GGOATRANK
🇺🇸
American Football · Running back · United States

Hugh McElhenny

1952–1964 · The King: six Pro Bowls and over 11,000 all-purpose yards.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
84.4
Cultural & brand footprint 52/100 · total legacy 74.6
Pro Bowls
6
Career rushing yards
5,281
All-purpose yards
11,369
Career touchdowns
60
Seasons played
13

Category profile

Dominance
80
Peak
92
Longevity
82
Honours
82
Statistics
88

Career timeline · Touchdowns per season

SeasonTouchdowns per seasonShare of career
1952684
1953503
1954515
1955327
1956916
1957478
1958451
1959204
1960347
1961570
1962200
1963175
196448

Data sources

  • NFL
  • Pro Football Reference
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Hugh McElhenny ranks #117 in American Football

Hugh McElhenny ranks 117th among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 1425th of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 84.4 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 80, Peak 92, Longevity 82, Honours 82, Statistics 88. Those categories are normalised against the full American Football reference universe of 381 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.

The record covers 1952–1964 with 13 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1956, which sets the Peak component at 92. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes pro bowls 6, career rushing yards 5281, all-purpose yards 11369, career touchdowns 60.

Immediately ahead sits Joe Thomas on 84.4, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Edgerrin James on 84.3. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.

Hugh McElhenny GOAT Score explained

Dominance80/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far McElhenny stood above the field while competing. Scored 80/100 against the full American Football cohort.
Peak92/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1956. Scored 92/100.
Longevity82/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 12 years of competition and 13 recorded seasons. Scored 82/100.
Honours82/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 82/100.
Statistics88/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 88/100.

Hugh McElhenny — frequently asked

Is Hugh McElhenny the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Hugh McElhenny ranks 117th in American Football with a GOAT Score of 84.4, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
What is Hugh McElhenny's GOAT Score?
84.4 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 80 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 82 (20%), Honours 82 (20%), Statistics 88 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Hugh McElhenny rank all time?
1425th of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 117th within American Football.
Hugh McElhenny vs Joe Thomas: who ranks higher?
Hugh McElhenny, on 84.4 against Joe Thomas's 84.4 — a margin of 0.0 points.
Compare with Brady