PACKERS

REVERENT PRIDE

(DESPITE 4-12)

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The the origins of the Green Bay Packers are believed to date back to 1895 when the Green Bay Town team, an aggregation of local athletes, played town teams from communities surrounding Green Bay, losing to all of them. During each game, the team manager passed the hat among the spectators, asking for donations for the players, and after the game, the two teams divied up the take. Thus, these teams were among the first "professional" football teams in the United States.

It's generally regarded that the great saga of this club began in August 1919, when the Indian Packing Company agreed to sponsor a local pro football team under the direction of Earl "Curly" Lambeau.

As noted by Larry D Names "The truth of all this is the Green Bay Packers are legendary, and like all legends, their beginnings must be clouded in mystery and intrigue. If they weren't, the Packers would be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers."

The players held their first practice on Sept. 3, 1919 and played their first game on Sept. 14, against the Menominee North End A.C. Green Bay won that game, 53-0. Green Bay's one-sided victory over Menominee in its first game was the first of 10 consecutive triumphs in a season that saw Green Bay out score its opponents 565-6. Green Bay's only loss in that first season came in its last game, on Nov. 23, at the hands of a team that curiously called itself the Beloit "Fairies". The Green Bay Gazette reported the next day "Capt. Lambeau's team was robbed of victory by Referee Zabel of Beloit." Apparently, Lambeau scored three touchdowns that were called back on illegal motion penalties by Mr. Zabel. (It's the stuff of legends isn't it?)

In 1921, the "Packers" as they had become known, were granted a membership in the newly formed National Football League. Today the Packers rank as the third oldest team in pro football.

Until more recent years, the long and much celebrated history of the Green Bay team was one of struggle, for both financial survival off the field and playing stability on the field.

Between the two of them, Lambeau and Lombardi brought the Packers 11 NFL championships and two record strings of three straight titles, including the first in 1929, 1930 and 1931. Their combined record stands at an inspiring 310-136-25. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Lambeau-led Packers were annual championship contenders. They won four divisional crowns and NFL titles in 1936, 1939 and 1944.

With the departure of Lambeau the Packers struggled. From 1950-58 the Packers went 32-72-2 under three different coaches. The team had become pro football's provincial joke.

In 1958 in his only year coaching the Packers, "the nicest guy who ever coached", Raymond "Scooter" McLean had established a new standard of ineptitude, compiling the worst record in team history, 1-10-1, a mark that New York sportswriter Red Smith, who had grown up in Green Bay, later immortalized with the phrase: "The Packers underwhelmed ten opponents, overwhelmed one, and whelmed one."

By that time Commissioner Bert Bell was being pressured by big-city owners to fix the Packers or bounce them from the league. The long-running love affair between the people of Green Bay and its football team had also soured. The miracle that such a small town (population 62,888) could sustain a professional club was not enough; it had to win championships, as it had in the twenties, thirties and forties. As fate would have it the answer presented itself in 1959 with the appointment of Lombardi. The ensuing Packers' dynasty years of the 1960s under Lombardi's direction, began with Green Bay winning NFL championships in 1961 and 1962. It finally ended after their second string of three straight titles in 1965, 1966 and 1967. After another bleak period in the 1970s & 80s the Pack commenced another resurgence in the 1990s this time under the direction of General Manager Ron Wolf and coach Mike Holmgren. With the key signing of Defensive End, Reggie White and the blossoming of back up QB Brett Favre, the Packers became once again regular Play-off contenders and Divisional Champions.

In 1996, the Packers returned to the top of the pro football world when they won Super Bowl XXXI while in 1997 they were runners up in Super Bowl XXXII.

Thanks to my friend Peter O'Dweyer, the Packer Backer Down Under, where we got many of these photos and information. See my Varsity Page for more on Peter.

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Some Packers Facts

Packers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Apart from Lambeau and Lombardi there are also 18 former Packers' players that have been enshrined in the PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME This is the second-most in the league

First Season: 1921 (Franchise granted 27 August 1921)

Stadium / Home Town: Lambeau Field, Green Bay Wisconsin (a city of less than 100,000). As the only remaining 'small city' in the 'big-city' world of major league professional sports franchises, Green Bay, is viewed by many as sort of a sports "dinosaur".

Ownership: The team is also special in another way as the team is the only community-owned non-profit organization in the NFL. It is also the last remaining publicly owned pro sports team (4,748,910 shares, 111,507 stockholders, none of whom receive dividend on initial investment).

Super Bowl Championships: I, II, XXXI

NFC Championships: '96, '97

NFL Championships: '29, '30, '31, '36, '39, '44, '61, '62, '65, '66, '67

NFL Western Conference Championships: '36, '38, '39, '44, '60, '61, '62, '65, '66, '67

NFC Central Division Championships: '72, '95, '96, '97

NFC Northern Division Championships: '02, '03

All-Time Record: 602-474-3

First Player Drafted: Russ Letlow, G, San Francisco, 1936.

First NFL Regular-season game:
A 7-6 victory over the Minneapolis Marines, 10/23/21.

First NFL Regular-Season Touchdown: A 10-yard run by Art Schmael vs. the Minneapolis Marines, 10/23/21.

First Winning Season: 1921 (3-2-1).

First Championship Season: 1929.

First Super Bowl Win: A 35-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I, 1/15/67.

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LAMBEAU FIELD: It is the mecca, the shrine.....the grand lodge of all that is good in Wisconsin. It is hallowed ground as is the parking facility and all the great businesses and bars around it. It is Lambeau Field and it is home to the only community owned & non profit professional team in America. When you go back in time to the inception of professional football in this country, you find it. Green Bay, (with a population of less than 100,000) is the only "small town" in this nation to house a "big" professional sports franchise. Lambeau is held with reverent pride in Wisconsin. It is not uncommon at all for up to 30% of the work force in Wisconsin to call in sick the day after a Packer victory. In fact the businesses in Wisconsin almost accept this.

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NEW SEASON SCHEDULE

2006

PRESEASON

8/10-14 @ San Diego Chargers TBA State

8/17-21 Atlanta Falcons TBA State

8/28 @ Cincinnati Bengals 7:00 pm ESPN

8/31-9/1

Tennessee Titans

TBA

State

SEASON

9/10 Chicago Bears 3:15 pm FOX

9/17 New Orleans Saints 12 noon FOX

9/24 @ Detroit Lions 12 noon FOX

10/2 @ Philadelphia Eagles 7:30 pm ESPN

10/8 St. Louis Rams 12 noon FOX

10/15 Open Dae 12 noon FOX

10/22 @ Miami Dolphins 12 noon FOX

10/29 Arizona Cardinals 12 noon FOX

11/5 @ Buffalo Bills 12 noon FOX

11/12 @ Minnesota Vikings 12 noon FOX

11/19 New England Patriots 12 noon FOX

11/27 @ Seattle Seahawks 7:30 pm ESPN

12/3 New York Jets 12 noon CBS

12/10 @ San Francisco 49ers 3:05 pm FOX

12/17 Detroit Lions 12 noon FOX

12/21 Minnesota Vikings 7:00 pm NFLN

12/31 @ Chicago Bears 12 noon FOX

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IN LOVING MEMORY OF:

REGGIE WHITE

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OUR MINISTER OF DEFENSE