Welcome back to our series covering the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
As we near the midway point of our march, one might think we'd be running out of high-profile players to feature. But the beauty of this franchise is that there are just so many, and we've got yet another member of the Packers Hall of Fame here at No. 47.
But before we break things down, let's first have a look at everyone who's donned this digit for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Andrew Beck, FB
- Tyrone Bell, CB
- Paul Berezney, OT
- Atari Bigby, S
- Hank Bruder, B
- McCallan Castles, TE
- Dave Davis, WR
- Scott Galbraith, TE
- Matt Giordano, S
- Lou Gordon, OT
- Justin Hollins, LB
- Paul Lipscomb, OT
- Roland Mitchell, DB
- Jim Bob Morris, DB
- Dom Moselle, DB
- David Petway, S
- Chauncey Rivers, LB
- Al Rose, E
- Gordon Rule, DB
- Jake Ryan, LB
- Val Joe Walker, DB
- Jesse Whittenton, DB
- Tim Williams, LB
There are actually two members of the Packers Hall of Fame on this list, one being the great Hank Bruder, who was featured earlier in the series. As it went with many players during the Curly Lambeau era, Bruder wore several different numbers throughout his career, also sporting Nos. 13, 27, 18, and 5 in addition to No. 34, which he wore during the 1934 season.
But our selection here comes from the Vince Lombardi era in the form of defensive back Jesse Whittenton, who didn't get as much recognition as some of the other defensive stars during that stretch but certainly left his mark on the franchise before retiring early.
Vince Lombardi called Jesse Whittenton "as close to being a perfect defensive back as anyone"
After a solid collegiate career at UTEP, where he played both quarterback and defensive back, Whittenton was taken by the Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round of the 1956 NFL Draft with the 60th overall selection.
Sticking to strictly defense at the professional level, the Texas native spent two seasons with the Rams before being traded to the Chicago Bears in 1958. But after he developed a pleuresy virus, he was released before ever taking the field for the Monsters of the Midway, at which point he signed with Green Bay.
Whittenton began his Packers career playing mostly at strong safety but spent some time at cornerback as well. When Lombardi came on as head coach in 1959, Whittenton became the full-time starter at right cornerback and remained there for the rest of his career.
In helping the Packers reach the NFL Championship Game for the first time in 16 years in 1960, he tallied a team-high six interceptions en route to earning a Second-Team All-Pro selection. And when Green Bay won back-to-back titles in 1961 and 1962, beating the New York Giants both times in the title game, Whittenton, who earned First-Team All-Pro honors in '61, completely shut down All-Pro wideout Del Shofner.
In 1963, Lombardi wrote in his first book that Whittenton was "as close to being a perfect defensive back as anyone in the league," but despite him being just that, he opted to retire following the 1964 season at the age of 30.
But his career as a professional athlete wasn't quite over just yet. After retiring, Whittenton partnered with golf legend Lee Trevino to purchase part of a country club in El Paso, ultimately becoming a club professional. And more than 20 years after retiring from the NFL, he debuted on what we know as the PGA Tour Champions and ended up playing a total of 27 events between 1985 and 1996.
Other Green Bay Packers jersey honorees
- No. 0: There's literally only one choice here
- No. 1: Micah Parsons isn't the pick just yet
- No. 2: The Packers' all-time leading scorer
- No. 3: The second player in franchise history to have his jersey retired
- No. 4: There's no introduction needed here
- No. 5: This player should have been the last to wear the number but wasn't
- No. 6: A genuine ironman
- No. 7: This player was straight magic (until he wasn't)
- No. 8: This player has the second-most points in Packers history
- No. 9: The winner here has an extremely famous relative
- No. 10: A star on the rise
- No. 11: Packers' first title-winning QB
- No. 12: Obviously isn't up for debate
- No. 13: Had 'no weakness'
- No. 14: The first to have his jersey retired by the Packers
- No. 15: Owns a special piece of NFL history
- No. 16: Shares his name with an MLB legend
- No. 17: Had to beat out several Hall of Famers
- No. 18: Was one of the NFL's first dual-threat quarterbacks
- No. 19: Had his career cut short by the Bears
- No. 20: Has held a record for nearly 100 years
- No. 21: Has the most defensive TDs in NFL history
- No. 22: Also served in the U.S. Congress
- No. 23: Holds several NFL kick-return records
- No. 24: Owns a unique piece of Super Bowl history
- No. 25: Might not be who you think
- No. 26: Holds a historic place in NFL history
- No. 27: Started hot but fizzled fast
- No. 28: A good defender on some bad teams
- No. 29: Still holds an unofficial team record
- No. 30: It's not the one who's the Packers' all-time leading rusher
- No. 31: Had his jersey retired by another team
- No. 32: Is a member of another team's Ring of Honor
- No. 33: Did so much more than people may realize
- No. 34: An underrated dual-threat back
- No. 35: Gave the Packers a unique win over the Bears
- No. 36: Invented the Lambeau Leap
- No. 37: Suited up for the Packers at the wrong time
- No. 38: Left the Packers as the NFL's all-time passing leader
- No. 39: Was taken in three different MLB drafts
- No. 40: The only man in both the Baseball and Pro Football Hall of Fame
- No. 41: Made a big impact in a little time
- No. 42: Was the charter member of an elite club
- No. 43: Inadvertently created a new play
- No. 44: Made the Hall of Fame despite only having one eye
- No. 45: Left the NFL with the most TDs in history
- No. 46: Was underappreciated in the Lombardi era
This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so be sure to check back in with Lombardi Ave for updates.
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