1959 Green Bay Packers season
Encyclopedia
The 1959 Green Bay Packers
season was their 39th season in the National Football League
and 41st overall. The club posted a 7-5 record under first-year coach Vince Lombardi
, earning a third-place finish in the National Conference.
. He started by trading away the Packers best receiver of the decade Billy Howton
, to the Cleveland Browns
. To bring some much-needed leadership to the defensive backfield, Lombardi obtained future Hall of Fame
r Emlen Tunnell
from the New York Giants
. Ha also acquired Fuzzy Thurston from the Baltimore Colts
and defensive tackle Henry Jordan
form Cleveland by the start of training camp. In all, 16 veterans from the previous season were sent packing as Lombardi installed a new attitude in the Packers' locker room.
, the Packers held on to win 9-6 and celebrated the victory by carrying their new head coach off the field. In his first year on the sidelines, the Packers posted their first winning record since 1947. The team's quick turnaround netted Lombardi unanimous honors as coach of the year.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
season was their 39th season in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and 41st overall. The club posted a 7-5 record under first-year coach Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
, earning a third-place finish in the National Conference.
NFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Randy Duncan Randy Duncan Hearst Randolph "Randy" Duncan, Jr. is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Iowa. He played in two Rose Bowls and has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame... |
Quarterback Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... |
Iowa University of Iowa The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees... |
| 2 | 13 | Alex Hawkins Alex Hawkins Clifton Alexander "Alex" Hawkins is a retired American football player who played running back for the Baltimore Colts and Atlanta Falcons. He excelled as a special teams player... |
Back | South Carolina University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House... |
| 3 | 25 | Boyd Dowler Boyd Dowler Boyd Hamilton Dowler is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League who played twelve seasons for the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins from 1959 to 1971... |
Wide Receiver Wide receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible... |
Colorado University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado... |
| 5 | 55 | Andy Cvercko Andy Cvercko Andrew Bertram Cvercko is a former American football guard in the National Football League for four years. He played college football at Northwestern University and was drafted in the fifth round of the 1959 NFL Draft.... |
Guard Guard (American football) In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team.... |
Northwestern Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees.... |
| 6 | 61 | Willie Taylor | Center Center (American football) Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense... |
Florida A&M Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, commonly known as Florida A&M or FAMU, is a historically black university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, the state capital, and is one of eleven member institutions of the State University System of Florida... |
| 7 | 73 | Bobby Jackson | Back | Alabama University of Alabama The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States.... |
| 7 | 83 | Gary Raid | Tackle | Willamette Willamette University Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and... |
| 8 | 85 | Buddy Mayfield | End | South Carolina |
| 8 | 95 | Bob Laraba Bob Laraba Robert Edward "Bob" Laraba was an American collegiate and Professional Football linebacker and quarterback who played college football at Texas-El Paso and professionally in the American Football League. He played for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers... |
Back | UTEP University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,... |
| 9 | 97 | George Dixon | Back | Bridgeport University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport is a private, independent, non-sectarian, coeducational university located on the Long Island Sound in the South End neighborhood of Bridgeport, Connecticut. The University is fully Accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges... |
| 10 | 109 | Sam Tuccio | Tackle | Southern Miss |
| 11 | 121 | Bob Webb | Back | St. Ambrose |
| 12 | 133 | Larry Hall | Guard | Missouri Valley Missouri Valley College Missouri Valley College is a private, four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The campus is in Marshall, Missouri.The college was founded in 1889 and supports 27 academic majors and an enrollment close to 1,800 students... |
| 13 | 145 | Jim Hurd | Back | Albion Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are... |
| 14 | 157 | Ken Kerr | Guard | Arizona State Arizona State University Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona... |
| 15 | 169 | Dick Teteak | Guard | Wisconsin |
| 16 | 181 | Dan Edgington | End | Florida University of Florida The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906... |
| 17 | 193 | Tom Secules | Back | William & Mary |
| 18 | 205 | Dick Nearents | Tackle | Eastern Washington Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University is an American public, coeducational university located in Cheney, Washington.Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided into four colleges: Arts and Letters; Business and Public Administration; Science, Health and Engineering; and Social & Behavioral... |
| 19 | 217 | Bill Butler | Safety | Chattanooga University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a public university located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The University, often referred to as UTC or simply "Chattanooga" , is one of three universities and two other affiliated institutions in the University of Tennessee System; the others being in... |
| 20 | 229 | Charley Sample | Back | Arkansas University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in... |
| 21 | 241 | Dave Smith | Back | Ripon Ripon College (Wisconsin) Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. It offers small class sizes and intensive mentoring to students. Ripon has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa--one of the nation's most prestigious honor societies. Alumni have high rates of success in the workforce as well as acceptance... |
| 22 | 253 | Charlie Anderson | End | Drake Drake University Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country.... |
| 23 | 265 | Ben Lawver | Tackle | Lewis & Clark Lewis & Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private institution of higher learning located in Portland, Oregon. Made up of an undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, a School of Law, and a Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Lewis & Clark is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges with athletic... |
| 24 | 277 | Joe Hergert Joe Hergert Joseph Martin "Joe" Hergert is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker and placekicker in the American Football League for two seasons in the early 1960s... |
Center | Florida |
| 25 | 289 | Leroy Hardee | Back | Florida A&M |
| 26 | 301 | Ken Higginbotham | End | Trinity (TX) Trinity University (Texas) Trinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park.... |
| 27 | 313 | Timothy Brown Timothy Brown (actor) Thomas Allen Brown is a former professional American football player and actor.-Early life:Brown was born in Knightstown, Indiana... |
Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... |
Ball State Ball State University Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings... |
| 28 | 325 | Jerry Epps | Guard | West Texas State |
| 29 | 337 | Jack Flara | Back | Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of... |
| 30 | 349 | Dick Emerich | Tackle | West Chester West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester University of Pennsylvania is a public university located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, about miles west of Philadelphia. It is one of the 14 state universities of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education . West Chester was ranked 69th in the Master's Universities ... |
- Yellow indicates a future Pro BowlPro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
selection
The Lombardi Era Begins
On February 4, 1959, Vince Lombardi seized his opportunity and began building his football dynasty in Green BayGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
. He started by trading away the Packers best receiver of the decade Billy Howton
Billy Howton
William Harris "Billy" Howton is a former American football end who played 12 seasons in the National Football League . He played college football at Rice University. He caught a total 503 career passes for a total of 8,459 yards...
, to the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. To bring some much-needed leadership to the defensive backfield, Lombardi obtained future Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
r Emlen Tunnell
Emlen Tunnell
Emlen Lewis Tunnell was an American football player. He was the first African American to play for the New York Giants, and was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1967. He played in the National Football League for the Giants and Green Bay Packers...
from the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Ha also acquired Fuzzy Thurston from the Baltimore Colts
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
and defensive tackle Henry Jordan
Henry Jordan
Henry Wendell Jordan was an American football defensive tackle who played for two teams, the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Browns, during his thirteen-year National Football League career. He played in the NFL from 1957 to 1969.Jordan attended Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia...
form Cleveland by the start of training camp. In all, 16 veterans from the previous season were sent packing as Lombardi installed a new attitude in the Packers' locker room.
Training Camp
Lombardi borrowed from the Giants model — the players had to feel like champions. The team traveled first class under the philosophy that "you can't be a winner unless you feel like one." The change in culture was pronounced. Lombardi had to find a quarterback, and he was resistant to making Bart Starr the quarterback. Starr was in his fourth year in the league and hadn't won a game he played four quarters in. "Did Bart tell you how bad he was?" a player was to later quip to biographer John Eisenberg. Former Razorback Lamar McCann beat out Starr.A Master Plan
Through his now legendary coaching style, Lombardi whipped the underachieving Packers into instant winners. he set his plan immediately into action at his very first team meeting. "I have never been on a losing team gentlemen and I do not intend to start now!"A Dramatic Improvement
The results of Lombardi's approach were dramatic. in the season opener against the Chicago BearsChicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Packers held on to win 9-6 and celebrated the victory by carrying their new head coach off the field. In his first year on the sidelines, the Packers posted their first winning record since 1947. The team's quick turnaround netted Lombardi unanimous honors as coach of the year.
Schedule
Lombardi’s first game as Packers coach was on September 27. In front of 32,150 fans, the Packers won the game. In the final seven minutes, the Packers put up nine points to win the game by a score of 9-6. Jim Taylor scored a touchdown to put the Packers on the scoreboard. Max McGee would have a sixty-one yard punt which would land on the Bears 2 yard line. The punt set up the final score of the game. Hawg Hanner scored a safety on Bears quarterback Ed Brown. After the game, Jim Ringo grabbed the game ball and gave it to Lombardi.| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 27, 1959 | Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 9-6 |
| 2 | October 4, 1959 | Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
W 28-10 |
| 3 | October 11, 1959 | San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
W 21-20 |
| 4 | October 18, 1959 | Los Angeles Rams | L 45-6 |
| 5 | October 25, 1959 | at Baltimore Colts History of the Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls.... |
L 38-21 |
| 6 | November 1, 1959 | at New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 20-3 |
| 7 | November 8, 1959 | at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 28-17 |
| 8 | November 15, 1959 | Baltimore Colts History of the Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls.... |
L 28-24 |
| 9 | November 22, 1959 | Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
W 21-0 |
| 10 | November 26, 1959 | at Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
W 24-17 |
| 11 | December 6, 1959 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 38-20 |
| 12 | December 13, 1959 | at San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
W 36-14 |
Standings
| NFL Western Eastern and Western Divisions (NFL) 1933-69 The Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Football League, renamed the American and National Conferences in 1950 and then the Eastern and Western Conferences in 1953, were organized as a result of the disputed NFL championship of 1932... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Baltimore Colts 1959 Baltimore Colts season The 1959 Baltimore Colts season was the 7th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 40th season with a record of 9 wins and 3 losses and finished first in the Western Conference.... |
9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 374 | 251 | W-5 |
| Chicago Bears 1959 Chicago Bears season The 1959 Chicago Bears season was their 40th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted yet another 8-4 record under the coaching of George Halas.-Schedule:-Standings:... |
8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 252 | 196 | W-7 |
| San Francisco 49ers 1959 San Francisco 49ers season The 1959 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 10th season in the NFL, and were coming off a 6-6-0 record in 1956, however, they ended without qualifying for the playoffs. After starting the season 6-1-0, they lost 4 out of their last 5 games and ended with a 7-5-0 record.-Top players:The... |
7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 255 | 237 | L-2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 248 | 246 | W-4 |
| Detroit Lions 1959 Detroit Lions season The 1959 Detroit Lions season was their 30th in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 4-7-1, winning only three games. They missed the playoffs for the second straight season.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
3 | 8 | 1 | .273 | 203 | 275 | L-1 |
| Los Angeles Rams 1959 Los Angeles Rams season The 1959 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 22nd year with the National Football League and the 14th season in Los Angeles.-Schedule:-Standings:... |
2 | 10 | 0 | .167 | 242 | 315 | L-8 |
Roster
| Green Bay Packers roster | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
|
Offensive Linemen
John Dittrich John Dittrich was a player in the National Football League and American Football League for the Chicago Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, and the Buffalo Bills as a guard... Forrest Gregg Alvis Forrest Gregg is a former American football player and coach in the National Football League. During a Pro Football Hall of Fame playing career, he was a part of six championships, five of them with the Green Bay Packers before closing out his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys with a win in... Jerry Kramer Gerald Louis "Jerry" Kramer is a former professional football player, author and sports commentator, best remembered for his 11-year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers as an offensive lineman... Norm Masters Norman Donald Masters was an American football offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1956 NFL Draft. He was 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighted 249 pounds... Jim Ringo James Stephen "Jim" Ringo was a professional American football player, a Hall of Fame center and coach. He was a ten time Pro Bowler during his career.... Bob Skoronski Robert Skoronski was a tackle in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers. Skoronski attended Indiana University and went to high school in his home state of Connecticut at Fairfield College Preparatory School.... Fred Thurston Frederick Charles "Fuzzy" Thurston is a former American football guard in the National Football League who played for the Baltimore Colts and Green Bay Packers... Defensive Linemen
|
Linebackers
Tom Bettis William Thomas "Tom" Bettis is a former American football linebacker and coach. After starring at Purdue, Bettis was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1955 NFL Draft. He played nine seasons for the Packers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Chicago Bears... Dan Currie Daniel George Currie is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played nine seasons for the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams . He was an All-American linebacker and center at Michigan State in 1957... Bill Forester George William Forester was a professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played eleven seasons for the Green Bay Packers and was selected to four Pro Bowls... Ray Nitschke Raymond Ernest "Ray" Nitschke was a professional football player who played his entire career as a middle linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. Wearing #66, he played fifteen seasons, from 1958-72.... Defensive Backs
Rookies and first-year players in italics |
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