Welcome back to Lombardi Ave's series covering the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
Well, we've come to the end of the 50s, which has featured an interesting mix of offensive linemen and linebackers. And it's the latter who will close things out here at No. 59, as our selection was one of the top linebackers in the league during his career, although that career sadly came during a down period for the Packers as a whole.
But before we break all that down, let's first run through our routine of kicking things off by looking at every player who's worn No. 59 for the Green & Gold over the years.
- John Anderson, LB
- Frank Butler, OL/LB
- De'Vondre Campbell, LB
- Na'il Diggs, LB
- De'Jon Harris, LB
- Ty'Ron Hopper, LB
- Brad Jones, LB
- Rudy Kuechenberg, LB
- Kurt Larson, LB
- Jimmy Lawrence, B
- Rick Lovato, LS
- Taybor Pepper, LS
- Wayne Simmons, LB
- Tom Toner, LB
- Tracy White, LB
Ahead of revealing our pick, who just happens to be the only member of the Packers Hall of Fame on this list, we wanted to hand out a couple of honorable mentions in Wayne Simmons, who spent four and a half seasons in Green Bay and helped the team to a Super Bowl win at the end of the 1996 season, and Na'il Diggs, who started 80 games for the Packers from 2000 to 2005, racking up 390 total tackles, 7.0 sacks, and four interceptions.
But the clear-cut call here is John Anderson.
John Anderson was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 1980s All-Decade Team
A two-time First-Team All-Big Ten selection at the University of Michigan and a First-Team All-American in his final year with the Wolverines in 1977, Anderson was taken by Green Bay in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft with the 26th overall selection and made an immediate impact, earning All-Rookie Team honors after recording five interceptions and a trio of sacks in 13 appearances.
Injuries kept him out of half the team's games over the next two seasons, but from 1981 until his career came to a close following the 1989 season, the Wisconsin native appeared in 117 regular-season outings, starting all of them. At the time of his retirement, his 146 games were the third-most of any Packers defensive player in history, trailing only Ray Nitschke and Dave Hanner.
Sadly, during his 12-year career, the Packers made the playoffs only once, and that came in the strike-shortened 1982 season, with Green Bay taking a strong 41-16 victory over the then-St. Louis Cardinals in the first round before the Dallas Cowboys knocked them out in the second round.
Despite the lack of team success, Anderson was unquestionably a bright spot for Green Bay, recording 24.5 sacks and 25 interceptions, with those 25 picks tying him with Nitschke for the most in franchise history by a linebacker.
Unbelievably, he never earned a single trip to the Pro Bowl or any All-Pro selection, but when the Pro Football Hall of Fame constructed its 1980s All-Decade Team, Anderson was the only Packers defensive player chosen for the squad, earning Second-Team honors.
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
- No. 55: Had a solid career after going undrafted
- No. 56: Was a steady presence during the 2000s
- No. 57: Put on a gutsy Super Bowl performance
- No. 58: Kicked off the Packers' greatest draft class
This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so be sure to check back in with Lombardi Ave for updates.
Add us as a preferred source on Google