Green Bay Packers: 50 greatest players in franchise history

Greatest players in Green Bay Packers history: 20. Jim Ringo

Center Jim Ringo is one of the greatest players in two of the NFL’s most historic franchises: the Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles. While he played the last four years of his hall of fame career in Philadelphia, Ringo obviously first made a name for himself in the NFL playing for the Packers. Ringo spent his first 11 NFL seasons with the team that drafted him in the seventh round out of Syracuse in the 1953 NFL Draft.

Ringo wasn’t of ideal size to play center professionally, as he weighed just 211 pounds coming out of Syracuse. Well, that ultimately proved to be an advantage for him. Ringo would emerge as one of the most shifty and versatile run blockers the game had ever seen up to that point. He was the lead blocker on Vince Lombardi’s famous power sweep. In essence, he acted as the more common pulling guard we see today, but playing center of course.

In 11 years with the Packers, Ringo made his first seven of 10 career trips to the Pro Bowl. He was an All-Pro first team player six times while starring for the Packers. In the latter part of his Green Bay tenure, the Packers won back-to-back NFL championships in 1961 and 1962. However, he would not be for long Green Bay after that, as Lombardi traded him to the Eagles before the 1964 NFL season.

Ringo retired after the 1967 NFL season as a member of the Eagles at the age of 36. After retiring, Ringo was inducted into both the Packers and Eagles Halls of Fame. Ringo was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1960s. In 1981, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His Canton classmates include Red Badgro, George Blanda and former Packers teammate Willie Davis.