Welcome back to our series covering the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
After featuring our first long snapper in the series in the previous entry at No. 61, we're back to the more conventional type of offensive lineman here at No. 62, one who had to go to Europe to hone his craft at the start of his professional career before settling in as one of Brett Favre's most reliable teammates.
But, as we've done throughout our journey, before we get to our reveal, let's first have a quick look at everyone who's donned this digit for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Dick Afflis, OL
- Lionel Aldridge, DE
- Norm Amundsen, G
- Buddy Aydelette, OT
- Matt Brock, DE
- Buddy Brown, G
- Junius Coston, G
- Andy Cvercko, G
- Evan Dietrich-Smith, OL
- Dennis Havig, G
- Kani Kauahi, C
- Jim Laughlin, LB
- Russ Letlow, G
- Bill Lueck, G
- Pat Matson, G
- Guy McIntyre, G
- Joe McLaughlin, LB
- Ruben Mendoza, G
- Mark Merrill, LB
- Jim Meyer, OT
- Jacob Monk, OL
- Al Norgard, E
- Lucas Patrick, G
- Marco Rivera, G
- Frank Twedell, G
There are three members of the Packers Hall of Fame on this list, but two of them only sported No. 62 for a single season, with legendary guard Russ Letlow wearing it as a rookie in 1936 before switching to his more familiar No. 46, and defensive end Lionel Aldridge wearing it during his own rookie campaign in 1963 before moving to No. 82.
While not a Packers HOF'er, we'd also like to shout out to another guard, Bill Lueck, who was a first-round pick in 1968 and served as a solid piece of the Green Bay offensive line in the post-Vince Lombardi era.
But the clear call here is the third member of the Packers Hall of Fame, that being Marco Rivera.
Marco Rivera played through two torn MCLs en route to his first Pro Bowl selection
A back-to-back Second-Team All-Big Ten selection at Penn State in 1994 and 1995, Rivera was taken by Green Bay in the sixth round of the 1996 NFL Draft with the 208th overall selection.
The Brooklyn native failed to make the main roster that first year, but he proved to be a valuable member of the practice squad, and he does technically get credit for being a Super Bowl champion, as the Packers defeated the New England Patriots in the title game that season to lift the Lombardi for the first time in 29 years.
In between his first and second seasons, Rivera was sent to the World League (which was later called NFL Europe/Europa) to hone his craft with the Scottish Claymores, starting all 10 games for the club and earning honorable mention All-World League honors.
He finally made his regular-season debut with the Packers in 1997, playing on special teams for 14 regular-season contests and the team's three playoff games, including the Super Bowl 32 loss to the Denver Broncos, and then cracked the starting lineup at left guard in 1998 before moving to right guard in 1999, where he stayed put for the remainder of his run in Titletown.
From the start of that '99 campaign until he left the franchise following the 2004 season, the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder never missed a single start, appearing in 96 consecutive regular-season outings and six playoff contests.
And to keep that streak going during the 2002 season, he had to play through an absurd amount of pain. In a Week 3 win over the Detroit Lions, he suffered a torn left MCL but fought through. And just under two months later, in a Week 11 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, he tore his right MCL.
But again, he fought through it, and in Week 12, while the Packers took a 21-7 defeat to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he helped the Green Bay offensive line put an end to the Bucs' NFL-record 69-game streak with at least one sack, which wasn't easy with prime Warren Sapp on the prowl.
Rivera was selected to his first Pro Bowl that year, and in earning the honor again in both 2003 and 2004, he became the first Green Bay offensive lineman in 33 years to earn three straight trips to the All-Star affair. He closed out his career playing two seasons with the rival Dallas Cowboys.
Rivera was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2011.
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
- No. 61: Was a reliable specialist 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.
Add us as a preferred source on Google