Welcome back once again to Lombardi Ave's series on the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
We're inching ever closer to the midway point of our 100-piece journey, and like it's been with so many other numbers throughout this series, we've got several legends from which to choose here at No. 46.
So, without further ado, let's get to it by first looking at every player who's donned this digit for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Micah Abernathy, S
- Rodney Artmore, S
- Roger Ashmore, OT
- Juran Bolden, CB
- Ray Clemons, G
- Lon Evans, OL
- Sherwood Fries, G/LB
- Milt Gantenbein, E/DE
- Leland Glass, WR
- Hank Gremminger, DB
- Alonzo Harris, RB
- Anthony Harrison, DB
- Tyron Herring, CB
- Russ Letlow, G
- Verne Lewellen, B/P
- Steve Luke, DB
- Hamilton Nichols, G
- Larry Olsonoski, G
- Gary Richard, DB
- Mike Robinson, CB
- Stanford Samuels, CB
- Chuck Tollefson, G
- Steven Wirtel, LS
- Vince Workman, RB
In total, five Packers Hall of Famers have sported No. 46, the first four of whom did so in succession during the Curly Lambeau era, with Verne Lewellen in the final two seasons of his career in 1931 and 1932, Milt Gantenbein for a pair of campaigns in 1933 and 1934, Lon Evans for a year in 1935, and then Russ Letlow from 1937 to 1942 and then again in 1946 after returning to the team for a final season following his military service.
But our call comes from the Vince Lombardi era in the form of defensive back Hank Gremminger, whose versatility helped return the franchise to glory.
Hank Gremminger was an underrated member of the Green Bay Packers' defense in the Vince Lombardi era
A First-Team All-SWC selection at Baylor in both 1954 and 1955, Gremminger was taken by Green Bay in the seventh round of the 1956 NFL Draft with the 80th overall selection.
He cracked the starting lineup as a rookie at what was then called a defensive halfback, and while he played well over his first three seasons, tallying 10 interceptions, the Packers simply weren't a very good football team as a whole, going 8-27-1 during that stretch.
But once Lombardi came to town in 1959, things turned around, and Gremminger, simply put, was whatever his new head coach needed him to be.
In 1961, when the Packers won their first NFL Championship in 17 years, the Texas native started at left cornerback and racked up another five interceptions, and that's not including the pick he made in the team's 37-0 drubbing of the New York Giants in the title game. And in 1962, with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Herb Adderley coming into his own, he moved to strong safety, and the results were the same, as he again had five interceptions in helping the team to a second straight title.
So respected was Gremminger that he was named a defensive captain for both the 1964 and 1965 seasons, the latter of which resulted in yet another championship. That '65 season was also his last in Green Bay, however, as he requested a trade after being knocked down the depth chart.
He was ultimately dealt in 1966 to the Dallas Cowboys, who ended up trading him to the Atlanta Falcons, as the two sides couldn't agree on a contract. He never played for Atlanta either, as he opted to retire instead, only to end that retirement to sign with the Los Angeles Rams, for whom he played eight games in that '66 season before finally retiring for good.
In his 10-year run with the Packers, Gremminger somehow never made a Pro Bowl or earned an All-Pro selection, but he did rack up 28 interceptions, which remain the 11th-most in team history. While other players may have gotten more recognition, he was unquestionably a key component in getting Green Bay back to winning titles and was rightfully inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1976.
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
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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