Welcome back to our series covering the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
While linebackers have taken three of the four slots in the 50s thus far, we're shifting gears here at No. 54, as one of the top centers in club history takes center stage. But before we break things down, let's first have a look at everyone who's worn the number for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Victor Aiyewa, LB
- Michael Barrett, LB
- Carl Bradford, LB
- Brandon Chillar, LB
- Keo Coleman, LB
- Ron Cox, LB
- Larry Craig, QB/B/E
- James Crawford, LB
- Al Culver, OT
- Ladarius Hamilton, LB
- Bernardo Harris, LB
- Derek Hart, LS
- Swede Johnston, B
- Bud Jorgensen, OT
- Steve Josue, LB
- Seth Joyner, LB
- Roy Manning, LB
- Kamal Martin, LB
- Larry McCarren, C
- Dezman Moses, LB
- George Schmidt, C
- Jeff Schuh, LB
- Scott Stephen, LB
- Jude Waddy, LB
- Malcolm Walker, C
- Nate Wayne, LB
- Kristian Welch, LB
- Richard Winther, C
As you can see, plenty of linebackers have donned this particular digit, which makes sense given the uniform rules that were in place for so many years, but of the three members of the Packers Hall of Fame on this list, none of them played the position, even the two that played both ways in the ironman era.
Swede Johnston, who only wore No. 54 during one of his six seasons in Green Bay, that being the title-winning 1936 campaign, played back on offense and guard and middle guard on defense. And Larry Craig, who wore it for his entire 11-year run with Green Bay from 1939 to 1949 and was a very close runner-up for this slot, played quarterback, back, and end on offense and defensive end on the other side of the football.
And as mentioned, our official selection here played center, that being the great Larry McCarren.
Larry McCarren was "The Rock" on some bad Green Bay Packers teams in the '70s and '80s
After a solid collegiate career at the University of Illinois, McCarren was taken by Green Bay in the 12th round of the 1973 NFL Draft with the 308th overall selection.
While many believed the Park Forest native was too small to play center at the professional level, the 6-foot-3, 245-pounder proved those people wrong by becoming one of the most reliable and durable players at his position.
That said, though, his NFL career was almost over before it ever got started, as he was waived during his first training camp with Green Bay, only to rejoin the club as a member of the taxi squad, which we now call the practice squad. But McCarren continued to work hard and was promoted to the main roster late in the year, ultimately appearing in five games as a rookie in a reserve role behind veteran Ken Bowman.
When Bowman was placed on injured reserve ahead of the 1974 campaign, McCarren moved into the starting lineup, and over the next decade, he only failed to start three of the 159 games in which he appeared, coming off the bench once in '74 and twice in 1975.
Due to that durability and his willingness to play through injuries, he was given the nickname "The Rock." Yes, Dwayne Johnson is far more famous, but don't think he was the first to get that moniker. Truth be told, even in what was then called the WWF, Don Muraco held that title long before Johnson did, but that's neither here nor there.
Sadly, McCarren, who earned back-to-back trips to the Pro Bowl late in his career in 1982 and 1983, only experienced one winning season and only made it to the playoffs once. And that was during the strike-shortened '82 campaign, when Green Bay went 5-3-1. The Packers did win a postseason game that year, blowing out the then-St. Louis Cardinals in the opening round by a score of 41-16 before taking a 37-26 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in the second round.
McCarren retired following the 1984 season and was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1992. And as Cheeseheads well know, he embarked on a highly successful broadcasting career covering Green Bay once his playing days came to an end.
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
- No. 46: Was underappreciated in the Lombardi era
- No. 47: Later played on the PGA Tour
- No. 48: Just missed out on the Lombardi era
- No. 49: Was one of the best O-linemen of his era
- No. 50: The Packers' all-time leading tackler
- No. 51: Is a member of three Halls of Fame
- No. 52: Is a member of a royal NFL family
- No. 53: Didn't miss a single game for a decade
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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