During the battle between the Baltimore Brigade and the Columbus Destroyers, Brigade Wide Receiver Joe Hills achieved the milestone of a lifetime: 100 consecutive active games with at least one touchdown reception. This record has never been close to being broken, as Damian Harrell held the previous record of 78.

Joe Hills Achieves 100 Games with a Touchdown Reception

In the course of this journey, Hills has played with a total of five different teams in a span of eight years. His arena career started with the Tampa Bay Storm, where he started his streak in a Week 17 battle against the Philadelphia Soul on June 29. Since the beginning of his career, he has played for the Spokane Shock (2012), Tampa Bay Storm (2012-2014), Jacksonville Sharks (2015-2016), Tampa Bay Storm (2017), Albany Empire (2018), and currently the Baltimore Brigade (2019).

2012 Spokane Shock

Hills started his arena career with the Spokane Shock in 2012 and played his first official game on April 14 against the Milwaukee Mustangs. With the Shock, Hills played in three games and totaled 14 receptions for 134 yards and one touchdown.

2012-2014 Tampa Bay Storm

Hills started his Storm career with Arena star Quarterback, Adrian McPherson (currently retired).Hills’ first game with the Storm was on June 15 at the Orlando Predators. That game, Hills had five receptions for 50 yards. Two games later, this iconic streak started. With the Storm through the 2014 season, Hills played in 35 games and totaled 279 receptions for 3,856 yards, and 96 touchdowns (average of over seven receptions, 110 yards, and over two touchdowns per game).

2015-2016 Jacksonville Sharks

For the 2015 season, Hills packed his bags and went about three hours East or Tampa Bay to become a member of the Jacksonville Sharks. In his time with the Sharks, he got to play with future Arena Football Hall of Famer Tommy Grady (currently with the Albany Empire). With his time with the Sharks, he has played in 39 games and made 359 grabs for 4,162 yards, and 120 touchdowns (average of nine receptions, over 106 yards, and over three touchdowns per game). With the Sharks, Hills’ efforts helped them go to the playoffs both seasons and Arena Bowl XXIX against the San Jose SaberCats.

2017 Tampa Bay Storm

In 2017, Hills returned to the Storm in their last season of play. In the Storm’s final season, Hills played in 15 games and had 141 receptions for 1,502 yards, and 41 touchdowns (average of over nine receptions, 100 yards per game, and over two touchdowns per game). Hills also helped lead his team to Arena Bowl XXX against the Philadelphia Soul.

Also in 2017, Hills made a one-game return to the Jacksonville Sharks in a National Arena League (NAL) playoff game against the Monterrey Steel. That game, he had seven receptions for 147 yards, and three touchdowns. That game doesn’t count toward his total because it was not in the Arena Football League (AFL).

2018 Albany Empire

In Albany’s return to arena football, they were sure to grab talent from all over the place. They found Grady, Hills, Malachi Jones, Terrance Smith, Joe Sykes, and many more. Hills played in 13 games and had 100 receptions for 1,212 yards, and 36 touchdowns (average of over seven receptions, 93 yards, and over two touchdowns per game).

2019 Baltimore Brigade

Before this milestone game in Columbus, Hills has made 44 receptions for 464 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Hills Milestone For the Ages

This record took seven seasons to accomplish, which is quite some time. While there is a lot of talent in arena football, there may not be a single person who will ever reach 100 consecutive games with a touchdown reception in AFL history. Before the game in Columbus, Hills has made 937 career catches for 11,330 yards, and 307 touchdowns.

For updates on anything in indoor and arena football, give us a follow on Instagram and Twitter.