	729	8	14	45.4	19	0	0.0	0
1936	Green Bay	12	173	77	44.5	1239	11	13	58.9	20	-32	-1.6	0
1937	Green Bay	9	104	47	45.2	684	7	10	50.0	5	9	1.8	0
1938	Green Bay	8	55	22	40	336	3	4	48.8	6	-1	-0.2	0
1939	Green Bay	10	139	57	41	1107	8	9	61.6	18	-11	-0.6	1
1940	Green Bay	10	89	38	42.7	560	6	7	53.6	6	-23	-3.8	0
1944	New York	10	86	36	41.9	651	6	8	53.0	7	-58	-8.3	0
1945	New York	10	80	35	43.8	641	9	8	69.8	6	-27	-4.5	0
Career Total		129	1175	481	40.9	8041	81	106	50.1	250	116	0.5	3
Additional Career Statistics: Receiving: 11-155, 3 TD; Scoring: 7 TD, 0-1 FG, 2-2 XP; Interceptions: 2, 1 TD; Punting: 39-1551