Welcome back to Lombardi Ave's series on the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
After kicking off the 40s with one of the all-time greats at No. 40, we went in a little bit of a different direction at No. 41. But we're back with another legend here at No. 42, and we certainly had several from which to choose, so let's get things rolling by first taking a look at everyone who's donned this digit for the Green & Gold over the years.
- John Brockington, RB
- Oren Burks, LB
- Morgan Burnett, S
- Al Cannava, B
- Al Carmichael, HB
- Walter Dean, RB
- Corey Dowden, CB
- Wally Dreyer, B
- Paul Duhart, B
- Gary Ellerson, RB
- LeShon Johnson, RB
- Ken Kranz, B
- Curly Lambeau, B
- Walter Landers, FB
- Dustin McDonald, G
- Don McIlhenny, HB
- Bob Monnett, HB
- Harry O'Boyle, B
- Matthew Orzech, LS
- Leroy Schoemann, C
- Darren Sharper, S
- Bruce Smith, HB
- Harry Sydney, FB
- Andy Uram, RB
- DeShawn Wynn, RB
In total, five members of the Packers Hall of Fame have sported No. 42 at one time or another, including the great Curly Lambeau, who wore it in his final full season as a player in 1928. A pair of Lambeau's best backs also wore it after he transitioned to a full-time head coach, with Bob Monnett in 1934 and Andy Uram for five of his six seasons with the team from 1939 to 1943. Halfback Al Carmichael also donned it for the first two of his six years in Green Bay in 1953 and 1954.
Now, we do have to mention safety Darren Sharper, who earned two of his five career Pro Bowl selections and two of his six total All-Pro nods during his eight-year run with Green Bay from 1997 to 2004, tallying 36 interceptions during that stretch, which currently stand as the sixth-most in team history.
Sadly, his life took a terrible turn once his career ended, as he was accused of sexually assaulting several women and was sent to prison after pleading guilty or no contest to several charges across several states. But even had none of that happened, Sharper would not be our pick here, as that honor was always going to go to John Brockington.
Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer John Brockington was the first player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in his first three seasons
A First-Team All-Big Ten selection and a First-Team All-American for the national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in 1970, Brockington was taken by Green Bay in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft with the ninth overall selection and made an immediate and historic impact at the professional level.
In 1971, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound bruiser of a back who also had breakaway speed started all 14 games for the Packers and racked up 1,105 yards and four touchdowns on the ground while adding another 98 yards and a score as a receiver en route to earning a trip to the Pro Bowl, a First-Team All-Pro nod, and Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
In 1972, he earned a second Pro Bowl selection after recording 1,027 rushing yards and eight touchdowns and 243 yards and a touchdown on 19 receptions, and in 1973, he earned a third consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl after tallying a career-high 1,144 rushing yards and three touchdowns and 128 yards on 16 catches.
Up to that point in NFL history, no player had ever rushed for 1,000 yards in their first three seasons, so while it's a little more common today, Brockington will forever be the first member of that elite club.
While he never hit the 1,000-yard mark again, at least not solely as a rusher, as he did amass 1,197 total yards from scrimmage in 1974 (883 rushing, 314 receiving), he racked up 5,024 rushing yards for the Packers before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1977, which were good for the second-most in franchise history and are still good for the fourth-most to this day.
Brockington was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1984.
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
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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