Coach Bart Starr and Lynn Dickey were joined by other Packers from the 1982 team when they were honored at the Packers’ 2012 season-opener at Lambeau Field. They were joined by (players visible from the left) Del Rodgers (35), George Cumby (52), Ray Stachowitz (16), Johnny Gray (24), and Phillip Epps (85).
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

I remember the first time I saw Green Bay Packers quarterback Lynn Dickey throw the football while warming up on the sidelines of the Metrodome in Minneapolis prior to a game against the Vikings in 1983 and thinking, ‘good God, that guy can throw!’

Lynn Dickey waves to the crowd at Lambeau Field after being introduced as an alumni player last September.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

His tight 30-yard spirals were caught on the other end by wide receiver James Lofton, who snared them out of the air with sticky, sure hands. I always enjoyed watching Dickey play. When given time by his line, he was one of the best at picking apart a defensive backfield and it was on this date, April 2, in 1976 that the Green Bay Packers traded quarterback John Hadl, cornerback Ken Ellis and two draft choices to the Houston Oilers for Dickey.

Dickey had languished for five years on the sidelines behind quarterback Dan Pastorini after being selected in the third round (#56 overall) by the Oilers in the 1971 NFL Draft. At the time, the Packers had been looking for a consistent quarterback who could amp up the team’s offense. Since Bart Starr had retired in 1972, the Packers had gone without a decent quarterback who could lead the team – team officials pointed to Dickey as the player who could carry the team into the future.

Lynn Dickey shares a laugh with Jan Stenerud at last season’s Packers season opener when the 1982 Packers team was honored.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Between the time Starr retired and Dickey became a member of the team, the Packers had under center these forgettable quarterbacks: Scott Hunter, Jerry Tagge, Jim Del Gaizo, John Hadl, Jack Concannon, and Don Milan – not your list of hall of famers. As you could guess, the team was looking for a player who could push the offense down the field. Dickey would do so for the next 10 years, though there were a couple of seasons of injury mixed in.

In 105 games over that stretch of time, Dickey completed 1,592 passes in 2,831 attempts (56.2 percent), for 21,369 yards, and 133 touchdowns. The only downside of Dickey’s time with the Packers was his overall record. Though the franchise had some decent talent on those teams during the late 1970s and early- to mid-80s, the Packers managed a record of only 45-56-2.

But Dickey was always positive. Upon arrival after the trade to Green Bay, here’s what he said: ”No, I don’t feel any pressure on me because of the price. There’s always pressure, but if you don’t like that, you’re in the wrong business.”

Dickey would lead the Packers to the Playoffs in 1982 – the strike-shortened season. The Packers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of that playoff series, but would lose in the second round in a wild shootout in Dallas.

Coach Bart Starr and quarterback Lynn Dickey share a moment.

His best season came in 1983 when he completed 289 passes in 484 attempts (59.7 percent), for 4,458 yards and 32 touchdowns. Those were numbers that stood for years as Packers bests – that was until Aaron Rodgers started throwing the ball around the yard and broke the yardage number in 2011.

It wasn’t until after he retired in 1985 that his Packers records were fully appreciated. He has the highest completion percentage in a single game with a minimum of 20 attempts – he set that record against the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 13, 1981, when he completed 19-of-21 for 90.48 percent. And it wasn’t until Matt Flynn – yes, that Matt Flynn – threw for 460 yards on Jan. 1, 2012, that Dickey’s record for most yards in a single game (418) was broken. Dickey accomplished that record on Oct. 12, 1980, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dickey also holds the highest average gain of 9.21 yards per attempt (400 or more attempts in a single season) – that’s an NFL record.

Had the Packers not swung the deal for Dickey in 1976, it’s difficult to say how far the franchise would have fallen. He brought consistency and an excitement back to Green Bay. Though the wins didn’t come while he was here, he was by far one of the top quarterbacks in franchise and league history during that span of time.

The Green Bay Packers have been winners for the past two decades and are poised to continue winning – something that has given younger fans a different perspective than older fans of the team.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

It seems like a new generation of Green Bay Packers fans are taking over – they’re taking over Facebook; they’re taking over Twitter; they’re taking over ticket sales. In the end, that’s a great thing. Passing of the torch of fandom is what it’s all about to keep this team’s nation alive and inspired.

But it also seems this newest generation of fans who grew up with Brett Favre, Reggie White, and divisional, conference and Super Bowl championships is a bit spoiled. Just today I read a tweet that asked the esteemed Aaron Nagler if he thought Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy would be on the hot seat if they had another season like the last. Nagler’s answer was direct and to the point:

Yes, another division title puts them on the hot seat. RT @rammer919: Does another year like last put MM and TT on the hot seat?

— Aaron Nagler (@Aaron_Nagler) February 19, 2013

The Packers started a winning tradition when Ron Wolf, Mike Holmgren, Brett Favre and Reggie White came to town.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

And Nagler’s right … it seems that many of those who are following the Packers and the NFL these days are satisfied only when a team – the Packers, specifically – win. Yes, that is the ultimate goal in the National Football League, but it’s not reality. There are up years, there are down years.

Let’s go back 30 years to the 1980s – we’ll skip the 1970s, they were painful enough. Championships were a thing of the past, a thing of the 1960s, a thing that involved a guy named Lombardi. Just ask Bart Starr, the Packers beleaguered coach in 1980, not the beloved hero of the past that he is in 2013. Just ask defensive lineman Ezra Johnson whose actions with a hot dog produced more ink than anything the Packers did on the field.

What I’m about to describe was just the first game of the first season of a decade of desperation for the Packers franchise, a decade when the rival Chicago Bears dominated early and often and won their only Super Bowl. It was the beginning of a decade that saw one division championships for the Packers – that’s right, one – and that’s diminished because it was during the strike-shortened season. Championships were figments of our imaginations. We had forgotten the excitement of watching a team that year-in and year-out competed for the top spot.

And while it’s a joyful moment in Packers history, this moment I’m about to describe was probably the best and only moment when Packers fans could truly hold their heads high – it was mostly downhill from there.

You see, the Packers finished 1979 at 5-11, suffering through many injuries and the worst run defense on the planet.

When the Packers got back to training camp in 1980, hopes again were high – that was until the team took to the field. They lost every preseason game and were shut out in three of those four games. They were horrendous and even their star wide receiver James Lofton was getting into the act, calling Packers fans names

When Ezra Johnson was among the members of the 1982 Packers team honored at the Sept. 9, 2012, Packers game last fall, he came out eating a hot dog and got a rousing ovation.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

and giving them the finger. Coaches were fired, the team was booed off the field, and fans were calling for the head of Bart Starr – and that was all before the season even started.

To top it all off, there was the incident involving Johnson and his hot dog. It was the final exhibition game of the season and the Packers were being shut out. It was late in the game and Johnson was seen eating a hot dog on the sideline – an action that the media and many fans found reprehensible in light of the fact that the Packers were being decimated on the field.

In fact, the Packers’ defensive line coach, Fred vonAppen eventually resigned over the fiasco. He learned that Johnson had been eating the hot dog during the game and wanted his hide. Though Johnson was fined $1,000 and made to apologize to his teammates, that wasn’t enough for vanAppen, who resigned in disgust. Johnson said he didn’t mean anything by it. “I was just hungry,” he said. “I didn’t wave it around or anything.”

For all of you who don’t remember, it was may have been one of the lowest of lows in Packers Nation. It’s funny today, but it wasn’t back then. The Packers seemed in total disarray.

But then something happened – at least for one day – and it was centered around Chester Marcol, the Packers place kicker who had been one of those injured in 1979 and would be cut later in 1980. But for one shining moment in the first regular season game at Lambeau Field he propelled himself into team lore on one play.

The Packers played the Bears in the opener, Lambeau Field was jammed and both teams’ defenses were stellar – the Packers’ in particular. Coming off a season when they ranked dead last in run defense, the Packers shut down Walter Payton that day – they kept him to 65 total yards on 31 carries. But the Packers offense was nonexistent that day, too. The only scoring they could muster came off the leg of Marcol, who converted from 41 and 46 yards to match kicks by the Bears’ Bob Thomas.

The game went into overtime and the Bears received the ball first. The Packers’ defense again rose up and shut down Chicago who punted to the Packers. Quarterback Lynn Dickey then proceeded to hit Lofton on a 30-plus-yard completion that moved the Packers deep into Chicago territory. After three runs, the Packers and Marcol lined up for the field goal. The snap was true, Marcol moved forward and put his foot into the ball. However, the push from the Chicago line crumpled the Packers wall and Alan Page squarely blocked the kick.

Chester Marcol runs for the game-winning touchdown off a blocked kick against the Bears in 1980.

For the Bears and their fans the seconds after the block were an insane nightmare. The ball Page blocked caromed right back to Marcol who caught the ball, hesitated in shock and then took off around left end untouched for the winning touchdown. Lambeau Field broke into pandemonium and at least for one day all was well in Green Bay and Bart Starr’s job was safe.

But that was about it for the highlights for that year. The Packers finished 5-10-1 in 1980; 8-8 in 1981; 5-3-1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season (1st in the Central Division, if you can call it that); and 8-8 in Starr’s last season as head coach. Mediocrity and less continued when the promise of a new coach in Forrest Gregg materialized.

But the wins and championships were as few a far between. In 1984 and 1985 the Packers finished 8-8. That’s when Gregg cleaned house, got rid of Lynn Dickey and Paul Coffman, among other high profile players, and then had a banner year of 4-12 in 1986, and 5-9-1 in 1987 before he was fired.

Lindy Infante was hired in 1988 and the Packers had another competitive year with a final record of 4-12. It wasn’t until 1989 that the Packers finally fielded a competitive team, finishing 10-6 and finally winning the Central Division. However, the winning fever in Green Bay was shortlived as the Packers again went into the tank in 1990 (6-10) and 1991 (4-12) before Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren came to town.

That’s when many of those younger Packers fans started understanding and following the game of football.

Led by this guy, it looks like the Packers have many winning seasons ahead – enjoy it now …
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

It’s great that these 20-somethings have known only winning and have come to expect it … setting the bar as high as we can is what the National Football League is all about. But understand, young Packers fans, that this team has been around for nearly 100 years and has had many ups and downs.

When a fan thinks management is on the hot seat because they win a divisional championship, but fall in the playoffs, that is being spoiled rotten. Consider the alternatives. Enjoy what you have now, because it could be gone tomorrow and not return for many, many years.

Some of us older fans understand that and will take a division championship any day, even if they falter in the playoffs.

We’ve seen a lot worse.

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Packers Nation has never stopped loving Bart Starr. Even when he fell on tough times as the head coach, the fans remembered all he has given the franchise.

A few weeks ago when I read the news brief that former Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr had collapsed while giving a presentation, my heart sank.

If there’s any Packer player who has come to represent what the Packers mean to the league and the fan base, it’s Bart Starr, teh 17th round draft choice who went on to lead his team to five world championships – yes, you read that right – 5 championships. Let that fact sink in a bit.

Daniel Kramer photograph

So, today on his 79th birthday, I feel so blessed to remember all of his championships, and most notably the Ice Bowl.

That said, here is a tribute to the man who made Green Bay the elite franchise that it is today.

Thanks, Bart … and happy birthday.

It’s just one play, but shows why Bart Starr was so successful:

But that was short-lived.

There are many reasons, but today’s Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame posting for “Today in Packers History” gives us a glimpse into one of them.

Maybe it was the sign of the times, but Devine surely couldn’t see what was ahead of him as far as ways of doing things in the NFL.

Take a look at the post and draw your own conclusions about Devine’s statements and consider how different the NFL would be today if coaches continued the policy espoused by Devine.

Packers Quarterbacks Find Their Calling

August 1, 1972 – Green Bay Packers coach Dan Devine stresses that play calling will remain the quarterback’s responsibility even with Bart Starr on board as the team’s quarterbacks coach.

“It’s not sound coaching,” Devine says about calling the game from the sidelines. “I’ve always believed that the quarterback will do a better job on his own. Eventually, I’d like our quarterbacks to be entirely on their own.”

Devine believes Starr will be of great value to his young quarterbacks: Scott Hunter (24), Frank Patrick (25), Jerry Tagge (22) and Charles Napper (23). “These players must be disciplined to study film and defenses, and there’s no better person to teach them than Bart,” Devine says.

Vernon Biever with Brett Favre, 2002. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photograph

If you haven’t read the short piece by Scott Schalin, the former editor of the packershalloffame.com, take a look.

He chronicles one of the best stories in Packers history.

Here was a man with no photography experience who took it upon himself to chronicle, through photography, the most storied franchise in the National Football League long before the team came into the national eye.

In fact, it was Vernon Biever’s work that helped propel the Packers to national prominence. Even before television took over as the prominent media, it was Biever’s iconic photographs that brought the team into focus. His incredible eye and skill in capturing the Packers before, during and after the glory years of the 1960s is evident in every frame. His love of the team and game shines through in every shot – it doesn’t matter if it’s Lombardi, Starr, John Brockington or Brett Favre that was his subject – his thumbprints are all over the franchise.

And his sons, John and Jim, continue to carry on their father’s legacy. John works with Sports Illustrated and Jim has taken the reins of his father’s job as the official photographer of the Green Bay Packers.

You’ve got to read this piece. In it you will discover why this man is so important to the Packers and why his name should be known to every Packers fan.

You can click here to go directly to the Packers Hall of Fame site or scroll down to read it here.

In addition, here are some sites you may want to visit:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1010/vernon.biever.tribute/content.1.html

http://www.galleryofsportsart.com/new/biever.shtmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Biever

http://prod.static.packers.clubs.nfl.com/assets/docs/101015vern_biever_favorites.pdf

http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/photos/104924329.html#id_41458779

http://www.packers.com/media-center/photo-gallery/Vernon-Biever-Classic-Photos/0020bbee-b6b3-4139-80a3-650125fc8dde

http://www.eernissefuneralhome.com/obituary/33878/Vernon-Biever/

Enjoy.

And while you’re at it, Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Moving Pictures: Remembering Packers Hall of Fame Photographer Vernon Biever

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then Vernon Biever will forever be the conscience of the Green Bay Packers.

For 60 years, his pair of vibrant eyes witnessed and captured the images that made the team bigger than the game and larger than life.

As staff photographer, he may have been the most important Packer on the field to never wear a uniform or stalk the sideline calling plays. During an age before television had figured out how to showcase professional football, the images of Vernon Biever brought the hometown heroes alive in the mind’s eye of the ravenous Packers faithful.

The Packers Hall of Fame is filled with players soaked in the mud, sweat and cheers of gridiron battle and most of those legendary images are forever frozen in time thanks to Biever. His office was the sidelines and the end zones of football fields nationwide. His only weapon in battle was a keen awareness of how to capture the heart of the game with his arsenal of manual-focus cameras.

Biever passed away at age 87, on October 14, 2010, just four years after he officially retired from active shutterbug service. He was the official Green Bay photographer for an astonishing 60 years, beginning in 1946.

He was unanimously elected into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2002, and introduced by none other than Bart Starr, who had long lobbied on behalf of the photographer for his inclusion into the Hall, arguing, “You wouldn’t have a Packers Hall of Fame without Vern Biever.”

In many ways, Biever embodied the spirit and audacity of the small-town team that never shied away from the pursuit of greatness. In 1941, with almost no photographic experience, Biever told the Milwaukee Sentinel sports editor, Stoney McGlyn, that he was going to cover the Packers and send photos to be printed.

After hitchhiking to City Stadium to watch the Bears beat the Packers 25-17 that year, he gave his undeveloped game photos to a train conductor and organized to have the Sentinel pick them up from the local station. Against all odds, Biever’s photos ran and he was suddenly a professional photographer. When he couldn’t crack a full-time staff opening with the newspaper, Biever did the next logical thing: he told the Packers he was going to be their full-time photographer.

“I went to the Packers and said, ‘If you give me a field pass, I’ll take some pictures for nothing,’ ” Biever recalled many years later with a chuckle. “I guess the price was right.” He clicked away through times good and bad, shooting for free, but wisely maintaining the publishing rights. By the time the Vince Lombardi championship train rolled through the 1960s, Biever was finally earning a modest salary from the team, while still paying his own way into games.

Forever an independent spirit, Biever staunchly maintained that football photography was his passion, but not his profession (he owned a Ben Franklin store and, later, a travel agency in his native town of Port Washington, Wisconsin).

“He was truly an exceptional gentleman, and I think personified the statement about consistently chasing perfection,” said Starr, who knows a thing or two about chasing perfection. “I was able to get to know him well, and he’s honestly one of the greatest men I’ve ever known. His unique commitment to God and family are enviable.”

From Curly Lambeau to Lombardi to Mike McCarthy, Packers teams have come and gone, won and lost, but the cherished images of Biever keep those teams alive forever.

There’s the timeless shot of Paul Hornung suspended like Superman in mid-air as he sails over a tangled pile of Packers and 49ers on the turf below for a touchdown in 1965.

The grand Packers power sweep was an insurmountable yard-chewing wall of success orchestrated by Lombardi and played to pitch perfection by the championship teams of the 1960s. Biever captured the delicate intricacy of the play in one of his most famous photos, where Starr has handed the ball to Jim Taylor who looks up field for yardage behind Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston. All the while the creator of this poetry in motion, Lombardi himself, stands on the sideline, hands plunged comfortably into his signature trench coat, looking like a God proudly watching over his flock.

The painstaking patience Biever maintained to get his shot was as awe-inspiring as the results themselves. “There is automatic focus now, but in those days you had to pre-focus the camera on one spot on the field,” Biever recalled. “I had a Speed Graphic 4×5 large format camera and had to wait until the action came to that area. There was a lot of waiting involved. I could only take six to eight photographs a game.”

Such a craftsman and so infectious was his skill that his offspring have carried on the photographic legacy. One son, John, shoots for Sports Illustrated and his other son, Jim, took over his dad’s position as the Packers’ team photographer. In fact, one of the most famous Biever photographs of Starr diving into the end zone as time runs out at the infamous Ice Bowl game was actually taken by John and Vernon.

“I told John to stay in the end zone and that I’d try to get Lombardi’s reaction if the Packers scored,” Vernon recalled. “ John got Bart’s winning touchdown and I got a great shot of Lombardi’s back. But I’m very happy the way it turned out. John got a picture for the ages… he was just 15 at the time and cold as heck like the rest of us. None of us knew how famous that game or that photo would become. It’s a part of Packer and NFL history.”

As the only photographer allowed into the locker room of the Los Angeles Coliseum after the Packers 1967 victory in Super Bowl I, Biever shot what he often called “The best picture I ever took,” as then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle hands the first-ever Super Bowl victory trophy to a beaming Vince Lombardi.

Who knew that someday that same trophy would bear the coach’s name? “I’ve always said it’s an important picture because it was history — the first Super Bowl. I thought that game was very important to the NFL and that it would be remembered for a long time.”

Indeed it was and still is, and thanks to Vernon Biever’s masterful craft and keen eye for the dramatic, much of the Packers legacy will continue to be passed from generation to generation.

“Vernon captured 16 great years of my life in Green Bay and many great moments in Packer history,” Brett Favre has said. “It’s not just the stars on the field, but the great legends like Vernon Biever that make the Packers organization special.”

Scott Schalin is the former editor of PackersHallofFame.com and is currently writing a book with NFL on FOX insider Jay Glazer.

Jan 15, 1967; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr (15) in action against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl I at the Los Angeles Coliseum in the first ever meeting of the AFL vs NFL World Championship. The Packers defeated the Chiefs 35-10. Mandatory Credit: Darryl Norenberg-US PRESSWIRE

Though the general rule of thought is that the “flak jacket” for National Football League quarterbacks didn’t come around until Houston Oilers’ QB Dan Pastorini made a sensation by wearing one in the 1970s, it seems the protective garment was around long before that.

In fact, the Green Bay Packers’ great Bart Starr joined a growing number of quarterbacks in the late 1960s who were turning to a vest-like garment to help protect sore ribs.

Today’s Day in Packers’ History offered by the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame documents that in 1969 Starr, his coach and medical personnel with the team decided that it was the best way to protect the Super Bowl Champion.

It’s an interesting piece of nostalgia. Click here to go to the website or scroll down for a look at the article.

Bart Starr to Wear Vest in 1969

June 25, 1969 – Though out of town on business, Packers quarterback Bart Starr is not forgotten as coach Phil Bengtson’s rookie camp moves into its third day. Starr, who missed 28 quarters in 1968 because of injury, will be better protected in 1969 according to Bengtson. “Bart never thought he needed a protective vest,” Bengtson says. “But he’ll wear one now. A rib injury is very slow to heal and every little jar affects sore ribs more than any other injury.” Starr, 35, plays in 12 of 14 games in 1969.

Wally Cruice – every hear of him?

Nope, me either.

However, he was a valuable scout for the Green Bay Packers who worked under eight different Green Bay Packers coaches, from Lambeau to Starr.

On this day in Packers history, Cruice retired from his scouting job with the team to spend even more time on his full-time business – sounds like a pretty ambitious guy.

The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame provides a bit of information about him in their daily “history” piece about the team … you can also find out more about Cruice at this Wikipedia page.

Packers Scout Cruice Retires

June 14, 1977 – Wally Cruice, a game-day scout who served under eight Packers head coaches, announces he is winding up a 31-year career with the team. Cruice, who reported on the opposition for Curly Lambeau, Gene Ronzani, Lisle Blackbourn, Scooter McLean, Vince Lombardi, Phil Bengtson, Dan Devine and Bart Starr, will devote more energy to his full-time business – Pohlman Studios in Milwaukee – where he is company president. “I want some free time to myself. I want to be able to go to a football game in the fall, enjoy myself and not be working,” Cruice says.

Jan 15, 1967; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr (15) in action against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl I at the Coliseum. The Packers defeated the Chiefs 35-10. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Professional football players dream of being selected to the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Few would hope they get votes at the political ballot box, but that’s exactly what we saw here in northern Wisconsin during the most recent Recall Election that had Democrat Tom Barrett trying to unseat Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

One individual Tweeted on his Twitter account that they had voted for Greg Jennings and after a check with Minocqua, Woodruff and Arbor Vitae town clerks found that a local had voted for Bart Starr. And while there was the usual Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck write-ins, one can only guess just how many counties actually recorded votes for other Packers players. You’ve got to believe that there had to be at least a few for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, cornerback Charles Woodson and linebacker Clay Matthews.

In the meantime, here’s a story by The Lakeland Times’ Joe VanDeLaarschot that explains the local situation at the voting booth.

On this date in 1972, Nitschke signed a contract for a 15th season with the team.

Courtesy of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, this post describes how Nitschke signed his final contract with the team after returning from a vacation in Hawaii.

Enjoy …

Ray Goes For 15   May 10, 1972 - Ray Nitschke, already the senior most defensive player in Packers history, signs a contract to play a 15th season with the team. The veteran middle linebacker inks his new pact after returning from a vacation in Hawaii. “He’s in excellent condition and has a great attitude,” Packers coach Dan Devine says. “We feel he can make a great contribution to the team next year. People like Nitschke and (Bart) Starr are an inspiration and example to our younger people.” Nitschke’s last year with Green Bay is memorable as the Packers finish 10-4 and make the playoffs for the first time in five years. Photo of Ray Nitschke

In the days when lifting weights and organized workouts were unknown, a select group of Packers began working together in an effort to get into as good of condition as possible. Maybe the fact that the team had to endure Lombardi’s two-a-days and up-downs was enough to get these guys in the mindset that they needed to walk into camp in shape.

Anyway, Enjoy this post:

Former Packer Zeke Bratkowski Leads  “Revolutionary” Offseason Aerobics Program April 9, 1969 - Green Bay’s offseason conditioning program, dubbed the “Pace Corps,” is in full swing as players such as defensive lineman Ron Kostelnik, receiver Boyd Dowler and safety Doug Hart busy themselves running three miles daily. “I started the program about four weeks ago,” Kostelnik says. “It’s helped my legs and wind. Every player in town is participating in the program.” Former Packers quarterback Zeke Bratkowski is director of the workouts, or aerobics, which the Milwaukee Sentinel calls “a revolutionary new exercise.”Photo of Zeke Bratkowski with Bart Starr

It was Dec. 31, 1967, and we all know where we were.

Me?

I was at George Steffen’s house … with my Dad and my brother, Francis.

It was damn cold outside … I don’t remember if our red Pontiac station wagon ever warmed up during the 1.5 mile ride into town to watch the NFL Championship Game that day … you remember the one – it featured the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys and has gone down in league lore as one of the best ever.

(more…)

Joe Tafura of GMEN HQ allowed lombardiave to talk about today’s Packers vs. Giants game – asking us about how we feel about who has the upper hand.

Here is our Q&A exchange:

Ray Rivard from Lombardiave.com checked in to answer some questions for us here at GMENHQ.COM

Q. Is anyone in Green Bay concerned that the defense is ranked last in the NFL, or is it simply a matter of them being able to take chances since Rodgers and the offense is so good?

(more…)

Well, the program was held and thanks to Taryn Parker, a regular reader of this blog, a video of some of the highlights have been made available here.

“it’s a great glimpse of how the community embraced and honored this legendary Hall of Famer and we hope you’ll consider posting this to share with fans who didn’t get a chance to attend in person,” Parker said.

We are honored to provide this short glimpse into the event honoring Starr, still one one of the greatest players and most revered Packers ever to be affiliated with the franchise.

Enjoy clip … And as an added bonus, we’ve added another video, the award-winning NFL Network’s “America’s Game” featuring the 1966 Packers.

Bart Starr will be recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Allstate Insurance Company in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday, Nov. 16, as part of “Hometown Hall of Famers™,” a national program honoring the hometown roots of the sport’s greatest players with special ceremonies and plaque dedication events in local communities.

A two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and former Sidney Lanier High School standout from 1949 to 1953, Starr will be presented with his “Hometown Hall of Famer™” plaque during a special ceremony at 2:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the Sidney Lanier auditorium, where the plaque will live permanently to serve as an inspiration for the school’s student-athletes.

This program is about celebrating the hometowns that helped pave the way for future Hall of Famers to become the legendary football players we all know and love,” said George Veras, Pro Football Hall of Fame Enterprises president and CEO. “Together with Allstate we are proud to recognize Bart Starr with his ‘Hometown Hall of Famer™’ plaque where it all began here in Montgomery.”

In addition to the plaque, a commemorative Bart Starr “Hometown Hall of Famer™” road sign will be on display in Montgomery, Ala.

In his junior year at Sidney Lanier High School, Starr became the starting quarterback and led the team to an undefeated season before becoming an All-State and All-American quarterback his senior year. After high school, Starr committed to play at the University of Alabama and became the starting quarterback his sophomore year. Starr battled a football-related back injury his junior and senior years, however, that did not hinder him as a prospect for the Green Bay Packers leading into the 1956 NFL Draft.

The Green Bay Packers selected Starr as the 199th pick in the 1956 NFL Draft and he began as the backup quarterback to Tobin Rote until 1959 when Vince Lombardi took over head coaching duties and positioned Starr as the starting quarterback. Starr led an electric Packers team to back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1966 and 1967 where he was named Super Bowl MVP both years. He holds the second highest playoff passer rating of any quarterback in NFL history, only behind current Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Starr also holds a playoff record of 9-1.

Starr was voted to the NFL Pro Bowl four times during his career and is one of only five Green Bay Packers to have his number – No. 15 – retired by the team. After his 15-year playing career ended, Starr remained with the team and took on the role of head coach from 1975 to 1983. Starr was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

“Hometown Hall of Famers™ presented by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Allstate” is the Hall of Fame’s first nationwide plaque program and will lead into the celebration of its 50th anniversary in August 2012.

For more information on the program, fans can visit www.profootballhof.com. Also, Allstate’s website ishttp://www.allstate.com.

Taryn Parker, an Account Coordinator with Taylor and a fan of lombardiave.com, provided us with this information. We are grateful and happy to let all our readers know about The honor being bestowed upon Mr. Starr.

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'Lombardi' is in the middle of its run at the Milwaukee Reperatory Theater. It's run has been extended through Nov. 20.

It’s not often that I get to talk about the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Milwaukee Reperatory Theater all in one gulp, but I’m honored to do so right here.

You see, there’s a production now in its run at the theater about a famous coach and one of the employees at that theater just happens to be a Steelers fan … and not just a Steelers fan … Craig Gottschalk is also the editor and lead writer of Fansided.com’s own Nice Pick, Cowher.

As an employee at the theater, Gottschalk posted a recent blog about his experiences in preparing for “Lombardi,” the Broadway smash hit about the Packers great head coach, citing his slow evolution toward understanding what being a Packers fan is all about.

He describes having to endure his beloved Steelers losing to the Packers in last year’s Super Bowl, and then turning around and having to spend months in preparing for the “Lombardi” run at his own theater. Bittersweet though it was for him, the process melted some of the ice in Gottschalk’s heart toward the Packers as the show neared and finally opened.

If you are a Packers fan … or even a Steelers fan, you’ve got to read about this incredible homage to Lombardi … in fact, you might even want to go online here to get your tickets for the show whose run has been extended through Nov. 20.

Gottschalk’s view of the the Packers through Steelers’ eyes is refreshing and humbling for all football fans … after all, Gottschalk says, “It’s only a game.” His self-realization brings us all back to earth … and his description of rubbing elbows with the greatness of Bart Starr, Paul Horning and Packers fans in general is just plain fun.

You’ve got to read Gottschalk’s piece in full here … you will enjoy every word of it.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to Like lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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After the 2007 season, the Packers went about their business, not knowing whether Favre would be back.  The combine came and the combine went.  Then, in early March, after the combine, Favre phones it in.  No doubt this affected the Packers draft strategy.  In 2007, the Packers just went with Favre and heir apparent Aaron Rodgers as their quarterbacks, until Rodgers tweaked a hamstring and the team re-signed Craig Nall.  If Favre had stayed, the Packers draft strategy would have undoubtedly change, as I don’t see Ted Thompson adding Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn into the mix with Rodgers and Favre.  If Favre had made his decision before the combine, Thompson could have definitely altered the offseason plans that involved drafting two quarterbacks, including one with the Packers second pick, to something that involved getting help where they needed it.

But the most memorable facts of the Favre fiasco center around the media blitz.  ESPN had a new story every 20 minutes on where he was going next.  Minnesota?  Tampa Bay?  New York?  Baltimore?  The 24/7 news cycle was unbelievable.  But now it’s back, with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  This new blitz provides a great look with some incredibly interesting articles.

The Packers blog reports that the Jets may have Favre’s answer in two days.

Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Dan Marino, and Troy Aikman share how Favre can learn to hang it up and how he can cope with being retired.  Some great reporting by the Journal-Sentinel.

The Journal-Sentinel also draws parallels between Favre’s retirement and the ends of the careers of Johnny Unitas, John Elway, and Joe Montana.

Why this blitz now?  I don’t know.  But still interesting.