Tennessee Titans: 30 greatest players in franchise history

• Tennessee Titans No. 43 jersey retired
• 2x AFL Champion (1960-61)
• 3x AFL All-Star (1962-63, 1967)
• 3x Second-Team All-AFL (1961-62, 1967)

Jim Norton spent his entire nine-year AFL career playing for the Oilers. An original Oiler, Norton was first drafted by the then-Dallas Texans in the inaugural 1960 AFL Draft. However, he would go on to sign with Houston before the season began.

Norton was a multi-faceted player for the Oilers. He was both an adept ballhawk in the secondary and a gifted punter on special teams. In his nine years with Houston, Norton missed just one game and that came in his rookie season in 1960.

Houston won back-to-back AFL Championships in 1960 and 1961. Norton made his first of three All-AFL Second Teams in 1961. He made that exclusive squad the following year in 1962 and again in 1967.

Norton was a three-time AFL-Star will the Oilers, making the team in 1962, 1963 and 1967. Though he may be better known for his punting ability in the grand scheme of things, let’s not forget for a second how talented of a playmaker he was in the Houston secondary.

In his nine-year AFL carer, Norton amassed 45 interceptions. This is the most recorded by any player in AFL history. Though he never had 10 interceptions in a season, Norton’s best ballhawking campaign came in 1961 with nine for 150 yards.

While he has not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, nor did he make the AFL All-Time Team, Norton did have his No. 43 jersey retired by the Oilers/Titans organization. A fan favorite during his playing days, Norton clearly left an impactful legacy during his time with the Oilers franchise in the 1960s.