Arnie Herber

QB

Arnie Herber

13 seasons
8,041 career passing yards
81 TD passes
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13

seasons

8,041

career passing yards

81

TD passes
View full stats

"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.”

Read Arnie Herber's Bio

(Wisconsin)...5'11'', 203...Arnold Charles Herber. . .Joined Packers as 20 year-old rookie. . . Threw TD pass first pro game. . .Exceptional long passer. . .Teamed with Don Hutson for first great pass-catch combo. . .NFL passing leader, 1932, 1934, 1936. . .Triggered four Packers title teams. . .Left retirement to lead 1944 Giants to NFL Eastern crown. . .Lifetime passes gained 8,041 yards, 81 TDs. . .Born April 2, 1910, in Green Bay, Wisconsin . . .Died October 14, 1969, at age of 59.

BIO
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Arnie Herber Green Bay Packers & New York Giants

"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.”

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.

STATS
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Arnie Herber's Stats

 
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



CAREER CAPSULE
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Arnie Herber's Career Capsule

Full Name: Arnold Charles Herber

Birthdate: April 2, 1910

Birthplace: Green Bay, Wisconsin

High School: Green Bay West (Wis.)

Died: October 14, 1969

Enshrined into Pro Football Hall of Fame: September 17, 1966

Presenter: Clarke Hinkle, Hall of Fame player

Other Members of Class of 1966: Bill Dudley, Joe Guyon, Walt Kiesling, George McAfee, Steve Owen, Hugh "Shorty" Ray, Clyde"Bulldog" Turner

Pro Career: 13 seasons, 129 games

Drafted: Herber played prior to the NFL Draft being implemented.

Uniform Number: 38, (12, 16, 41)



ENSHRINEMENT SPEECH
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Arnie Herber Enshrinement speech

Arnie Herber Enshrinement Speech 1966

Presenter: Clarke Hinkle

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me real pleasure and I mean this sincerely to welcome an old teammate of mine, the most accurate long passer in the history of football; Arnie Herber. He's the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who made the big leagues in his own hometown. He was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin, he attended St. Regis College in Colorado and also the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

He led the league in passing in 19 hundred and thirty-two, in 19 hundred and thirty-four, in 19 hundred and thirty-six. Let me tell you about one game that he played in 19 hundred and thirty-two. He completed nine of 11 passes, three of them for touchdowns, he ran for two touchdowns, one 83 yards another 45 yards he had six punts for an average of 65 yards. He played from 19 hundred and thirty- to 19 hundred and forty with the Green Bay Packers and then he came out of retirement in 19 hundred and forty-four and he led the New York Giants to an Eastern Division Championship. And I would like to say to Arnie Herber here today, you have received football's highest award. Enjoy it because the Pro Football Hall of Fame has helped you to achieve athletic immortality. Thank you very much.

Arnie Herber

Thank you, Clarke. I had a little speech all prepared I was gonna make for just a few words and now after I go here, they're so inadequate that I don't dare say anything because the feeling in my heart no one can ever realize how great it is. Thank you.