The Green Bay Packers have an outstanding history at the wide receiver position from Hall of Famers Don Hutson and James Lofton to stars like Boyd Dowler, Sterling Sharpe, Antonio Freeman, Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams.
Gaining 100 or more yards in a game as a receiver has always been a milestone in the NFL. The greatest players make it a regular occurrence like Adams did in 2021 when he went over 100 yards eight times in 16 games including one 200-plus yard performance.
But here is a look at 10 lesser-known Packers receivers who managed to top the 100-yard rushing mark in a game just once during their tenure as Packers. Sometimes it resulted from a rare chance to play due to injuries to other players or because it was the season finale and the team was using backup players to close out the season. Sometimes injuries ended once promising careers prematurely.
How many of these obscure wide receivers who had one day of glory with the Packers can you remember? The games are listed in chronological order. We will give you some background about the players and the circumstances surrounding their big performances.
- Al Baldwin, October 19, 1950, vs. New York Yankees. Yankees 35, Packers 17
Baldwin played seven years of professional football but only one season in the NFL. His first three years were spent with the Buffalo Bills of the old AAFC which disbanded after 1949 with the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and the original Baltimore Colts joining the NFL for the 1950 season. Then Baldwin played two years in Canada with the Ottawa Rough Riders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
In his only season with Green Bay, the former Arkansas star caught 28 passes in 10 games, never catching more than four passes in any single contest.
In Week 6, the 2-3 Packers traveled to New York to face the 4-1 New York Yanks. The Packers were outplayed for most of the game and lost 35-17 despite a 52-yard field goal by Ted Fritsch and an 85-yard touchdown pass from Tobin Rote to Baldwin in the third quarter. The Packers lost 35-17.
Baldwin finished the game with three catches for 106 yards, completing the only 100-yard receiving game he had in the NFL.
- Byron Bailey, October 4, 1953, vs Chicago. Bears 17, Packers 13
Byron Bailey is obscure to Packers fans but after not seeing the field much for the Lions in 1952 and the Packers in 1953, the former Washington State star went to play for more than a decade with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League where he became a Hall of Famer.
Bailey’s best game as a Packer came in a home game in Week 2 at City Stadium against the Bears. Bailey caught four passes in the contest for exactly 100 yards. His long catch of 50 yards helped his total. Tobin Rote threw him the pass.
The Packers held a 13-3 lead in the second quarter but a fourth quarter touchdown pass from George Blanda to Jim Dooley put the Bears ahead to stay.
The Packers finished the season with a 2-9-1 record in last place in the NFL’s Western Conference. They lost their last five games. Head coach Gene Ronzani resigned after 10 games and Hugh Devore and Ray McLean took over as co-interim coaches for the final two contests.
- Ollie Smith, November 28, 1975, vs Chicago. Bears 16, Packers 10.
Ollie Smith spent two seasons with the Packers in 1976 and 1977, starting 14 total games during that time. The former Tennessee State star was originally a fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Colts and spent two seasons there before joining the Pack.
Smith enjoyed his only 100-yard game with the Packers on a cold, two-degrees above zero day at Lambeau Field against the Chicago Bears. With Lynn Dickey injured, the Packers started backup Carlos Brown (who later became actor Alan Autry, best known for his work on the TV series “In the Heat of the Night” and later was elected mayor of Fresno, California).
In the game, Smith caught four passes for 121 yards including a 47-yard bomb from Brown who completed just 5-of-17 passes before being relieved by Randy Johnson. The Packers lost 16-10 in a game that saw Walter Payton gain 110 yards on 27 carries and Bob Thomas kick three field goals. Ken Payne scored the only touchdown for the Packers.
Smith never had more than 364 receiving yards in a season with the Packers but 121 of those yards came in this loss to the Bears.
- Steve Odom, November 13, 1977, vs. Los Angeles Rams. Rams 24, Packers 6
Steve Odom was a fast, receiver for the Packers from 1974-1979 who excelled as a return specialist. He even made the Pro Bowl for the Packers as a returner in 1975 and led the NFL in kick return average in 1978 with a 27.1-yard average per runback.
Odom was only 5’8” but he was fast and elusive and made a lot of big plays. He has the distinction of scoring on a 95-yard reception, a 95-yard punt return and a 95-yard kick return in his time with the Packers.
As a receiver, Odom never caught more than 27 passes in a season although he averaged a healthy 19.2-yards per catch.
His only 100-yard receiving game came in the Packers Week 9 loss to the Rams in Milwaukee during Week 9 of the 1977 season. He caught four passes in the game for 115 yards including a 65-yard touchdown from Dickey that provided the Packers only points in the contest.
Unfortunately, the game is better remembered for the final play which saw Dickey suffer a broken leg that caused him to miss the rest of the 1977 season and all of 1978.
Odom stayed with the Packers until midway through the 1979 season which he finished with the New York Giants.
- Lee Morris, October 18, 1987, vs. Philadelphia. Packers 16, Eagles 10 (OT)
Morris was cut by the Packers during training camp in 1987 but the former Oklahoma star rejoined the Packers when the players went on strike in October.
Morris made the most of his opportunity and caught 16 passes during the three replacement games. His best performance came in Week 6 when the Packers beat the Eagles 16-10 in overtime. Morris caught six passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was a 46-yard effort from quarterback Alan Risher that saw Morris break two tackles before reaching the end zone.
The Packers kept Morris around after the strike ended but injuries limited him and while he played in two more games in December, he never caught another pass.
That was the end of Morris’ NFL career, but he did have one 100-yard receiving game.
- Perry Kemp, December 11, 1988, vs. Minnesota. Packers 18, Vikings 6
“The Commodore” was a solid number two receiver for the Packers from 1988-1991 and he started for the final three seasons he was with the Packers. But the receiver opposite him was Sterling Sharpe and that meant most of the team’s passes were heading the other way.
Kemp was consistent, catching 48, 48, 44 and 42 passes in his four seasons in Green Bay. His only 100-yard game with the Packers came in Week 15 of the 1988 season when the Packers downed the visiting Vikings 18-6.
Randy Wright started but left the game in the second half with a groin injury and was replaced by Don Majkowski.
Kemp finished the game with six catches for 108 yards with a long reception of 29 yards for the game. No other Packers receiver had more than 48 yards in the game.
The win improved the Packers to 3-12 on the season and cost the Vikings a chance at the NFC Central crown.
Kemp played three more seasons with the Packers before retiring after the 1991 season.
- Anthony Morgan, December 4, 1994, at Detroit. Lions 34, Packers 31
Morgan spent parts of four seasons with the Packers and caught 60 total passes during his time with the team. Still, the former Tennessee star never had more than 397 yards receiving in a season with the Pack.
But in Week 14 of the 1994 season, Morgan caught six passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns including a 26-yarder in the first quarter and a 47-yard catch from Brett Favre in the third quarter.
Sterling Sharpe also went over 100 yards in this game with 10 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.
The Packers fell short because Barry Sanders ran for 188 yards and Favre threw two interceptions.
This was the first and only 100-yard receiving game in Morgan’s NFL career.
- Derrick Mayes, November 16, 1997, at Indianapolis. Colts 41, Packers 38
Mayes was a backup wide receiver for the Packers from 1996-1998 which means the Notre Dame alum played in two Super Bowls and won one.
Mayes never had more than 394 yards receiving in any season with Green Bay but in Week 12 of the 1997 season, the Indianapolis native had his best game as a Packer. Mayes caught only three passes in the game but they went for 119 yards. That included a 74-yard pass from Favre that set up a one-yard touchdown run by Dorsey Levens and another 32 yard catch that came in the third quarter.
The Packers lost the game on the final play of the fourth quarter on a 20-yard field goal by Cary Blanchard.
Mayes was traded to the Seahawks before the 1999 season and caught a career-high 62 passes for 829 yards and 10 touchdowns.
- Robert Ferguson, December 8, 2002, vs. Minnesota. Packers 26, Vikings 22
Robert Ferguson spent six seasons with the Packers but was a full-time starter for one of them. The former Texas A&M star never had more than 520 yards receiving in a season during his time in Green Bay which came in 2003.
His best single game came in the Packers 26-22 win over the Vikings in Week 14 of the 2002 season. Ferguson helped the Packers overcome an early 13-0 deficit to win this game when he caught six passes from Brett Favre for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
His first touchdown catch came midway through the third quarter from 21 yards out and pulled the Packers to within 19-13. Early in the fourth quarter, Ferguson hauled in a 40-yard strike from Favre that got the Packers to within 22-20 before Tony Fisher scored the game-winner with 1:06 left in the game.
Ferguson finished his NFL career by playing two seasons with the Vikings in 2007 and 2008.
- Ruvell Martin, December 31, 2006, vs Chicago. Packers 26, Bears 7
Ruvell Martin was undrafted but the former Saginaw Valley State star went on to have a seven-year NFL career including his first three with the Packers.
In the final game of the 2006 season, Martin started against the Bears and caught seven passes for 118 yards in the Packers 26-7 win over the Bears in Chicago. His longest catch of the day was 34 yards.
The Packers had two interception returns for touchdowns in the game, one by Nick Collins and one by Patrick Dendy.
Martin later played for the Rams, Seahawks and Bills before his NFL career ended after the 2012 season.
In 2021, Martin was hired by the Packers as an assistant coach as part of a season-long minority coaching fellowship program.
Follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers
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