Putting a nickname on a football player isn’t as simple as it sounds. It has to fit. It has to tell a story, something before the first stat line or highlight clip rolls. In the NFL, nicknames often borrow from the animal kingdom – badger, bull, snake – each one hinting at the way a man plays the game. A fox? That’s different. A fox is quick. Smart. Elusive. And if the player in question is a wide receiver with a head of red hair and the kind of route-running that leaves defenders clutching air, the label becomes inevitable. That’s why they called him the “Red Fox.”

Billy Howton, the man behind the nickname. And one of the most productive receivers in NFL history before the Super Bowl era has died at the age of 95. Howton passed away on August 4 in Houston, Texas, according to Bradshaw-

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