Welcome back to our series on the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
As we move closer to the end of the 30s, we've got an absolute legend for the penultimate entry here at No. 38. Actually, several legends have donned the digit for the Green & Gold over the years, but one unquestionably stands out above the rest.
But before we get to the reveal, let's first have a look at everyone who's worn the number for Green Bay over the years.
- Art Bultman, OL/LB
- John Crockett, RB
- Jug Earp, OL
- Innis Gaines, S
- Arnie Herber, QB/HB/TB
- Estus Hood, DB
- Cal Hubbard, OL/DE
- Norman Jefferson, DB
- Cully Lidberg, FB
- Nolan Luhn, E
- Blaine McElmurry, S
- Mike Mercer, K
- Ellis Merriweather, RB
- Bruce Pickens, CB
- Tobin Rote, QB
- Chuck Sample, FB
- Brian Satterfield, FB
- Hurles Scales, DB
- Jaylin Simpson, DB
- Matt Snider, FB
- John Sullivan, DB
- Jeremy Thornburg, S
- Tim Webster, K
- Adrian White, S
- Tramon Williams, CB
In total, four members of the Packers Hall of Fame have worn No. 38. Jug Earp, whom you saw earlier in the series, was actually the first in team history to sport it in 1929, and Cal Hubbard, who is also enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, wore it for a season in 1931. Tobin Rote also wore it for the first two of his seven seasons in Green Bay.
While not a member of the Packers HOF, cornerback Tramon Williams undoubtedly deserves to be mentioned, as he's been the best from the Super Bowl era to wear it, racking up 30 interceptions in his 10 years with Green Bay and earning a Pro Bowl selection in the team's title-winning campaign in 2010.
But the clear-cut call here is Arnie Herber, the record-setting Hall of Fame QB who led Green Bay to multiple titles and set several records in the process.
Arnie Herber set all sorts of records while helping the Green Bay Packers to four NFL titles
A native of Green Bay, Herber played just two years of college football, first on the freshman team at Wisconsin in 1928 and then a year in Denver at Regis University in 1929, which dropped its football program following Herber's season.
He returned to Green Bay and actually worked odd jobs around the Packers' clubhouse before Curly Lambeau offered him a tryout, and he officially joined the team at the age of 20, just two years after graduating from Green Bay West High School. Not bad work if you can get it, right?
Like you've seen with so many of the old-school players we've featured in this series thus far, Herber wore several different numbers with the Packers, sporting four others, those being No. 12 (1930), No. 26 (1931), No. 41 (1932, 1933), and No. 45 (1934) before donning No. 38 for the final six years of his 11-season run with Green Bay from 1935 to 1940. And while he did some great things in those other numbers, it was in No. 38 that he made the most history, so that's why he's our pick here.
Now, what to call Herber is tricky because while he's known as a quarterback, he actually only started 11 games at that position and did most of his passing from the halfback position, mainly on the right side. But no matter where he was throwing from, he did it better than anybody back in those days.
Already a two-time passing yards leader when he started wearing No. 38 in 1935, he took second in the league that year, but that campaign was the beginning of a new era, as that campaign also marked the first in the NFL for the great Don Hutson, who was basically the first superstar wide receiver in league history.
The Herber-to-Hutson connection was dangerous to opposing defenses, and it was on full display in 1936 when Herber became the first official player in NFL history to surpass 1,000 yards passing, throwing for 1,239 yards and tying a league record with 11 touchdown passes.
The Packers won the NFL Championship that season, and in 1939, when Herber became the first ever to hit the 1,000-yard mark twice after throwing for 1,107 yards, which is even more impressive considering he was sharing passing duties with Cecil Isbell, who threw for 749 yards of his own, Green Bay won the title that year as well.
When Herber initially retired following the 1940 season, his 6,749 passing yards were easily the most in NFL history, and he was tied for the most touchdown passes with 66. He added to those totals after coming out of retirement to play two seasons with the New York Giants in 1944 and 1945, but he'll always be best remembered as a four-time NFL champion with the Packers and one of the greatest passers of the early era of the league.
Herber was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and was posthumously inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1972.
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 team at the wrong time
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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