Welcome back to Lombardi Ave's series highlighting the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
With three-quarters of our entries now officially in the books, we're all set to hit the homestretch, starting here at No. 75 with one of the greatest players of arguably the greatest dynasty in NFL history.
But before we break everything down, let's first have a quick look at everyone who's worn No. 75 for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Dick Afflis, OT/DT
- Carl Barzilauskas, DT
- Bryan Bulaga, OT
- Tiny Croft, OT
- Jim Flanigan, DT
- Forrest Gregg, OT
- Craig Heimburger, G
- Grady Jackson, DE
- Lou Michaels, K
- Tony Moll, G
- Dave Pureifory, DE
- Sean Rhyan, OT/G
- Ken Ruettgers, OT
- Howie Ruetz, DT
- Jared Tomich, DE
- Richard Turner, DT
There are two members of the Packers Hall of Fame on this list, one being our selection and the other being offensive tackle Ken Ruettgers, who started 147 games for Green Bay between the regular season and postseason from 1985 to 1996.
Sadly, one of those games was not the team's Super Bowl 31 victory over the New England Patriots to close out that '96 campaign, as his 14th and final season was limited to just four games. Nevertheless, in playing those four games, he still received a ring to cap his career, which was richly deserved.
Ruettgers is the easy call for the runner-up slot, but the clear-cut winner, of course, is none other than Forrest Gregg.
Forrest Gregg was a Pro Bowler or an All-Pro in every season of the Vince Lombardi era
A two-time All-SWC selection at SMU in 1954 and 1955, Gregg was taken by Green Bay in the second round of the 1956 NFL Draft with the 20th overall selection.
The Texas native started just three games in his first two seasons, which were actually separated by a year, as he missed the entire 1957 season due to military service, although he did stay sharp by playing on the 11-man all-Armed Forces All-Star Team.
Once Vince Lombardi took over as Green Bay's head coach in 1959, however, Gregg became the full-time starter at right tackle and promptly became one of the best offensive linemen in the league, earning Pro Bowl honors and a Second-Team All-Pro selection.
And the individual accolades just kept coming from there, as did team success, of course, as the Packers won five NFL Championships in the 1960s, the last two of which earned them the right to represent the NFL against the AFL's best in the first two editions of what we now call the Super Bowl.
The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder shifted positions when needed, filling in at right guard at times and even playing left guard for the entire 1965 season. But no matter where he lined up, he was phenomenal. Over the final nine seasons of the Lombardi era from 1960 to 1968 (he was only the GM in '68, but you get the point), Gregg earned eight trips to the Pro Bowl and seven First-Team All-Pro selections, with those seven First-Team All-Pro nods serving as the second-most in franchise history behind only Don Hutson's eight.
Naturally, it's worth noting that of all the legends who suited up for Lombardi, Gregg was the most decorated player of the dynasty, which is certainly saying something.
He remained in Green Bay through the 1970 season, serving as a player-coach in his final two years with the team, and closed his career playing one season with the Dallas Cowboys, winning a sixth championship, as America's Team won its first Super Bowl to close out the 1971 campaign.
With his playing days behind him, Gregg got into coaching full-time and ultimately became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, with whom he won NFL Coach of the Year in 1976, the Cincinnati Bengals, taking them to a Super Bowl, and then the Packers for four seasons from 1984 to 1987 before returning to SMU.
Gregg was inducted into both the Packers Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
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
- No. 74: Made Vince Lombardi look like a genius
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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