Welcome once again to our series on the greatest covering the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
We've now officially reached the quarter point of our journey, as this marks the 25th entry in this 100-part series, and we've certainly got a few superstars from which to choose here at No. 24. But before we reveal the winner, let's first have a look at every player who's sported the number for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Johnny Blood, B
- Jarrett Bush, CB
- Mossy Cade, DB
- Tariq Carpenter, S
- Lavon Coleman, RB
- Waldo Don Carlos, C
- Antuan Edwards, S
- Johnnie Gray, S
- Raven Greene, S
- Tim Hauck, S
- Aaron Hayden, RB
- Van Jakes, CB
- Bruce Jones, G
- Kyu Blu Kelly, CB
- Joe Laws, B
- Ron McBride, RB
- Bob O'Connor, OT
- Claude Perry, OT
- Breezy Reid, HB
- Quinten Rollins, CB
- Al Sarafiny, C
- Joey Thomas, CB
- Carrington Valentine, CB
- Willie Wood, S
- Isaac Yiadom, CB
Of the players on this list, four have been inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. Going back to the old days, there's the great Johnny Blood, who's already been seen in our series and donned this particular digit for the first two of his seven seasons in Green Bay in 1929 and 1930.
Also on the list is Joe Laws, who played a dozen seasons for the Packers from 1934 to 1945, wearing No. 24 for the final nine, earning a Pro Bowl selection in 1939.
Moving into the modern era, we've got safety Johnnie Gray, who was a good player on some bad Green Bay teams in the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s. Undrafted out of Cal State Fullerton in 1975, Gray recorded 22 interceptions over the course of his nine-year career from 1975 to 1983 and was enshrined in the Packers Hall of Fame in 1993.
At the end of the day, though, the call here is another safety, that being the legendary Willie Wood, who's arguably the greatest player at the position in franchise history, although LeRoy Butler might have something to say about that. But we'll get back to Butler down the line. For now, let's have a look at one of Vince Lombardi's top defenders during the Packers' epic run during the 1960s.
Willie Wood had the first interception in Super Bowl history in the Packers' win over the Chiefs
While Wood played defensive back during his college days at USC, he also played quarterback, becoming the first Black player in what's now known as the Pac-12 to do so. But his numbers under center certainly weren't outstanding, as he completed only 37.4 percent of his passes for just 772 yards with seven touchdowns against eight interceptions over three seasons from 1957 to 1959.
After going undrafted in 1960, Wood actually wrote a personal letter to Vince Lombardi to request a tryout with the Packers, which Lombardi granted. The Washington, D.C., native was ultimately signed, but after spending some time with Bart Starr and the rest of the Green Bay quarterbacks, he asked Lombardi to switch to defense, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Over the course of a dozen seasons with the Packers, Wood was consistently one of the top safeties in the NFL, earning eight trips to the Pro Bowl and six total AP All-Pro selections (four First Team, two Second Team) in helping Green Bay to five NFL Championships and victories in the first two editions of what we now call the Super Bowl. And he also owns a special place in the Big Game's history.
Facing the Kansas City Chiefs in what was then known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, the Packers held a 14-10 advantage at the break, with KC getting the ball to start the second half. On the fourth play of the Chiefs' drive, future Hall of Famer Len Dawson threw a pass intended for superstar tight end Fred Arbanas, but Wood picked it off and returned it 50 yards to the Kansas City 5-yard line. And just one play later, Elijah Pitts made his way into the end zone, with Don Chandler's extra-point attempt giving Green Bay a 21-10 lead.
Wood's interception was the very first in Super Bowl history, and his pick ultimately gave the Packers some breathing room in what ultimately resulted in an easy 35-10 victory. So, that's a nice little piece of NFL history to have, wouldn't you say?
In the Packers' win over the then-Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl 2, Wood, who also served as a punt returner throughout his career, recorded a 31-yarder, which stood as the longest punt return in the title game for 16 years until Darrell Green notched a 34-yarder for Washington in Super Bowl 18.
Not including his two postseason picks (he also had one during the 1965 playoffs), Wood tallied 48 interceptions during his career, which still stand as the second-most in Green Bay history behind only Bobby Dillon's 52. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1977 and was then enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
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
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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