Welcome back to our 100-piece series covering the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
Our last entry at No. 36 featured one of the greatest defensive backs in franchise history, and we've got yet another defensive back taking the title at No. 37. Truth be told, we had a few from which to choose here. But before we reveal our winner, let's first have a look at everyone who's donned the digit for the Green & Gold.
- Johnathan Baldwin, CB
- Connie Mack Berry, E
- John Brennan, G
- Tommy Crutcher, LB
- Howie Ferguson, FB
- Michael Hawkins, CB
- Larry Hickman, FB
- Josh Jackson, CB
- Keshon Johnson, DB
- Swede Johnston, B
- Potsy Jones, G
- Dale Livingston, K
- Lee McLaughlin, G
- Tim Moresco, DB
- Mark Murphy, S
- Tom Nash, E
- Claude Perry, OL
- Bill Reichardt, RB
- Aaron Rouse, S
- Zud Schammel, G
- Champ Seibold, OT
- Sam Shields, CB
- Red Sleight, OT
- Ike Thomas, DB
- Carrington Valentine, CB
- Phil Vandersea, LB
- Terry Wells, RB
- Tyrone Williams, CB
There are a couple of notable offensive players on this list as well, both of whom are members of the Packers Hall of Fame, those being back Swede Johnston, who only wore No. 34 for one game in 1934 but wore it nonetheless before wearing several others, and fullback Howie Ferguson, who sported it for the entirety of his six-year run in Green Bay from 1953 to 1958.
But getting back to the other side of the football, cornerback Tyrone Williams undoubtedly deserves to be mentioned, as he tallied 19 interceptions for the Packers from 1996 to 2002, helping the team to a Lombardi Trophy as a rookie. Cornerback Sam Shields deserves his flowers as well, as he also won a title as a rookie in 2010 and racked up 19 picks of his own before his exit from the team following the 2016 season due to concussion issues.
At the end of the day, though, while he doesn't have the rings that Williams or Shields do, we opted to roll with safety Mark Murphy, who was a great player on some not-so-great teams.
Mark Murphy played 11 seasons for the Green Bay Packers but only got to the playoffs once
While Murphy had a solid college career, the fact that he played for West Liberty State, which was an NAIA program back when he earned All-WVIAC (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) honors as a senior in 1979, meant he didn't get a ton of attention from the NFL and went undrafted in 1980.
Green Bay ultimately signed him as an undrafted free agent, but he only appeared in one game as a rookie after breaking his hand during the Hall of Fame game to start the preseason. Despite the setback, Murphy started seven games in his second season and recorded three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries.
The Ohio native reverted back to second string in 1982, but starting in 1983, he started at safety for all but six of the 121 regular-season games in which he appeared for the remainder of his career. And what's wild is that he only got better as his career progressed.
After recording just three interceptions from 1982 to 1987, Murphy tallied 14 over his final four years from 1988 to 1991 to bring his career total to 20. And after not recording a single sack in the first four years of his career, he tallied 11.0 over the final seven.
Sadly, the Packers simply weren't a very good football team during Murphy's 11-year run with the club, making the postseason just one time, and that was during the strike-shortened 1982 season. And he at least made the most of that opportunity, recording an interception in the Packers' 41-16 win over the then-St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Round. Green Bay was eliminated the following week in the Divisional Round by the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite the lack of team success, Murphy, who also led the team in tackles on three occasions, was rightfully honored for his individual efforts when he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1998.
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
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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