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Revision as of 02:37, 8 October 2007
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2007) |
 | For current information on this topic, see 2007 Green Bay Packers season. |
| Green Bay Packers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Established 1919 Play in Green Bay, Wisconsin | |||
| |||
| League/conference affiliations | |||
Independent (1919-1920)
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Current uniform | |||
| Team colors | Green, Yellow, and White | ||
| Fight song | Go! You Packers! Go! | ||
| Personnel | |||
| Owner(s) | Green Bay Packers Foundation (111,967 stockholders) | ||
| Chairman | Bob Harlan | ||
| President | John Jones | ||
| General manager | Ted Thompson | ||
| Head coach | Mike McCarthy | ||
| Team history | |||
| |||
| Championships | |||
League championships (12)
| |||
Conference championships (7)
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Division championships (14)
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| Home fields | |||
Split games between Milwaukee and Green Bay (1933-1994)
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The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are currently members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).
The Packers are the last remaining example of the "small town teams" that comprised a majority of the NFL during the 1920s. Founded in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun as a new version of the semi-pro teams that had been playing in Green Bay since 1896, the Packers turned professional, joining the NFL in 1921.
Today, the team holds the record for most NFL league championships with twelve, including nine NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl era and three additional titles in 1966, 1967, 1996 after which they won Super Bowls I, II and XXXI by defeating the American Football League/American Football Conference champions. The team has a fierce, long-standing rivalry with the Chicago Bears, whom they have played in over 170 games.[2]
The Packers are currently the only non-profit, community owned major league professional sports team in the United States.
Franchise history
Founding
The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 11, 1919 by former high school football rivals Earl "Curly" Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun. Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor. Today "Green Bay Packers" is the oldest team name still in use in the NFL.
In 1921 (Aug. 27, 1921), the Packers became a franchise in the new national pro football league that had been formed the previous year. Financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise was lost the same year, although Lambeau found new backers the next year and regained the franchise. The financial backers, known as the "Hungry Five," formed the Green Bay Football Corporation.
Championships
The Packers have 12 league championships, most in the NFL. This includes three Super Bowls (One of these games decided the NFL champion, and the first two date to the era when the AFL and NFL were still two separate leagues). The Packers are also the only team to win three straight NFL titles, which they did twice (1929-1931 and 1965-67).
1959-1967
The Packers of the 1960s under coach Vince Lombardi won five league championships over a seven-year span that culminated with victories in the first two Super Bowls. During the Lombardi era, the Packers offense consisted of quarterback Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Carroll Dale, Paul Hornung and Jerry Kramer; the defense consisted of Henry Jordan, Willie Wood, Ray Nitschke, Dave Robinson, and Herb Adderley.
In their first game under Lombardi on September 27, 1959, the Packers shut out the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. The Packers got off to a 3-0 start, but lost the next five and won the last four games, to achieve their first winning season since 1947.
The next year, the Packers, led by Paul Hornung's 176 points, won the NFL West title, and played in the NFL Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles at Philadelphia. In a see-saw game, the Packers trailed the Eagles by four points late in the game, when Chuck Bednarik tackled Jim Taylor just nine yards short of the goal line as time ran out. The Packers would never again lose the NFL Championship game under Lombardi.
The Packers returned to the NFL Championship game the following season and faced the New York Giants. The Packers scored 24 second-quarter points, as Paul Hornung, having recently returned from the Army, scored an NFL Championship record 19 points, and the Packers beat the Giants to win their first NFL Championship since 1944.
The Packers stormed back in the 1962 season, jumping out to a 10-0 start, on their way to a 13-1 season.
This consistent level of success would lead to Lombardi's Packers becoming one of the most prominent teams of their era, and even to their being featured as the face of the NFL on the cover of Time on December 21, 1962, as part of the magazine's cover story on "The Sport of the '60s". Shortly after Time's article, the Packers faced the Giants in a much more brutal championship game than the previous year, but the Packers prevailed on the surprising foot of Jerry Kramer and the determined running of Jim Taylor. The Packers defeated the Giants, 16-7.
The Packers returned to the championship game in 1965 following a two-year absence, when they defeated the Colts in a playoff for the Western Conference title. That game would be remembered for Don Chandler's controversial field goal in which the ball allegedly went wide right, but the official raised his arms to grant the three points. That disputed win earned the Packers a trip to the NFL Championship game, where Hornung and Taylor ran through the Cleveland Browns, helping the Packers defeat the Browns to earn their 3rd NFL Championship under Lombardi.
The 1966 season saw the Packers being led by NFL MVP Bart Starr. The Packers went 12-2, and in the NFL Championship, with the Packers leading 34-27, the Dallas Cowboys had the ball on the Packers' 2-yard line, threatening to tie the ballgame. But on 4th down, the Packers' Tom Brown intercepted a Don Meredith pass in the end zone to preserve the victory. The Packers went on to win Super Bowl I 35-10 over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 1967 season was the last one for Vince Lombardi as the Packers' head coach. That year's NFL Championship game, known universally as the Ice Bowl, is one of the most famous football games (college or professional) in the history of the sport. With 16 seconds left, Bart Starr's touchdown on a quarterback sneak brought the Packers their third straight NFL Championship - a feat no other team has matched since. The Packers then won Super Bowl II with a 33-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Lombardi became the General Manager of the Packers in 1968, and Phil Bengston was named as Head Coach. Lombardi left Green Bay in 1969, and was named Head Coach of the Washington Redskins.
After the death of Vince Lombardi in 1970, the Super Bowl trophy was renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy, in recognition of his, and his team's, accomplishments. The road that goes by Lambeau Field, which is also one of Green Bay's major thoroughfares, was named Lombardi Avenue in honor of the coach.
1968-1991
For about a quarter century after Lombardi left the Packers, they had comparatively little success compared to the 1960s. In the 24 seasons from 1968 to 1991, the Packers had only five seasons with a winning record (above .500), one being the shortened 1982 strike season. They appeared in the playoffs twice during that period, with a record of 1-2. The period saw five different head coaches - Bengston, Devine, Starr, Gregg, Infante - two of which were former Packer players in Lombardi's era (Starr and Gregg), and one of which was a former coach (Bengston). Examples of poor draft choices shaping seasons are often mentioned in the context of this time period. Examples include the 1974 draft, in which coach Dan Devine sent five draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders and a third) to the Los Angeles Rams for aging quarterback John Hadl who would spend only 1 1/2 seasons in Green Bay.[3] Another came in 1989, when players such as Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derrick Thomas were available, and the Packers chose offensive lineman Tony Mandarich. Though rated highly by nearly every professional scout at the time, Mandarich's performance failed to meet expectations. ESPN has rated Mandarich as the third "biggest sports flop" in the last 25 years.[4]
1992-present
The Packers' performance throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s led to a shakeup in which new General Manager Ron Wolf was hired to take over full control of the team's football operations during the 1991 season. In 1992, Wolf hired San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren to be the Packers' new head coach.
Soon after hiring Holmgren, Wolf acquired quarterback Brett Favre from the Atlanta Falcons for a first-round pick. Favre got the Packers' their first win of the 1992 season, stepping in for injured quarterback Don Majkowski and leading the Packers to a comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Favre started the following week with a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers , and has not missed a start since. He has started 257 consecutive games (including playoffs), which is an NFL record for a quarterback.
The Packers had a 9-7 record in 1992, and began to turn heads around the league when they signed perhaps the most prized free agent in NFL history in Reggie White on the defense. White believed that Wolf, Holmgren, and Favre had the team heading in the right direction with a "total commitment to winning." With White on board the Packers made it to the second round of the playoffs during both the 1993 and 1994 seasons. In 1995, the Packers won the NFC Central Division championship for the first time since 1972. After a home playoff 37-20 win against Atlanta, the Packers defeated the defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 27-17 on the road to advance to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 38-27.
In 1996 the Packers' turnaround was complete. The team posted a league-best 13-3 record in the regular season, dominating the competition and securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs. After relatively easy wins against the 49ers (35-14) and Carolina Panthers (30-13) in the playoffs, the Packers advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in 29 years. In Super Bowl XXXI Green Bay defeated the New England Patriots 35-21 to win their 12th world championship, which is still a NFL record. A 2007 panel of football experts at ESPN ranked the 1996 Packers the 6th-greatest team to ever play in the Super Bowl.
The following year the Packers won their second consecutive NFC championship, returning to the Super Bowl as a 14-point favorite, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-7 and San Francisco 49ers 23-10 in the playoffs. The Packers ended up losing to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII, by the score of 31-24.
In 1998 the Packers went 11-5 and were eliminated in the first-round of the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers, the team Green Bay had beaten in the playoffs the previous three seasons. This game turned out to be the end of an era, as Mike Holmgren would leave the team days later to become Vice President, General Manager and Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Much of Holmgren's coaching staff went with him. Reggie White also retired after the season (but later played one season for the Carolina Panthers in 2000), and the team struggled for an identity after the departure of so many of the individuals who were responsible for their Super Bowl run. In 2001, Ron Wolf also retired. Packers' President Bob Harlan credited Wolf, Holmgren, Favre, and White for ultimately changing the fortunes of the organization and turning the Green Bay Packers into a model NFL franchise.
Beginning with the 1992 season, the Packers had 13 non-losing seasons in a row (their worst record being 8-8 in 1999), two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl win (Super Bowl XXXI). The Packers 13 consecutive non-losing seasons was an active NFL record until the team finally suffered a losing campaign in their 2005 season though they returned to have an 8-8 season and just missed the playoffs in 2006. They currently are the only team to have ever missed the playoffs the previous season to return to open 3-0 against teams that made the playoff the year before.[citation needed]
Public company
The Packers are now the only publicly owned company with a board of directors in American professional sports (although other teams are directly owned by publicly traded companies, such as the Atlanta Braves (Time Warner), New York Rangers (Cablevision), the Seattle Mariners (Nintendo of America), and the Toronto Blue Jays (Rogers Communications)). Typically, a team is owned by one person, partnership, or corporate entity; thus, a "team owner." It has been speculated that this is one of the reasons the Green Bay Packers have never been moved from the city of Green Bay, a city of only 102,313 people as of the 2000 census.[5]
By comparison, the typical NFL city is populated in the millions or hundred-thousands. The Packers, however, have long had a large following throughout Wisconsin and parts of the Midwest; in fact, for decades, the Packers played four (one pre-season, three regular-season) home games each year in Milwaukee, first at the State Fair Park fairgrounds, then at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Packers did not move their entire home schedule to Green Bay until 1995.
County Stadium's replacement, Miller Park, then being planned, was always intended to be a baseball-only stadium instead of a multipurpose stadium.
Based on the original "Articles of Incorporation for the (then) Green Bay Football Corporation" put into place in 1923, if the Packers franchise was sold, after the payment of all expenses, any remaining monies would go to the Sullivan Post of the American Legion in order to build "a proper soldier's memorial." This stipulation was enacted to ensure the club remained in Green Bay and that there could never be any financial enhancement for the shareholders. At the November 1997 annual meeting, shareholders voted to change the beneficiary from the Sullivan-Wallen Post to the Green Bay Packers Foundation.
In 1950, the Packers held a stock sale to again raise money to support the team. In 1956, area voters approved the construction of a new city owned stadium. As with its predecessor, the new field was named City Stadium, but after the death of founder Lambeau in 1965, on September 11 1965, the stadium was renamed Lambeau Field.
Another stock sale occurred late in 1997 and early in 1998. It added 105,989 new shareholders and raised over $24 million, money used for the Lambeau Field redevelopment project. Priced at $200 per share, fans bought 120,010 shares during the 17-week sale, which ended March 16, 1998. As of June 8, 2005, 112,015 people (representing 4,750,934 shares) can lay claim to a franchise ownership interest. Shares of stock include voting rights, but the redemption price is minimal, no dividends are ever paid, the stock cannot appreciate in value - though private sales often exceed the face value of the stock, and stock ownership brings no season ticket privileges. No shareholder may own over 200,000 shares, a safeguard to ensure that no individual can assume control of the club. To run the corporation, a board of directors is elected by the stockholders. The board of directors in turn elect a seven-member Executive Committee (officers) of the corporation, consisting of a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and three members-at-large. The president is the only officer to draw compensation; the rest of the committee is sitting "gratis."
The team's elected president represents the Packers in NFL owners meetings unless someone else is designated. During his time as coach, Vince Lombardi generally represented the team at league meetings in his role as general manager, except at owners-only meetings.
Board of Directors
Green Bay Packers, Inc., is governed by a seven-member Executive Committee, elected from a board of directors. The committee directs corporate management, approves major capital expenditures, establishes broad policy and monitors management's performance in conducting the business and affairs of the corporation.
Fan base
The Packers' fan base is famously dedicated: regardless of the team's performance, every Packers game at Lambeau Field has been sold out since 1960.[6] Despite the Packers having one of the smallest TV markets, the Packers have developed one of the largest fan bases in the NFL. Each year they consistently rank as one of the top teams in terms of popularity.[7] The Packers have one of the longest waiting lists for season tickets in professional sports with about 74,000 people as of May 3, 2007.[8] That is more names on the waiting list than there are seats at Lambeau Field. The current wait time for season tickets is approximately 35 years. For this reason, it is not unusual for fans to designate a recipient of their season tickets in their wills or place newborn infants on the waiting list after receiving birth certificates.[9]
Packers fans are often referred to as cheeseheads.[10] The term is often used to refer to people from the state of Wisconsin in general (because of its cheese production), but is also used to refer to Green Bay Packers fans in particular. The name originated in 1987 as an insult from Chicago White Sox fans at a Milwaukee Brewers game. In years since and particularly beginning in 1994, the name and the hats called "cheeseheads" have also been embraced by Packers fans.[11]
During training camp in the summer months (held outside the Don Hutson Center), young Packers fans can take their bikes and have their favorite player ride their bike to the practice field from the locker room. This is an old Packers tradition dating back to approximately 1957 (the first years of Lambeau Field's existence). Gary Knafelc, a Packers end at the time, said, "I think it was just that kids wanted us to ride their bikes. I can remember kids saying, 'Hey, ride my bike.'" The practice continues today.[12]
Each year the team holds an intra-squad scrimmage, called Family Night, at Lambeau Field. During 2004 and 2005 over 60,000 fans attended, selling out the stadium bowl. The Packers hosted the Buffalo Bills for the 2005 edition of Family night setting an attendace record with 62,492 fans attending.[13]
Nickname, logo, and uniforms
Curly Lambeau, the team's founder, solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on condition that the team be named for its sponsor (a similar event would occur the following year with the Decatur Staleys, who later became the Chicago Bears). An early newspaper article referred to the new Green Bay team as "the Indians" but by the time they played their first game they had adopted the name "Packers."
In the early days, the Packers also were referred to as the "Bays" and the "Blues" (and even occasionally as "the Big Bay Blues"). These never were official nicknames, although Lambeau did consider replacing "Packers" with "Blues" in the 1920s.
In 1920, the Indian Packing Company was purchased by the Acme Packing Company. Acme continued its support of Lambeau's team, and in its first season in the NFL the team wore jerseys with the words "ACME PACKERS" emblazoned on the chest.
Lambeau, who attended the University of Notre Dame, chose the team's colors of navy blue and gold from the college. Again, like the Irish, in the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s the Packers sometimes used green and gold before returning to the traditional blue and gold.
In 1959, new head coach Vince Lombardi changed the colors to the current hunter green and gold (navy blue was kept as a secondary color, seen primarily on sideline capes, but it was not actually used and quietly was dropped from the team colors list on all official materials shortly thereafter). This color scheme yields the common Packers nickname, "The Green and Gold". In 1994, the NFL's 75th anniversary, the team participated in the league-wide use of "throwback" jerseys, and for the first time since the 1950s, a Packers team wearing blue took the field. The team has not done so since, and has yet to wear throwback uniforms at home games, though the Packers have worn them for two Thanksgiving Day games against the Detroit Lions. In 2001, the Packers sported throwback uniforms worn in the 1930s, while in 2003 they wore throwback uniforms from the 1960s (which were only slightly different from the current uniforms).[15][16]
While several NFL teams choose to wear white jerseys at home early in the season due to white's ability to reflect the late summer sun's rays, the Packers have chosen to do so on only the opening two games of the 1989 season. Although alternate gold jerseys with green numbers are sold on a retail basis, the team has no plans to introduce such a jersey to be used in actual games.
The oval "G" logo was created in 1961 by Packers equipment manager George "Dad" Braisher. The team actually used a number of different logos prior to 1961, but the "G" is the only logo that has ever appeared on the helmet.[17] Although the Packers have granted limited permission to other organizations to utilize a similar logo, notably the University of Georgia and Grambling State University, the Packers hold the trademark for it.[18]
Team records and season records
Players of note
Current roster
Pro Football Hall of Famers
The Packers are tied for most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with twenty-six.
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Retired numbers
- 3 Tony Canadeo, HB, 1941-52
- 14 Don Hutson, WR, 1935-45
- 15 Bart Starr, QB, 1956-71
- 66 Ray Nitschke, LB, 1958-72
- 92 Reggie White, DE, 1993-98
Coaches of note
Head coaches
| Name | From | To | Record | Titles | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | |||||
| Earl (Curly) Lambeau | 1921 | 1949 | 212 | 106 | 21 | 6 | |
| Gene Ronzani | 1950 | November 27, 1953 | 14 | 31 | 1 | ||
| Hugh Devore* | November 27, 1953 | 1953 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Ray (Scooter) McLean* | |||||||
| Lisle Blackbourn | 1954 | 1957 | 17 | 31 | 0 | ||
| Ray (Scooter) McLean | January 6, 1958 | 1958 | 1 | 10 | 1 | ||
| Vince Lombardi | 1959 | 1967 | 98 | 30 | 4 | 5 | |
| Phil Bengston | 1968 | 1970 | 20 | 21 | 1 | ||
| Dan Devine | 1971 | 1974 | 25 | 28 | 4 | ||
| Bart Starr | 1975 | 1983 | 53 | 77 | 3 | ||
| Forrest Gregg | 1984 | 1987 | 25 | 37 | 1 | ||
| Lindy Infante | 1988 | 1991 | 24 | 40 | 0 | ||
| Mike Holmgren | 1992 | 1998 | 73 | 36 | 0 | 1 | |
| Ray Rhodes | January 11, 1999 | January 3, 2000 | 8 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Mike Sherman | 2000 | January 2, 2006 | 56 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Mike McCarthy | January 12, 2006 | Present | 12 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 638 | 504 | 36 | 12 | |||
* = Interim Head Coaches
Current staff
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Radio and television
The Packers are unique in having their market area cover two media markets, both Green Bay and Milwaukee, and blackout policies for the team apply within both areas, though they rarely come into effect due to strong home attendance and popularity.
The Packers' flagship radio station is Milwaukee-based WTMJ-AM (620), with the games airing in Green Bay on WTAQ-AM (1360) and WIXX-FM (101.1). Wayne Larrivee is the play-by-play announcer and Larry McCarren is the color analyst. Larrivee joined the team after many years as the Chicago Bears' announcer. Jim Irwin and Max McGee were the longtime radio announcers of the Green Bay Packer Radio Network before Larivee and McCarren.
The preseason rights for games not nationally broadcast are held by WFRV (Channel 5) in Green Bay and WTMJ (Channel 4) in Milwaukee, with the coverage airing on other stations around the state; WFRV was previously owned by CBS Corporation until April 2007, when the station was purchased by Liberty Media. As of 2007, preseason coverage has been produced by CBS, using the NFL on CBS graphics package with the CBS eyemark replaced by the Packers logo. The TV play-by-play announcer, Kevin Harlan (also on loan from CBS), is the son of outgoing Packers president Bob Harlan.
The team's intra-squad Lambeau scrimmage at the beginning of the season, which is marketed as Packers Family Night, is broadcast by WITI (Channel 6) in Milwaukee, and produced by WLUK (Channel 11) in Green Bay, both FOX affiliates which broadcast the bulk of the team's regular season games. The scrimmage is also broadcast by the state's four other Fox affiliates in Madison, Wausau, and Eau Claire/La Crosse.
Notes and references
- ^ Packers Nickname Origin from Packers.com. Obtained February 5, 2007.
- ^ Super Bowls & Championships from Packers.com. Obtained February 5, 2007.
- ^ Old School Packers from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website. Obtained February 5, 2007
- ^ The 25 Biggest Sports Flops (1979-2004) from ESPN25. Obtained February 5, 2007.
- ^ "2000 Census". US Census Bureau.
- ^ "Fans keep their eyes on the ball in Green Bay (Dallas Morning News)".
- ^ Harris Interactive Poll, Packers ranked #4 in 2006,#1 in 2005,#1 in 2004,#1 in 2002 in terms of popularity.
- ^ "Toughest Ticket in the NFL".
- ^ ROOTING THE HOME TEAM from The American Prospect magazine, no. 40, September-October 1998, pgs. 38-43.
- ^ "The Big Cheese: Cheesehead inventor profits from insults".
- ^ "The Big Cheese: Cheesehead inventor profits from insults".
- ^ "Letters to Lee Remmel, August 25, 2004".
- ^ "Packers Training Camp - Family Night".
- ^ facts/logo history/ Packers Logo History obtained February 5, 2007
- ^ Packers Uniform History, 1921-2004 from Packers.com. Obtained February 5, 2007.
- ^ Packers uniform database Obtained February 5, 2007.
- ^ Packers Fan Clubs from Packers.com. Obtained February 5, 2007.
- ^ "Oval G is a Green Bay Packers trademark". ESPN.com. May 25, 2005.
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External links
- Green Bay Packers official web site
- The Green Bay Press-Gazette
- Packer Plus (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database
