Herb Adderley, Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer

Green Bay Packers Hall of Famers Herb Adderley and Willie Davis, in addition to President Mark Murphy had some good things to say about Dave Robinson’s selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced earlier today.

-CB Herb Adderley, 1961-69 (inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980):

“The things that made him a great linebacker were his size, speed and intelligence. Of course everyone makes mistakes, but Dave never made the same mistake twice. He was a great team player. He helped Tom Brown, our strong safety, to cover a tight end. He was one of the few linebackers in the league that could hold up the tight ends at the line of scrimmage, great tight ends like Mike Ditka and John Mackey. What people don’t realize is that Dave holding up the tight end gave Tom Brown more time to diagnose the play and to cover the tight end. It helped the defensive linemen to get in and rush the quarterback because it would throw the timing off and the quarterback would have to hold the ball longer. It also helped me when I was covering the split end.

“I have never really felt the full satisfaction for me being in the Hall of Fame without Dave being in there, and I would have felt the same way if Willie Davis wasn’t in there. With Dave making it, it solidifies my feelings about the three of us and how we played together, shutting down the run and the pass. Whenever I talk to Willie or Dave, it always comes up, how we shut down the left side of the field. It gives me tremendous satisfaction because Dave is a very dear friend of mine.”

Packers Hall of Famer Willie Davis

-DE Willie Davis, 1960-69 (inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981):

“With him as the left outside linebacker and me as the left defensive end, we lined up next to each other for a lot of years, and I never played with someone that was more knowledgeable. In many ways, he kind of set the pattern for a linebacker in Green Bay for a while. I would say that the greatest thing about him was how physical he was. I can tell you right now, there wasn’t a tight end that didn’t have great respect for Dave. They gave him that respect because of how he played. No one was better at holding up a tight end. I used to tell Dave all of the time, ‘Keep him off, keep him off.’

“He is very deserving and should have been in a long time ago. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be as appreciative as anyone who has ever been elected. It is a great moment for me to have Dave chosen. It is a fulfillment of something almost as important as if it was me personally. I think Dave was so overdue and it is so right for him to enjoy that hallowed ground called the Hall of Fame.”

Packers President Mark Murphy
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Packers President Mark Murphy

“On behalf of the Green Bay Packers, I want to congratulate Dave on his well-deserved election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was such a vital part of those great defenses in the 1960s that helped the team win NFL championships and Super Bowl titles under Vince Lombardi. Dave’s contributions to the Packers have not been limited to the field, as he has also been a great ambassador for the organization over the years. We are thrilled that he received this honor.”

Herb Adderley is helped out of a wheelchair before walking onto Lambeau Field this past December.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Not sure if you had a chance to see this, but former Green Bay Packers cornerback Herb Adderley’s comments surely illustrates why there is a major disconnect between NFL alumni players and those part of the game today.

Adderley was a guest on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio channel with host Chris Russo Monday and was asked about Drew Brees’s comments made about the financial situations of former players.

Russo read this quote from Brees: ”There’s some guys out there that have made bad business decisions. They took their pensions early because they never went out and got a job. They’ve had a couple divorces and they’re making payments to this place and that place and that’s why they don’t have money. And they’re coming to us to basically say, ‘Please make up for my bad judgment.’ ”

Adderley, a Hall of Fame cornerback who earned a handful of Super Bowl Championship rings during his time as a players, had this response: “Drew Brees is misinformed and he had no idea what was going on as far as why,” Adderley said. “He never came to any of the guys and said, ‘Well, why did you have to take early pension?’ He just made up his own mind about why some guys were in bad shape financially. And he just came out and made statements like that. And in my mind, Drew Brees is one of the greediest guys, and misinformed guys, in the NFL today. Last year he held out because he wanted more money. The guy’s already made millions and millions and millions of dollars, but he’s going to hold out for more money. And then he comes down on the retired guys for just wanting a few more dollars for the time, the cornerstones, what we put in the league . . . .  And none of us retired guys are fans of Brees because of him being misinformed. I needed the money. I needed to put my daughter through school and she ended up being a very successful dentist at the particular time in Washington, D.C.  If I don’t do that, she don’t end up going to college.”

Herb Adderley makes his way out of the tunnel at Lambeau Field this past December.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Clearly, Brees was pigeon-holing players of the past and doesn’t have a clear picture of what these former stars – the players who built the league into the multi-billion-dollar empire that it is today – have gone through. Though the players of the 1950s and 60s who are still alive today made good dollars in their day, it is nothing compared to what the players of today make.

In addition, those former players are now living with the maladies of not only growing older, but injuries suffered during the days when concussions were considered nothing more than “getting your bell rung.”

I recently had the opportunity to be on the sidelines as a photographer at the Packers vs. Vikings game at Lambeau field this past December. Adderley was one of the alumni honored by the Packers that day. When I saw Adderley being pushed up the tunnel in a wheelchair, I was saddened. Before he got to the end of the tunnel, Adderley was helped out of the chair so he could shuffle onto to Lambeau Field on his own power. You could see the immense pride of the man as he emerged from the tunnel and showered with cheers once more.

In my humble opinion, the current players association has been woefully insensitive to the needs of all these former players. Adderley is right. Greed has played a huge role in the plight of these former players and the league as well as the players association should be ashamed of their lack of support.

They know what it was like to play for the greatest coach the NFL has seen. And because they have insight into what it was like playing in Green Bay during that time and what it was like to play in the National Football League they have joined forces with co-author Royce Boyles in putting out the newest Packers book: “Lombardi’s Left Side.”

The authors will be attending several book signings to promote the release of the book starting Nov. 1.

Here is the schedule:

Thursday, Nov. 1
1-2:30 p.m. — Festival Foods, W3195 Van Roy Road, Appleton
6-8 p.m. — Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, 1265 Lombardi Ave., Green Bay (tickets required for this event)

Friday, Nov. 2
4-5:30 p.m. — Festival Foods, 2250 W Mason St., Green Bay

Saturday, Nov. 3
2:30-4 p.m. — Packers Pro Shop, 1265 Lombardi Ave., Green Bay

Sunday, Nov. 4
10-11 a.m. — Lambeau Field, Club Level (game tickets required)

The book is currently available at book stores across the state, as well as the Packers Pro Shop and on Amazon.

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Adderley, a Hall of Famer, and Robinson, a senior finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had joined together with Boyles in previously publishing “The Lombardi Legacy.”

Now they join forces again in their most recent effort, “Lombardi’s Left Side,” that is supposed to be published late this month or next.

Though it includes football-related themes, this new book is supposed to also include much more … including what players endured when it came to race relations.

The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame posted a notice about the new book, which you can see here or by scrolling below.

Herb Adderley, Dave Robinson Prepare New Book

Former Green Bay Packers linebacker and current Hall of Fame finalist Dave Robinson is no stranger to the publishing world, having co-authored The Lombardi Legacy with Royce Boyles.

Now, Robinson and Boyles are back with a new book and a new co-author, former Packers cornerback Herb Adderley, whose voice is prominently featured in Lombardi’s Left Side.

The book is so titled because Adderley and Robinson both played on the left side of Vince Lombardi’s great defenses. Even though the title suggests football, the book is about a lot more than that.

Lombardi’s Left Side not only touches on the coach, but teamwork and, perhaps most interestingly, the barriers that race presented in the 1960s and how those were overcome.

“There’s a lot of interest in Dave Robinson and the Packers of the ’60s because of his nomination for the Hall of Fame. Lombardi’s Left Side will certainly give readers a glimpse inside the Packers dynasty, but there’s more to the story than that,” Boyles said. “Herb Adderley has been under the radar for years and he has some very controversial things to say.”

Lombardi’s Left Side is expected to hit shelves in late September/early October.