Green Bay Packers: 50 greatest players in franchise history

Greatest players in Green Bay Packers history: 39. “Johnny Blood” McNally

There are few characters in NFL history quite like “Johnny Blood” McNally. Known for his dominance on the field as a running back, as well as his quirkiness on and around the gridiron. McNally would take on the “Johnny Blood” moniker in the hopes that he could retain collegiate eligibility with Notre Dame, who kicked him out of school, under “John McNally” while still playing professional football. Whatever. This was the 1920s.

Johnny Blood would begin his professional football career with the Milwaukee Badgers in 1925. He would arrive in Green Bay in 1929, where he would play the next five years. After one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Johnny Blood would return to the Packers in 1935 and would play two more seasons with the team. He stopped playing professionally in 1941 before becoming a coach.

In addition to taking 50-yard laterals to the house, Johnny Blood liked to hitch rides on trains without paying. This helped him earn another nickname in the “Vagabond Halfback”. He did other ridiculous stuff like climb down the face of Chicago hotels after curfew to swoon women with poetry. The guy was a total character and a heck of a player.

Johnny Blood made the NFL’s All-Decade Team in the 1930s. He won for NFL championships in his career. He earned enshrinement in the Packers Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1963, Johnny Blood would finally earn Canton enshrinement. His hall of fame classmates include Earl Clark, Mel Hein, Don Hutson and Bronko Nagurski. Finding pay dirt 49 times certainly helped Johnny Blood punch his hall of fame ticket.