Green Bay Packers: Top 10 offensive linemen of all time
By Doug Rogalla
#6 Russ Letlow
The National Football League held its inaugural draft on Feb. 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pa.
Russ Letlow, Guard, University of San Francisco, was the first Packer drafted, seventh overall.
He played seven years for the Packers; was named All-Pro four times and played on two NFL championship teams.
Russ was on the NFL 1930s All-Decade team and inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1972.
Letlow made major football news headlines in the late 1930s, when he was bit on the leg by New York’s “Tarzan” White, during a bitterly-fought contest between the Packers and the Giants.
Letlow missed three NFL seasons while serving in the Navy during WWII. During his absence he played for the Great Lakes Naval Station football team.
On Nov. 27, 1943, Letlow’s Great Lakes team beat a previously undefeated Frank Leahy-coached Notre Dame, 19-14, and broke Leahy’s winning streak.
Despite this loss, Notre Dame remained #1 in the Associate Press poll and declared National Champions.
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