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.
As we inch closer to the end of the 60s, our penultimate entry of this group features an offensive lineman who just snuck into the NFL at the end of the Vince Lombardi era in the late 1960s but then became a great player on some not-so-great Green Bay teams in the 1970s.
Before we break everything down, though, let's first run through our usual routine of looking at every player who's worn No. 68 for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Gary Brown, OT
- John Dittrich, G
- Breno Giacomini, OT
- Gale Gillingham, G/DT
- Greg Koch, OT
- Ed Konopasek, OT
- Kyle Murphy, OT
- George Paskvan, RB
- George Seeman, E
- Joe Sims, G/OT
- Lecitus Smith, G/C
- Len Szafaryn, OL/DT/LB
- Jared Veldheer, OT
- Mike Wahle, G/OT
- Chris White, C
- Blaise Winter, DL
We're going to run the little exercise we've used on a few occasions throughout the series and look at this as if we're looking at an Olympic podium, since several players are certainly worth mentioning.
Taking the bronze at No. 68 is versatile offensive lineman Mike Wahle, who started 89 total games for the Packers between the regular season and postseason, some at guard but mostly at tackle, from 1998 to 2004.
In the silver slot is offensive tackle Greg Koch, who, like our selection, played on some bad Packers teams during his nine-year run in Green Bay from 1977 to 1985, making the playoffs just once, and that came during the strike-shortened 1982 campaign. Nevertheless, Kock was a strong presence on the right side of the line, which is why he was later honored with induction into the Packers Hall of Fame.
But the clear-cut call for the gold is the only other member of the Packers HOF on this list, that being the great Gale Gillingham.
Gale Gillingham quit football in college before winning two titles and earning five Pro Bowl selections and two All-Pro nods with the Packers
A three-sport athlete at Little Falls High School in Minnesota, participating in football, basketball, and track and field, Gillingham stayed close to home after accepting a scholarship to play football at the University of Minnesota.
After a solid season on the freshman team in 1962 (this was still a time when freshmen weren't allowed to play varsity), the 6-foot-3, 255-pounder opted to leave the program ahead of the 1963 season, telling his head coach that he simply didn't like the sport any longer and didn't want to be tied to it, and that the only reason he was still playing is because his father wanted him to.
He spent an entire year away from the game but returned to the Golden Gophers in 1964, and in 1965, Gillingham, who played in the trenches on both sides of the football, earned a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection at offensive tackle, while also earning an invitation to the Senior Bowl.
With several of their offensive linemen getting older, the Packers chose Gillingham in the first round of the 1966 NFL Draft with the 13th overall selection and transitioned him to guard. He only got two starts as a rookie, but he got his fair share of snaps in a reserve role behind two-time All-Pro Fuzzy Thurston and contributed nicely in helping Green Bay to a second straight NFL Championship and a victory in the first edition of what we now call the Super Bowl.
In 1967, he supplanted Thurston as the starter at left guard and obviously played an even bigger role in helping the Packers to a third consecutive NFL Championship and a second straight victory in what was then called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.
As every Cheesehead well knows, that '67 campaign was the last for Vince Lombardi as the Packers' head coach, and that second Super Bowl was the last postseason action Gillingham would ever see. He enjoyed plenty of individual success in the years that followed after moving to right guard to replace the legendary Jerry Kramer, as he earned five trips to the Pro Bowl in the six-season stretch from 1969 to 1974, also receiving a Second-Team All-Pro selection in '69 and a First-Team nod in '70.
The only year he failed to make the Pro Bowl was 1972, which was when head coach Dan Devine got the idiotic idea to move him to defensive tackle, a decision that proved costly, as Gillingham went down with a season-ending knee injury just two games into the season. Oddly enough, that was the only season during his career that the Packers made the playoffs after Lombardi's exit.
Gillingham asked for a trade ahead of the 1975 season, as he didn't like the new offense that his former QB and new head coach, Bart Starr, was set to implement. But when that request failed to be granted, he retired, only to return for one more season in 1976 before retiring for good.
Gillingham was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1982.
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
- No. 62: Put on the ultimate show of toughness
- No. 63: Was the first in NFL history to win six titles
- No. 64: Had an absurd amount of surgeries
- No. 65: Proved to be a seventh-round steal
- No. 66: Wildly wanted to play for the Bears
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