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.
We've had several Packers legends featured in the 50s thus far, and while we don't quite have that here at No. 55, we do have a player who put together a nice little career despite not hearing his name called in the draft.
But before we get to the reveal, let's first run through our typical process of looking at every player who's donned the double-nickel for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Bob Adkins, B
- Desmond Bishop, LB
- Johnny Blood, B
- Ahmad Brooks, LB
- Reggie Burnette, LB
- Greg Clark, LB
- Brett Collins, LB
- Ed Ecker, OT
- Kingsley Enagbare, LB/DL
- Jim Flanigan, LB
- Herb Franta, OT
- Bernardo Harris, LB
- Abdul Hodge, LB
- Tom Hull, LB
- Mike Hunt, LB
- Bob Hyland, OL
- Noel Jenke, LB
- Bobby Jones, G
- Ken Jordan, LB
- Allen Moore, E
- Joe Mott, LB
- Andy Mulumba, LB
- Nick Rogers, LB
- Randy Scott, LB
- Za'Darius Smith, DE/LB
- Fred Strickland, LB
- Robert Thomas, LB
- Marcus Wilkins, LB
There is one member of the Packers Hall of Fame on this list, that being the great Johnny Blood, who was featured earlier in the series. While Blood did wear No. 36 in the Packers' title-winning 1936 season, which was also his last with the team before closing out his career in Pittsburgh, that was the only year he sported the number, so we're taking him out of the running.
While we took a look at some other options here, including Randy Scott, Desmond Bishop, and even Za'Darius Smith, we opted to roll with Bernardo Harris.
Bernardo Harris enjoyed a lengthy NFL career after going undrafted in 1994
After earning Second-Team All-ACC honors for North Carolina in 1993, Harris went unselected in the 1994 NFL Draft before signing with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent, only to suffer a knee injury during his first week of training camp.
After failing to take a single snap for Kansas City, the Chapel Hill native signed with Green Bay ahead of the 1995 season and became a big part of the special teams unit, ultimately going on to lead the team with 21 tackles in that capacity during the 1996 regular season and tying for the team lead with six special-teams stops during that postseason, which resulted in the Packers hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the first team in 29 years.
Harris cracked the starting lineup at middle linebacker in 1997 and never relinquished the role until he left the team following the 2001 campaign. And that was a strong five-year run, as he led the team in total tackles four times, tallying 119 in 1997, 121 in 1998, 132 in 2000, and 130 in 2001.
He used his success to land a nice contract with the Baltimore Ravens, for whom he started 10 of the 13 games in which he appeared in 2002, but after suffering an injury during training camp in 2003 that landed him on injured reserve, he opted to retire.
So, while Harris may not have been a superstar, spending close to a decade in the NFL after going undrafted is certainly admirable.
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
- No. 54: Was 'The Rock' way before Dwayne Johnson
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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