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.
We're getting closer and closer to the end of our journey, as we've officially hit the three-quarter point, and as luck would have it, we've got a special entry here at No. 74 to mark the milestone with a player who was one of the defensive anchors for the Green & Gold during the Vince Lombardi era.
But before we break everything down, let's first run through our usual routine of looking at every player who's donned this digit for the Packers over the years.
- Lester Archambeau, DE
- Byron Bell, OT/G
- Aaron Brown, DE
- Ken Brown, C
- Antonio Dingle, DT
- Darryl Haley, OT
- Tim Huffman, G
- Elgton Jenkins, G/OT
- Ulrick John, OT
- Henry Jordan, DL
- Aaron Kampman, LB/DE
- Marshall Newhouse, OT
- Dave Roller, DT
- Donnell Smith, DE
- Rebel Steiner, DB
- Carl Vereen, OT
- Doug Widell, G
- Roger Zatkoff, LB
While our official selection is the only member of the Packers Hall of Fame on this list, there are certainly others who deserve to be mentioned, including defensive end Aaron Kampman, who appeared in 118 total games for Green Bay between the regular season and postseason from 2002 to 2009, earning a pair of Pro Bowl selections and a pair of Second-Team All-Pro nods.
Going back a little further to just ahead of the Lombardi era, we've got linebacker Roger Zatkoff, who played four seasons with the Packers from 1953 to 1956 but earned three trips to the Pro Bowl, one First-Team All-Pro selection, and one Second-Team selection.
But the clear winner here, of course, is legendary defensive tackle Henry Jordan.
Henry Jordan won five titles with the Packers and earned five First-Team All-Pro selections
An All-ACC selection in 1956 at the University of Virginia, where he was also the runner-up in the heavyweight division of the 1957 NCAA Wrestling championships, Jordan was taken by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 1957 NFL Draft with the 52nd overall selection.
While he appeared in every game for Cleveland in both 1957 and 1958, he didn't start a single one of them. But Lombardi clearly saw something in the 6-foot-2, 250-pounder, so ahead of his first season as the head coach in Green Bay in 1959, he acquired Jordan in a trade, sending just a fourth-round draft pick to the Browns in return. And he ultimately made Lombardi look like a genius.
After starting all 12 games in his first season in Green Bay, Jordan's career truly took off in 1960, as he earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl and a First-Team All-Pro selection while helping the team reach the NFL Championship Game, which resulted in a loss to the Philadephia Eagles. But he was only getting started.
In the seven-season stretch from 1961 to 1967, Jordan earned three more Pro Bowl selections, four more First-Team All-Pro selections, and a Second-Team All-Pro nod. And let's not forget, of course, that Green Bay won five NFL Championships, the last two of which earned them the right to represent the NFL in the first two editions of what we now call the Super Bowl, with the Packers winning both of those games as well.
Jordan showed out something fierce in that first edition of what was then called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, recording 1.5 sacks on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson, while also making the hit on Dawson that led to Willie Wood's momentum-turning interception.
While he didn't put up big numbers in Super Bowl 2 against the Oakland Raiders, making just two tackles, he did play a massive part in getting the Packers to that point. In the Divisional Round of the postseason in 1967, Green Bay was actually the underdog against the Los Angeles Rams. But Jordan, squaring off against future Hall of Fame guard Tom Mack, tallied 3.5 sacks on Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel, thus helping the Packers to a 28-7 upset victory.
Jordan retired following an injury-plagued 1969 season, having appeared in 149 total games for Green Bay between the regular season and postseason, starting all of them. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1975 and then into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995. Sadly, the second induction was of the posthumous nature, as Jordan died of a heart attack in 1977 at just 42 years of age.
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
- No. 67: Once got a shoutout from John Madden
- No. 68: Nearly gave up football
- No. 69: Achieved a feat not seen in 50-plus years
- No. 70: Was a reliable blocker for Aaron Rodgers
- No. 71: Was Vince Lombardi's first defensive captain
- No. 72: Knows he didn't get the credit he deserved
- No. 73: Made a little NFL draft history
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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