Jim Benton ( American football ) James Warren Benton ( September 25 , 1916 - March 28 , 2001 ) was a record setting Arkansas , Southwest Conference , NCAA and National Football League pass receiver who was selected for the NFL 1940s All - Decade Team . Benton was the first NFL receiver to gain more than 300 yards in a game , a record that stood for 40 years . College career . In 1934 , he began his college career at Arkansas and set receiving records unheard of at the time . In 1936 , Arkansas defeated Texas 6 - 0 on a Benton touchdown reception and won its first official Southwest Conference championship . In spite of his sophomore year statistics not being included , he finished his career with 83 receptions for 1 , 303 yards and 12 touchdowns . Despite fewer games and shorter period of sports eligibility compared to today ( as well as less emphasis on passing in the era ) , his receiving statistics stand as the 12th best career total among Razorbacks . His 48 receptions remained a SWC record until 1963 and an Arkansas record until 1971 . In spite of playing more than 70 years ago , he still ranks among the career receiving leaders in the history of Arkansas football . Benton was selected to several All - America teams following the 1937 season when he led the NCAA in receptions . In 1937 , he set the NCAA record in pass receiving with 48 catches for 814 yards and 7 touchdowns . He was all SWC in 1936 and 1937 . In 1937 , he received the " Houston Post " Award as the outstanding player of the year in the Southwest Conference , was named first team All American by the North American Newspaper Alliance and was a member of the College All Star team . He was selected to the Arkansas All - Century team in 1994 . Benton also lettered in basketball for the Razorbacks in 1937 and 1938 , with the team winning the 1938 Southwest Conference title . Professional career . Benton began his NFL career in 1938 with the Cleveland Rams , an NFL expansion team , after being drafted number 11 in the second round . He had a nine year career , all with the Rams except for one year with the Chicago Bears . In 1941 , he dropped out of pro football to coach high school football at Fordyce , Arkansas but returned to the Rams in 1942 . In his first season with the Rams , he led the league with 19 . 9 average yards per catch , and was third in both receiving yards and touchdowns . He was named to the 1939 Pro Bowl team after leading the league with seven touchdown receptions . In 1943 due to the depletion of players called to military service , the Rams disbanded , and Benton who had been rejected for military service due to a heart murmur , was loaned to the Chicago Bears . During the season , he caught two touchdown passes to help Sid Luckman set the NFL single game record of seven touchdowns in defeating the New York Giants and caught a touchdown pass in Chicago ’ s world championship victory over the Washington Redskins . In 1944 , back with the Rams , Benton made NFL history by catching 8 consecutive passes for 3 TD ’ s against the Cardinal - Steelers . At season ' s end , he was the second ranked receiver behind fellow Arkansas native Don Hutson . In 1945 , in spite of playing only nine games , Benton ended the season leading the NFL with 1 , 087 yards receiving . He had 45 receptions and eight touchdowns . He averaged 118 . 6 yards receiving a game with his longest reception for 84 yards and a TD . He went over 100 yards receiving in six of his nine games . His most notable game was on Thanksgiving Day against the Detroit Lions , catching ten Bob Waterfield passes for 303 yards , helping the Rams win the divisional title . This broke Hutson ’ s single game record and stood as the NFL single game record for over 40 years . Benton had nine receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown in the Ram ’ s 15 - 14 victory over the Redskins in the World Championship game . In 1946 , Benton led the NFL with 63 receptions and with 981 yards receiving . During the season his most notable game was against the New York Giants when he had twelve receptions for 202 yards . Benton was the top ranked NFL receiver in 1945 and 1946 . He was consensus all - NFL in 1945 and 1946 and second team All Pro in 1939 and 1944 . He was ranked among the NFL ’ s top five receivers in six of his nine seasons . When he retired in 1947 , Benton was the second leading receiver in pro football history with 288 receptions for 4 , 801 yards and 45 touchdowns . He had at least 11 games over 100 yards receiving ( according to The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia Second Edition ) , including a 300 yard game and a 200 yard game . He averaged 533 yards per season and 55 yards per game . Benton played on two world championships , 1943 with the Chicago Bears and 1945 with the Cleveland Rams . He led every major receiving category in the NFL at least once . After having retired about 65 years ago , he remains in the career top 10 major receiving and scoring categories for the Rams franchise . In 2008 , sports historian , writer , statistician , and archivist Sean Lahman had Benton ranked as 54th best wide receiver in the history of the NFL in his award - winning book " The Pro Football Historical Abstract / A Hardcore Fan ' s Guide to All - Time Player Rankings " . Coaching career . In 1948 , Benton helped coach the Ram receivers , including future Hall of Famer Tom Fears . Also , in later years , at the request of George Halas , he helped coach the Bears ' receivers . From 1951 to 1953 , Benton was head coach of the Arkansas A & M ( now University of Arkansas at Monticello ) , leading the team to their first ever Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference title in 1953 with a record of 7 - 1 , and was named the AIC coach of the year in 1953 by the " Arkansas Democrat " . After coaching , Benton went into the oil business . Hall of Fame . Benton was inducted into the Dallas County Sports Hall of Fame , the UAM Sports Hall of Fame , The Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor , The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame , and , in 1997 was named a Living Legend of Southeast Conference football . He was named to the Arkansas Razorback All Century Team , the Rams All Time Team and the NFL Hall of Fame 1940 ' s All Decade Team . References : Bibliographies . Dan Daly & Bob O ’ Donnel : The Pro Football Chronicle , ( 1990 ) . Bob Carroll : Total Football II , HarperCollins , 1999 . Sean Lahman : The Pro Football Historical Abstract / A Hardcore Fan ' s Guide to All - Time Player Rankings , The Lyons Press , Guilford ( CT ) , 2008 ( p . 168 ) . Michael McCambridge : ESPN College Football Encyclopedia , ESPN Books , 2005 . The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia , Second Edition , 2007 . Richard Whittingham : What a Game They Played , Harper and Row , 1984 . Orville Henry and Jim Bailey : A Story of Arkansas Football , 1996 . University of Arkansas Razorback Football Guide . Sid Luckman : Passing for Touchdowns , Ziff Davis , 1948 .