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.
This one of those entries where the number we're diving into doesn't carry much historical significance in Titletown. Nevertheless, we've got a job to do, so let's go ahead and get into it by first looking at everyone who's worn No. 61 for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Charlie Ane, C
- Karsen Barnhart, OL
- Jerry Boyarsky, DT
- Dave Bradley, G
- Gene Breen, LB
- Hank Bullough, G
- Scott Curry, OT
- Lavvie Dilweg, E
- Dave Drechsler, G
- Brett Goode, LS
- John McGarry, G
- Herb McMath, DT
- Tom Neville, OL
- Steve Ruzich, G
- Dave Simmons, LB
- Jerry Smith, G
- Jack Spinks, G
- Nelson Toburen, LB
- Bruce Van Dyke, G
- Blake Wingle, G
Now, it's not as if there's not a high-profile name on this list, as there is one member of the Packers Hall of Fame here in Lavvie Dilweg, who was featured earlier in the series.
Dilweg, who played a big part in Green Bay winning back-to-back-to-back NFL titles from 1929 to 1931, sported No. 22 for seven of eight seasons with the team, only wearing No. 61 in the final year of his career in 1934. Oddly enough, that was the only season in which he didn't earn an All-Pro selection.
From an overall standpoint, Dilweg is easily the most decorated player in this group. But with him wearing No. 61 for just that one year, we're going to go in a different direction and reward the player who donned the digit the longest, that player being long snapper Brett Goode.
Hey, we had to get one of those in here at some point, right?
Brett Goode was a reliable long snapper and special-teamer for the Packers for 10 years
After going unselected in the 2007 NFL Draft, Goode, who played his college ball with the Arkansas Razorbacks, signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent but was waived ahead of the regular season. He signed a second contract with the Jags in 2008, only to once again be waived, this time before training camp even began.
It seemed as if the Texas native was set to miss out on the '08 campaign as well, but when the Packers saw their own undrafted rookie long snapper, J.J. Jensen, go down with a season-ending knee injury during the preseason, they signed Goode.
Jansen went on to sign with the Carolina Panthers the following year and ultimately set the record for the most games played for that franchise. While Goode didn't quite reach heights like that, he proved to be a reliable player for Green Bay for a decade, appearing in 152 of a possible 160 regular-season games from 2008 to 2017 and 14 of the Packers' 16 playoff contests during that stretch, including their victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 45.
As you can imagine, stats for long snappers are minimal, but we can tell you that Goode recorded 15 total tackles throughout his career between the regular season and playoffs and one fumble recovery. So, that's fun. Outside of that, we're sorry to say that's pretty much as interesting as we can get about the position.
Nevertheless, Goode can at least say that he takes this title of the best Packers player to wear No. 61.
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
- No. 59: Received a special Hall of Fame honor
- No. 60: Was involved in two famous trades
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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