The Green Bay Packers are an
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team based in
Green Bay, WisconsinGreen Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
. They are members of the
North DivisionThe NFC North is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference, based in the Upper Midwest region of the United States...
of the
National Football ConferenceThe National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
(NFC) in the
National Football LeagueThe 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...
(NFL). The Packers are the current NFL champions. Green Bay is the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, though they were organized and playing in 1919.
The Packers are the last vestige of "small town teams" that were once common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by
Earl "Curly" LambeauEarl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...
(hence the name
Lambeau FieldLambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
on which the team plays) and
George Whitney CalhounGeorge Whitney Calhoun was a sports and telegraph editor for the Press-Gazette of Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. A native of Green Bay, Calhoun was a co-founder of the Green Bay Packers with Curly Lambeau, and was the team's first publicity director.Calhoun wrote The Dope Sheet, which served as the...
, the Green Bay Packers can trace their lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. In 1919 and 1920 the Packers competed as a semi-professional football team against clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1921, the forerunner to what is known today as the National Football League (NFL). The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States.
The Green Bay Packers have won 13 league championships (more than any other team in the NFL), including nine
NFL championships prior to the Super Bowl era and four
Super Bowl victories—in 1967 (
Super Bowl IThe First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ...
), 1968 (
Super Bowl IIThe second AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later to be known as Super Bowl II, was played on January 14, 1968 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida....
), 1997 (
Super Bowl XXXISuper Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1996 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American...
) and 2011 (
Super Bowl XLVSuper Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
).
The team has a
rivalryThe Bears–Packers or the Packers–Bears rivalry is a sports rivalry between two professional American football teams in the National Football League , the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers...
with the
Chicago BearsThe 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...
,
Detroit LionsThe 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...
and
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
.
Founding
The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 11, 1919 by former high-school football rivals
Earl "Curly" LambeauEarl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...
and
George Whitney CalhounGeorge Whitney Calhoun was a sports and telegraph editor for the Press-Gazette of Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. A native of Green Bay, Calhoun was a co-founder of the Green Bay Packers with Curly Lambeau, and was the team's first publicity director.Calhoun wrote The Dope Sheet, which served as the...
. Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the
Indian Packing CompanyThe Indian Packing Company was a company that was involved in the canned meat industry and that was organized in Delaware on July 22, 1919. Its canned meat sold as "Council Meats." When the company was absorbed by the Illinois-based Acme Packing Company in 1921, it had facilities in Green Bay,...
. 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, both by its nickname and by virtue of remaining in its original city.
On August 27, 1921, the Packers were granted 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 forfeited within the year, before Lambeau found new financial backers and regained the franchise the next year. These backers, known as the "
Hungry FiveThe Hungry Five is the collective name given to five Green Bay, Wisconsin area businessmen who were instrumental in keeping the Green Bay Packers franchise in operation during its early years...
", formed the Green Bay Football Corporation.
Record 13 NFL world championships
League annals show 13 World Championships, the most in the NFL (the next closest team is the Chicago Bears, with nine). The first three were decided by league standing, the next six by the NFL Title Game, and the final four by
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
victories. The Packers are also the only team to win three consecutive NFL titles, having accomplished this twice (1929-30-31 under Lambeau and 1965-66-67 under
Vince LombardiVincent 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...
).
1929–1931: Lambeau's team arrives
After a near-miss in
1927The 1927 Green Bay Packers season was their seventh season in the National Football League. The club posted a 7-2-1 record under player/coach Curly Lambeau earning them a second place finish.-Schedule:-Standings:...
, Lambeau's squad claimed the Packers' first NFL title in
1929The 1929 Green Bay Packers season was their ninth season in the National Football League. The club posted an undefeated 12-0-1 record under player/coach Curly Lambeau, earning them a first-place finish and the Packers' first National Football League Championship...
with an undefeated 12–0–1 campaign, behind a stifling defense which registered eight shutouts. Green Bay would repeat as league champions in
1930The 1930 Green Bay Packers season was their 10th season in the National Football League. The club posted a 10-3-1 record under coach Curly Lambeau earning them a first-place finish and the Packers' second consecutive National Football League Championship....
and
1931The 1931 Green Bay Packers season was their 11th in the National Football League. The club posted a 12-2 record under coach Curly Lambeau, earning them a first-place finish and the Packers third consecutive National Football League Championship. The Packers became the first NFL team to win three...
, bettering teams from New York, Chicago and throughout the league, with all-time greats and future Hall of Famers
Mike MichalskeAugust Mike Michalske was an American football player and coach. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964....
, Johnny (Blood) McNally,
Cal HubbardRobert Calvin Hubbard was a professional American football player and later an umpire in Major League Baseball, and is a member of three major sports halls of fame...
and Green Bay native
Arnie HerberArnold "Arnie" Charles Herber was a professional American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966...
. Among the many impressive accomplishments of these years was the Packers' streak of 30 consecutive home games without defeat, an NFL record which still stands.
1935–1945: The Don Hutson era
The arrival of end
Don HutsonDonald Montgomery Hutson was the first star wide receiver in National Football League history. He is considered by many to have been the first modern receiver....
from Alabama in 1935 gave Lambeau and the Packers the most-feared and dynamic offensive weapon in the game. Credited with inventing pass patterns, Hutson would lead the league in receptions eight seasons and spur the Packers to NFL championships in
1936The 1936 Green Bay Packers season was their 16th season in the National Football League. The club posted a 10-1-1 record under coach Curly Lambeau, earning them a first-place finish in the NFL's Western Division....
,
1939The 1939 Green Bay Packers season was their 19th season in the National Football League. The club posted a 9-2 record under coach Curly Lambeau, earning a first-place finish in the Western Conference...
and
1944The 1944 Green Bay Packers season was their 24th season in the National Football League. The club posted an 8-2 record under coach Curly Lambeau, earning them a first-place finish in the Western Conference. The Packers ended the season beating the Giants 14-7 in the NFL Championship Game, their 6th...
. An
iron manThe one-platoon system, also known as iron man football, was a system in American football where players played on both offense and defense. It was the result of rules that limited player substitutions. The alternative system is known as the "two-platoon system", or simply the "platoon system",...
, Hutson also led the league in interceptions in 1940. Hutson claimed 18 NFL records when he retired in 1945, many of which still stand. In 1951, his number 14 was the first to be retired by the Packers, and he was inducted as a charter member of the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1963.
1946–1958: Wilderness
After Hutson's retirement, Lambeau could not stop the slide of the Packers, and departed after the
1949The 1949 Green Bay Packers season was their 29th season in the National Football League. The club posted a 2-10 record under coach Curly Lambeau, earning a fifth-place finish in the Western Conference. This season marked the 31st and final season the Packers would play under legendary coach Curly...
season.
Gene RonzaniGene Ronzani was the second head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He coached the Packers from 1951 until 1953. He resigned with two games remaining in the 1953 season and was replaced on an interim basis by the tandem of Hugh Devore and Ray Scooter McLean....
and
Lisle BlackbournLisle "Liz" Blackbourn was an American football coach who was the third head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He coached the Packers from 1954 to 1957....
could not coach the Packers back to their former magic, even as a new stadium was unveiled in 1957. The losing would crescendo to the disastrous
1958The 1958 Green Bay Packers season was their 38th season in the National Football League. The club posted a 1-10-1 record under coach Ray McLean, earning them a last-place finish in the Western Conference and the worst record ever posted by a Packers team...
campaign under coach
Ray "Scooter" McLeanRay "Scooter" McLean was a football player and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels, but may be best remembered for preceding Vince Lombardi as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1958....
, whose lone year at the helm resulted in a 1–10–1 mark, worst in Packer history.
1959–1967: The Lombardi era and the glory years
On February 2, 1959, the hiring of
New York GiantsThe 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...
assistant
Vince LombardiVincent 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...
as Packers head coach and general manager represented the beginning of a remarkable, immediate turnaround. Under Lombardi, the Packers would become the Team of the 60s, winning five world championships over a seven-year span, including victories in the first two
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s. During the Lombardi era, the stars of the Packers' offense included
Bart StarrBryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....
, Jim Taylor,
Carroll DaleCarroll Wayne Dale is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Virginia Tech from 1956–59. Dale was named second-team All American in 1958 and 1959....
,
Paul HornungPaul Vernon Hornung is a retired Hall of Fame professional football player who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957-66...
(as halfback and placekicker),
Forrest GreggAlvis 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...
, and
Jerry KramerGerald 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...
. The defense included Willie Davis,
Henry JordanHenry 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...
, Willie Wood,
Ray NitschkeRaymond 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....
, Dave Robinson, and
Herb AdderleyHerbert Allen Adderley is a former American football cornerback who played for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League....
.
1959
In their first game under Lombardi on September 27, 1959, the Packers beat the
Chicago BearsThe 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:...
, 9–6, in Green Bay. After winning their first three, the Packers lost the next five before finishing strong by winning the rest. The 7–5
recordThe 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.-NFL Draft:...
represented the Packers' first winning season since 1947. Rookie head coach Lombardi was named
Coach of the YearThe National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...
.
1960
The next year, the
Packers*First Quarter**GB-Hornung 20 yard FG*Second Quarter**GB-Hornung 23 yard FG**Phi-McDonald 35 yard pass from Van Brocklin **Phi-Walston 15 yard FG*Third Quarter**No scoring*Fourth Quarter...
, led by Paul Hornung's 176 points, won the NFL West title and played in the
NFL ChampionshipThe 1960 National Football League championship game was the 28th NFL title game. The game was played on Monday, December 26, 1960 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
against the
Philadelphia EaglesThe 1960 Philadelphia Eagles season, their 28th in the league, resulted in defeating the Green Bay Packers to win their third NFL Championship. It was their only postseason appearance in the twenty-eight seasons from 1950 to 1977.-Off Season:...
at
PhiladelphiaFranklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...
. In a see-saw game, the Packers trailed the Eagles by four points late in the game, when
Chuck BednarikCharles Philip Bednarik is a former professional American football player, known as one of the most devastating tacklers in the history of football and the last two-way player in the National Football League...
tackled Jim Taylor just nine yards short of the goal line as time ran out. They claimed that they did not "lose" that game; they were simply behind in the score when time ran out on them.
1961
The
Packers-Regular season:Despite being named NFL MVP, Paul Hornung was briefly lost to the military. In response to the construction of the Berlin Wall, the United States Department of Defense activated thousands of reservists. Two dozen football players were activated, including Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler...
returned to the
NFL Championship gameThe 1961 National Football League championship game was the 29th title game. The game was played at "New" City Stadium, later known as Lambeau Field, in Green Bay, Wisconsin on December 31, 1961...
the following season and faced the
New York GiantsThe 1961 New York Giants season was the 37th season for the club in the National Football League. After relinquishing the NFL East title the previous season, the Giants reclaimed the title with a 10–3–1 record, only to lose to the Vince Lombardi-coached Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship...
in the first league title game to be played in Green Bay. The Packers scored 24 second-quarter points, including a championship-record 19 by Paul Hornung, on special "loan" from the
ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
(one touchdown, four extra-points and three field goals), powering the Packers to a 37–0 rout of the Giants, their first NFL Championship since 1944. It was in 1961 that Green Bay became known as "Titletown."
1962
The
PackersThe 1962 Green Bay Packers season was their 42nd season in the National Football League. The club posted a 13-1 record under coach Vince Lombardi, earning them a first-place finish in the Western Conference. The Packers ended the season by defeating the New York Giants 16-7 in the NFL Championship...
stormed back in the
1962 seasonThe 1962 NFL season was the 43rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, CBS signed a contract with the league to televise all regular-season games for a $4.65 million annual fee....
, 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
TimeTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
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
GiantsThe 1962 New York Giants season was the 38th season for the club in the National Football League.-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Standings:-Awards and honors:* Andy Robustelli, Bert Bell Award...
in a much more brutal
championship gameThe 1962 National Football League championship game was the 30th NFL title game. The game was played on December 30, 1962 at Yankee Stadium in New York City between the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers. The attendance for the game was 64,892. The Packers were coached by Hall of Fame coach...
than the previous year, but the Packers prevailed on the surprising foot of
Jerry KramerGerald 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...
and the determined running of Jim Taylor. The Packers defeated the Giants in New York, 16–7.
1965
The
PackersThe 1965 Green Bay Packers season was their 45th season in the National Football League. The club posted a 10-3-1 record under coach Vince Lombardi, earning them a tie for first place in the Western Conference with the Baltimore Colts. The Packers and Colts played a one-game playoff in Green Bay,...
returned to the championship game in
1965The 1965 National Football League Championship game was the 33rd championship game for the NFL. The game was played on January 2, 1966 at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin. The game matched the Eastern Conference champions Cleveland Browns who were the defending NFL champions...
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 ChandlerDonald Gene "Don" Chandler was an American college and professional football player who was a punter and placekicker in the National Football League for twelve seasons in the 1950s and 1960s...
's controversial tying field goal in which the ball allegedly went wide right, but the officials signaled "good." The 13–10 overtime win earned the Packers a trip to the NFL Championship game, where Hornung and Taylor ran through the defending champion
Cleveland BrownsThe 1965 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 16th season with the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Exhibition schedule:-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Standings:-References:...
, helping the Packers win, 23–12, to earn their third NFL Championship under Lombardi and ninth overall. Goalpost uprights would be made taller the next year.
1966
The
1966 seasonThe 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...
saw the
PackersThe 1966 Green Bay Packers season was their 46th in the NFL and resulted in a 12-2 record, coached by Vince Lombardi and led by quarterback Bart Starr. The team beat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1966 NFL Championship Game, the Packers' 10th NFL title...
led by an MVP season from quarterback Bart Starr. The Packers went 12–2, and in the
NFL ChampionshipThe 1966 National Football League Championship Game determined the NFL's champion, which would meet the AFL's champion in Super Bowl I, then formally referred to as the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The NFL Championship Game was held at the Cowboys' home stadium, the Cotton Bowl in Dallas,...
, with the Packers leading 34–27, the
Dallas CowboysThe 1966 Dallas Cowboys season was the seventh for the franchise in the National Football League. It involved the 10–3–1 Cowboys qualifying for the NFL post-season for the second time in franchise history, by winning the NFL Eastern Conference title, before losing the NFL Championship Game to the...
had the ball on the Packers' two-yard line, threatening to tie the ballgame. But on fourth down, the Packers' Tom Brown intercepted
Don MeredithJoseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League . He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player...
's pass in the end zone to preserve their victory against Dallas. The Packers went on to win
Super Bowl IThe First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ...
35–10 over the
Kansas City ChiefsThe 1966 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with the Chiefs' second AFL Championship and first since their relocation to Kansas City, Missouri. Instead of finishing the season with the AFL Championship win, the Chiefs were invited to play in the inaugural AFL-NFL World Championship Game, later known...
.
1967
The
1967 seasonThe 1967 NFL season was the 48th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the New Orleans Saints. The league's teams were realigned into four divisions: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and...
was the last one for Vince Lombardi as the Packers' head coach. The NFL Championship game, a rematch of the 1966 contest against Dallas, is better known as the
Ice BowlThe 1967 National Football League Championship Game between the Western Conference champion Green Bay Packers and the Eastern Conference champion Dallas Cowboys was the 35th championship game in NFL history. The game was held at Lambeau Field on December 31, 1967. The winner of the game was...
, due to the brutally cold conditions at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Still the coldest NFL game ever played, the Ice Bowl remains 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 a 21–17 victory and their third straight NFL Championship – a feat no other team has matched. The Packers then won
Super Bowl IIThe second AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later to be known as Super Bowl II, was played on January 14, 1968 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida....
with a 33–14 victory over the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Lombardi stepped down as head coach after the game, and Phil Bengtson was named as Head Coach. He remained general manager for one season, but left Green Bay in 1969 to become head coach and minority owner of the
Washington RedskinsThe 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,...
.
After the death of Vince Lombardi on September 3, 1970, the Super Bowl trophy was renamed the
Vince Lombardi TrophyThe Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl.-History:...
, in recognition of his, and his team's, accomplishments.
Lambeau FieldLambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
has had a street address of 1265 Lombardi Avenue since 1968, when
Green BayGreen Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
renamed Highland Avenue in honor of the coach.
1968–1991
For about a quarter century after Lombardi's departure, the Packers had relatively little on-field success. 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 seasonThe 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule...
. They appeared in the playoffs twice during that period, with a record of 1–2. The period saw five different head coaches –
Phil BengtsonJohn Phillip Bengtson was a college football player and longtime assistant coach on the collegiate and NFL levels, chiefly remembered as the successor to Vince Lombardi as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1968....
,
Dan DevineDaniel John Devine was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the University of Notre Dame from 1975 to 1980, compiling a career college football mark of...
,
Bart StarrBryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....
,
Forrest GreggAlvis 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...
, and
Lindy InfanteGelindo "Lindy" Infante is a former American college football player and assistant coach, who became an offensive coordinator and head coach in both the National Football League and the United States Football League...
– two of which were former Packer players in Lombardi's era (Starr and Gregg), and one of which was a former coach (Bengtson). Each of these men led the Packers to a poorer record than his predecessor. Poor personnel decisions typified this time period. A notorious example includes the 1974 trade in which Dan Devine acting as GM sent five 1975 and 1976 draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders and a third) to the Los Angeles Rams for aging quarterback
John HadlJohn Willard Hadl is a former collegiate and professional football player.Hadl was born in Lawrence, Kansas. After playing halfback on both offense and defense at the University of Kansas as a sophomore, Hadl played quarterback for his last two years at Kansas, and was selected as the school's...
, who would spend only 1½ seasons in Green Bay. Another came in
1989The 1989 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24 , 1989...
, when players such as
Barry SandersBarry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...
,
Deion SandersDeion Luwynn Sanders , nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former National Football League cornerback and Major League Baseball outfielder who currently works as an NFL Network analyst...
, and
Derrick ThomasDerrick Vincent Thomas , nicknamed D.T., was an American football linebacker and defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League . He played his entire 11-year career for the Chiefs after being drafted fourth overall in the 1989 NFL Draft...
were available, but the Packers chose offensive lineman
Tony MandarichAnte Josip "Tony" Mandarich is a former football offensive lineman of the NFL. He was the first round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1989, second overall behind quarterback Troy Aikman, and ahead of the third selection, running back Barry Sanders, the fourth selection, linebacker Derrick...
with the second overall pick in the NFL draft. Though rated highly by nearly every professional scout at the time, Mandarich's performance failed to meet expectations.
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
has rated Mandarich as the third "biggest sports flop" in the last 25 years.
The Brett Favre era: 1992–2007
The Packers' performance throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s led to a shakeup in which new General Manager
Ron WolfRon Wolf is the former American football general manager of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. He also played a significant role in personnel operations with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders from 1963–1975, and again from 1978–1990...
was hired to take over full control of the team's football operations during the 1991 season. In 1992, Wolf hired
San Francisco 49ersThe 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...
offensive coordinator
Mike HolmgrenMichael George Holmgren is a former professional football coach and current President of the Cleveland Browns. He served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 1998, and the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to 2008...
to be the Packers' new head coach.
Soon after hiring Holmgren, Wolf acquired quarterback
Brett FavreBrett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
from the
Atlanta FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
for a first-round pick. Favre got the Packers' their first win of the 1992 season, stepping in for injured quarterback
Don MajkowskiDonald Francis Vincent Majkowski, "Majik", is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions.-College career:...
and leading the Packers to a comeback win over the
Cincinnati BengalsThe 1992 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 25th year in professional football and its 23rd with the National Football League. The Bengals finished the 1992 season with 5 wins and 11 losses, and did not qualify for the playoffs.-NFL Draft:-Staff:...
. Favre started the following week with a win against the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated their 60th Anniversary season in 1992. This was also Bill Cowher's first season as head coach following the retirement of Chuck Noll after 23 seasons. The team was coming off a 7–9 season in 1991....
, and never missed a start during his time with the Packers through the 2007 season. He would go on to break the
recordThis is a list of the most consecutive starts by a quarterback in the NFL. Only six quarterbacks in NFL history have been able to achieve regular season streaks of at least 100 games, with only two of those with a regular season streak of at least 200 games....
for consecutive starts by an NFL quarterback, starting 297 consecutive games including stints with the
New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
with the
streakThis is a list of the most consecutive starts and games played by a player by position in the NFL.Brett Favre's starts streak of 297 games is the longest all-time. Among defensive players, Jim Marshall's starts streak of 270 is the longest all-time. Of special note is punter Jeff Feagles, who...
finally coming to an end late in the 2010 season.
The
PackersThe 1992 Green Bay Packers season was their 72nd season in the National Football League. The club posted a 9-7 record under new coach Mike Holmgren, earning them a second-place finish in the NFC Central division...
had a 9–7 record in
1992The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that...
, and began to turn heads around the league when they signed perhaps the most prized free agent in NFL history in
Reggie WhiteReginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...
on the defense in 1993. 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
1993The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...
and
1994The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
seasons but lost their 2nd-round matches to their playoff rival, the Dallas Cowboys, playing in Dallas on both occasions. In
1995The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
, the
PackersThe 1995 Green Bay Packers season was the 75th in the club's history. The Packers obtained an 11-5 mark in the regular season and won the NFC Central, their first division title since 1972. In the playoffs, the Packers defeated the Atlanta Falcons at home and the defending champion San Francisco...
won the NFC Central Division championship for the first time since 1972. After a home playoff 37–20 win against Favre's former team, the Atlanta Falcons, the Packers defeated the defending Super Bowl champion
San Francisco 49ersThe 1995 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 46th year with the National Football League, and 50th season of overall existence.-Schedule:-NFC Divisional Playoff - January 6, 1996 :*Green Bay Packers 27, San Francisco 49ers 17...
27–17 in San Francisco on the road to advance to the
NFC Championship GameThe National Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the...
, where they lost again to the
Dallas CowboysThe 1995 Dallas Cowboys season would mark their 36th in the NFL and final of the three Super Bowl titles they would win in the 1990s. Dallas would be the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a span of four seasons...
38–27.
1996, Super Bowl XXXI champions
In
1996The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
, the
Packers'The 1996 Green Bay Packers season was the team's 76th in the National Football League, which culminated with the franchise winning its third Super Bowl and league-record 12th NFL World Championship . The Packers posted a league-best 13-3 regular season won-loss record, going 8-0 at home and 5-3 on...
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. They were ranked #1 in offense with
Brett FavreBrett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
leading the way, #1 in defense with Reggie White as the leader of the defense and #1 in special Teams with former
Heisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner
Desmond HowardDesmond Kevin Howard is a former NFL wide receiver, punt returner, and kickoff returner.He played football for the University of Michigan from 1989–1991 and won the Heisman Trophy in 1991...
returning punts and kickoffs back for touchdowns. After relatively easy wins against the
49ersThe 1996 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 51st since its inception. In commemoration, the 49ers wore a special 50th anniversary patch. They also wore a new uniform reminiscent of the 1994 throwback uniforms with white pants and shadowed numbers, but with a darker shade of red and an...
in a muddy (35–14) beatdown and
Carolina Panthers-Regular season:-Postseason:-Week 2: at New Orleans Saints:Acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars, quarterback Steve Beuerlein did not throw a single pass, instead rushing three times for a net loss of ten yards; Kerry Collins handled the quarterbacking duties, throwing for 171 yards and one pick...
(30–13) in what was referred to as "Ice Bowl 2", the Packers advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in 29 years. In
Super Bowl XXXISuper Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1996 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American...
Green Bay defeated the
New England PatriotsThe New England Patriots participated in the National Football League's 1996 season, the team's 37th in football. The Patriots finished with a record of eleven wins and five losses, and finished first in the AFC East division...
35–21 to win their 12th world championship.
Desmond HowardDesmond Kevin Howard is a former NFL wide receiver, punt returner, and kickoff returner.He played football for the University of Michigan from 1989–1991 and won the Heisman Trophy in 1991...
was named MVP of the game for his kickoff return for a touchdown that ended the Patriots bid for a comeback. Then-Packers President
Bob HarlanRobert E. "Bob" Harlan is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Green Bay Packers, an American professional football team. He is a graduate of Marquette University, where he was the Sports Information Director for many years...
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. A 2007 panel of football experts at
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
ranked the 1996 Packers the 6th-greatest team to ever play in the Super Bowl.
1997
The following season the
PackersThe 1997 Green Bay Packers season concluded with the team winning its second consecutive NFC championship, but losing in a 31-24 upset to John Elway's Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII...
recorded another 13–3 record and won their second consecutive NFC championship. After defeating the
Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe 1997 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to improve on a 6-10 season from 1996. The 1997 season was notable for several reasons...
21–7 and
San Francisco 49ersThe 1997 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 48th year with the National Football League. The franchise appeared in the NFC Championship Game for the fifth time in the 1990’s and, to date, is their last appearance in the NFC title game.-Regular season:...
23–10 in the playoffs, the Packers returned to the Super Bowl as an 11½ point favorite. The team ended up losing in an upset to
John ElwayJohn Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...
and the
Denver BroncosThe Denver Broncos finished the 1997 NFL season by winning Super Bowl XXXII. They went 12–4 during the regular season. The Broncos were the third team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl but not win the Division Title.- Season summary :...
in
Super Bowl XXXIISuper Bowl XXXII was an American football game played on January 25, 1998 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1997 regular season...
, by the score of 31–24.
1998–2006
In
1998The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
, the
PackersThe 1998 Green Bay Packers season ended with a 27-30 loss in the NFC Wild Card playoff game to the San Francisco 49ers, with Steve Young throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens with three seconds left...
went 11–5 and met the
San Francisco 49ersThe 1998 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 49th year with the National Football League.-Schedule:-NFC Wild Card - January 3, 1999:*San Francisco 49ers 30, Green Bay Packers 27at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA...
in the first-round of the NFC playoffs. It was the fourth consecutive year these teams had met in the playoffs, and the sixth overall contest since the 1995 season. The Packers had won all previous games, and the media speculated that another 49ers loss would result in the dismissal of San Francisco head coach
Steve MariucciStephen Ray "Steve" Mariucci is a former National Football League coach. He coached for the San Francisco 49ers and most recently for the Detroit Lions.-Early career:...
. Unlike the previous playoff matches, this game was hotly contested, with the teams frequently exchanging leads. With 4:19 left in the 4th quarter, Brett Favre and the Packers embarked on an 89-yard drive, which concluded with a Favre touchdown pass to receiver
Antonio FreemanAntonio Michael Freeman is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League, most notably for the Green Bay Packers. He attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, dominating his high school conference. Freeman played college football at Virginia Tech...
. This play appeared to give Green Bay the victory. But San Francisco quarterback Steve Young led the 49ers on an improbable touchdrive drive, which culminated when
Terrell OwensTerrell Owens is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Owens has been one of the dominant receivers of his era...
caught Young's pass between several defenders to give the 49ers a lead with three seconds remaining. Afterwards, the game was mired in controversy. Many argued that during the 49ers game winning drive, Niners receiver
Jerry RiceJerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
fumbled the ball but officials stated he was down by contact. Television replays appeared to confirm these sentiments, and the next season the NFL re instituted an instant replay system. In the end, this game turned out to be the end of an era in Green Bay. Days later Mike Holmgren left the Packers to become Vice President, General Manager and Head Coach of the
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
. Much of Holmgren's coaching staff went with him, and
Reggie WhiteReginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...
also retired after the season (but later played one season for the
Carolina PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
in 2000). In 1999 and 2000, the team struggled to find an identity after the departure of so many of the individuals responsible for their Super Bowl run.
Ray RhodesRaymond Earl Rhodes is currently a defensive assistant for the Cleveland Browns. He is also the former American football head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. He is the former assistant defensive backs coach of the Houston Texans...
was hired in 1999 as the team's new head coach. Rhodes had served around the league as a highly-regarded defensive coordinator, and more recently experienced moderate success as head coach of the
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1995–1998. Ron Wolf believed that Rhodes' experience and player-friendly demeanor would fit nicely in Green Bay's veteran locker room. But Rhodes was fired after one 8–8
seasonThe 1999 Green Bay Packers season was the first and last season for head coach Ray Rhodes. The Packers finished 8-8, posting their worst record since Brett Favre took over the helm as the Packers' starting quarterback.-1999 NFL draft:...
. Wolf visited team practice late in the 1999 season and believed that players had become too comfortable with Rhodes' style, and said the atmosphere resembled a country club.
In 2000, Wolf replaced Rhodes with
Mike ShermanMichael Francis "Mike" Sherman is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies football team. Prior to coaching the Aggies, he served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from the 2000–05 seasons. Sherman led the Packers to five consecutive winning seasons from 2000–04 and three divisional titles...
. Sherman had never been a head coach at any level of football and was relatively unknown in NFL circles. He had only coached in professional football for three years starting as the Packers' tight ends coach in 1997 and 1998. In 1999, he followed Mike Holmgren to Seattle and became the Seahawks' offensive coordinator, although Sherman did not call the plays during games. Despite Sherman's apparent anonymity, Wolf was blown away in the interview process by the coach's organizational skills and attention to detail. Sherman's inaugural season started slowly, but the Packers won their final four games to achieve a 9–7 record. Brett Favre praised the atmosphere Sherman had cultivated in Green Bay's locker room and fans were optimistic about the team's future. In the offseason, however, Wolf suddenly announced his own resignation as GM to take effect after the April 2001 draft. Packers President Bob Harlan was surprised by Wolf's decision and felt unsure of how to replace him. Harlan preferred the structure Green Bay had employed since 1991; a general manager who ran football operations and hired a subservient head coach. But with the momentum and locker room chemistry that was built during the 2000 season, Harlan was reluctant to bring in a new individual with a potentially different philosophy. Wolf recommended that Harlan give the job to Sherman. Though Harlan was wary of the structure in principle, he agreed with Wolf that it was the best solution. In 2001, Sherman assumed the duties of both GM and head coach.
From 2001–2004, Sherman coached the Packers to respectable regular-season success, led by the spectacular play of Brett Favre, Ahman Green, and a formidable offensive line. But Sherman's teams faltered in the playoffs. Prior to 2003, the Packers had never lost a home playoff game since the NFL instituted a post-season in 1933 (they were 13–0, with 11 of the wins at Lambeau and two more in Milwaukee.). That ended January 4, 2003, when the
Atlanta FalconsThe 2002 Atlanta Falcons season was their 37th in the league. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 7-9 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four years. The team was also involved in a rare tie, matching the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-34 at the end of overtime...
defeated the
PackersDuring the 2002 Green Bay Packers season, the team completed a 12-4 regular season with before losing in the Wild Card playoff round to Michael Vick's Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field...
27–7 in an NFC Wild Card game. The Packers would also lose at home in the playoffs to the
Minnesota Vikings2004 was the 44th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 85th regular season of the National Football League.The Vikings finished the 2004 season going 3-7 over the final 10 weeks just like they did in 2003. However, they made the playoffs with an 8-8 record...
two years later.
By the end of the 2004 season, the Packers team depth appeared to be diminishing. Sherman also seemed overworked and reportedly had trouble communicating with players on the practice field with whom he was also negotiating contracts. Harlan felt the duel roles were too much for one man to handle and removed Sherman from the GM position in early 2005, while retaining him as a head coach. Harlan hired Seattle Seahawks Vice President of Operations
Ted ThompsonTed Thompson is the current general manager of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Thompson was named to the post on January 14, 2005, by Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan. Thompson took over the general manager duties from Mike Sherman, who had been serving as both head coach and general manager...
as the new Executive Vice President, General Manager and Director of Football Operations. The relationship between Thompson and Sherman appeared strained, as Thompson immediately began rebuilding Green Bay's roster. Following a dismal 4–12 season, Thompson fired Sherman. Thompson hired Mike McCarthy, the former
offensive coordinatorAn offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
for the
San Francisco 49ersThe 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...
and
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
as his new head coach. McCarthy had also previously served as the
quarterbacks coachA quarterbacks coach is a coach in charge of the quarterbacks in gridiron football. The quarterbacks coach typically operates under the offensive coordinator on a team's coaching staff....
for the Packers in 1999.
2007
After missing the playoffs in 2006, Brett Favre announced that he would return for the 2007 season; it would turn out to be one of his best. The Packers won 10 of their first 11 games and finished 13–3, earning a first round bye in the playoffs. The Packers' passing offense, led by Favre and a very skilled wide receiver group, finished second in the NFC, behind the Dallas Cowboys, and third overall in the league. Running back
Ryan GrantRyan Brett Grant is a running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2005 but was traded to the Packers shortly before the 2007 season in exchange for a future sixth-round draft pick...
, acquired for a sixth-round draft pick from the New York Giants, became the featured back in Green Bay and rushed for 956 yards and 8 touchdowns in the final 10 games of the regular season. In the divisional playoff round, in a heavy snowstorm, the Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks 42–20. Grant rushed for three touchdowns and over 200 yards, while Favre tossed three touchdown passes and 1 snowball to receiver
Donald DriverDonald Jerome Driver is an American football wide receiver and children's author. He plays for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
in celebration.
On January 20, 2008, Green Bay appeared in their first NFC Championship Game in 10 years facing the
New York GiantsThe 2007 New York Giants season was the 83rd season for the New York Giants in the National Football League. The Giants finished the regular season 10–6 and in second place in the NFC East, improving upon their 8–8 record in 2006 in which they finished third in their division...
in Green Bay. The game was lost 23–20 on an overtime field goal by
Lawrence TynesLawrence James Henry Tynes is an American football placekicker for the New York Giants. He was originally signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2001.-Early years:...
. This would be
Brett FavreBrett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
's final game as a Green Bay Packer with his final pass being an interception in overtime.
Mike McCarthy coached the
NFCThe National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
team during the
2008 Pro BowlThe 2008 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2007 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10, 2008. The game was televised in the United States by Fox and began shortly after 11:40am local time . The NFC won, 42–30, despite a 17-point first half AFC...
in Hawaii. Al Harris and
Aaron KampmanAaron Allan Kampman is an American football defensive end and linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa....
were also picked to play for the NFC Pro Bowl team as starters.
Donald DriverDonald Jerome Driver is an American football wide receiver and children's author. He plays for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
was named as a third-string wideout on the Pro Bowl roster.
Brett FavreBrett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
was named the first-string quarterback for the NFC, but he declined to play in the Pro Bowl and was replaced on the roster by
Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
'
quarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Jeff GarciaJeffrey Jason "Jeff" Garcia is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at San Jose State University....
. The Packers also had several first alternates, including Chad Clifton and Nick Barnett.
In December 2007,
Ted ThompsonTed Thompson is the current general manager of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Thompson was named to the post on January 14, 2005, by Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan. Thompson took over the general manager duties from Mike Sherman, who had been serving as both head coach and general manager...
was signed to a 5-year contract extension with the Packers, while it was announced on February 5, 2008 that head coach Mike McCarthy signed a 5-year contract extension as well.
2008
On March 4, 2008,
Brett FavreBrett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
tearfully announced his retirement. Within five months, however, he filed for reinstatement with the NFL on July 29. Favre's petition was granted by Commissioner
Roger GoodellRoger S. Goodell is the Commissioner of the National Football League , having been chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. He was chosen over four finalists for the position, winning a close vote on the fifth ballot before being unanimously approved by acclamation of the...
, effective August 4, 2008. On August 6, 2008 it was announced that Brett Favre was traded to the
New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for a conditional draft pick in 2009.
The Packers began their
2008 seasonThe 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
with their 2005 first-round draft pick, quarterback
Aaron RodgersAaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Rodgers was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers...
, under center, as the first QB other than Favre to start for the Packers in 16 years. Rodgers played well in his first year starting for the Packers, throwing for over 4000 yards and 28 touchdowns. However, injuries plagued the Packers' defense, as they lost 7 close games by 4 points or less, finishing with a 6–10 record. After the season, eight assistant coaches were dismissed by McCarthy, including Bob Sanders, the team's defensive coordinator, who was replaced by
Dom CapersErnest Dominic "Dom" Capers is an American football coach, the current defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, and the only man to serve two different National Football League expansion teams as their inaugural head coach....
.
2009
In March 2009, the organization assured fans that Brett Favre's jersey number would be retired, but not during the 2009 season. In April 2009, the Packers selected defensive lineman B.J. Raji of Boston College as the team's first pick in the draft. The team then traded three draft picks (including the pick the Packers acquired from the Jets for Brett Favre) for another first-round pick, selecting linebacker
Clay Matthews IIIWilliam Clay Matthews III is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers 26th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Southern California.-Early years:Matthews was born in the Los...
of the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
During the 2009 NFL season, two match-ups between the franchise and its former legendary QB, Brett Favre, were highly anticipated after Favre's arrival with the division-rival Vikings in August. The first encounter took place in week 4, on a
Monday Night FootballMonday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
game which broke several TV audience records. The scheduling of this game was made possible when Baseball Commissioner and Packer Board of Directors Member Bud Selig forced Baseball's Minnesota Twins to play 2 games within a 12 hour span. The Vikings won the game 30–23.
Brett FavreBrett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
threw 3 TDs, no interceptions, and had a passer rating of 135. The teams met for a second time in week 8, Favre leading the Vikings to a second win, 38–26, in Green Bay. Rodgers was heavily pressured in both games, being sacked 14 times total, but still played exceptionally well, throwing five touchdowns and only one interception. The next week, the Packers were upset by the win-less
Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
. Following a players only meeting, the team started to roll and found some stability on the offensive line with the return of tackle
Mark TauscherMark Tauscher is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft...
bringing a minor halt to sacks to Rodgers and opening the running game to
Ryan GrantRyan Brett Grant is a running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2005 but was traded to the Packers shortly before the 2007 season in exchange for a future sixth-round draft pick...
and the other running backs. Green Bay finished the season strongly, winning 7 out of their last 8 games, including winning their 16th regular season finale in the past 17 seasons, and earning a NFC wild-card playoff bid with an 11–5 regular-season record. The Packers defense was ranked #2 and the offense was ranked #6 with rookies
Brad JonesBradley Edward Jones is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Colorado.-Early years:Jones played football for East Lansing High School from...
and
Clay Matthews IIIWilliam Clay Matthews III is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers 26th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Southern California.-Early years:Matthews was born in the Los...
becoming sensations at linebacker and young players like James Jones, Brandon Jackson,
Jermichael Finley-Green Bay Packers:Finley was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He battled Tory Humphrey in training camp to be the Packers' No. 2 tight end...
and Jordy Nelson becoming threats on offense. Rodgers also became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 4000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter. Also, cornerback
Charles WoodsonCharles C. Woodson is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Michigan for the Michigan Wolverines. In 1997, Woodson led the Wolverines to a national championship...
won NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors after recording 9 interceptions, forcing four fumbles, 3 touchdowns and registering 74 tackles and 2 sacks. In fact, Woodson's 9 interceptions were more than the 8 collected by all Packer opponents that season. Though the defense was ranked high, injuries to Al Harris, Tramon Williams, Will Blackmon, Atari Bigby and Brandon Underwood severely limited the depth of the secondary and teams like the
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
and
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
used that to their advantage by unleashing aerial assaults against inexperienced players with the NFL's best receivers. The season ended with an overtime loss in a wild card round shoot out at the
Arizona CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, 51–45.
2010: Super Bowl XLV championship
After finishing the 2009 season with a 11–5 record, the Packers held the 23rd selection in the
2010 NFL DraftThe 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...
. With the pick they selected Offensive tackle
Bryan Bulaga-Green Bay Packers:Bulaga began the 2010 season as a back-up offensive lineman before getting his first start in the fifth week against the Washington Redskins. He went to start every game for the rest of the season, eventually being named to the NFL All-Rookie team. Bryan became the youngest...
from
IowaThe Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
.
On the second day of the draft, with pick 2–56 the Packers selected
Defensive endDefensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
Mike NealMichael Jamel Neal is an American football defensive end for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....
from
PurdueThe Purdue Boilermakers football team is the intercollegiate football program of the Purdue University Boilermakers. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers have an all-time record of...
. The Packers then traded picks 3–86 and 4–122 to the
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
for pick 3–71. With pick 3–71, the Packers selected Safety
Morgan BurnettMorgan Mark Burnett is an American football safety for the Green Bay Packers. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft with the 71st overall pick.-High school career:...
from
Georgia TechThe Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...
.
On the third and final day of the draft, with pick 5–154 the Packers selected
Tight endThe tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
Andrew QuarlessAndrew Christopher Quarless is an American football player for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He played college football at Penn State under Joe Paterno...
from
Penn StateThe Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
. With their compensatory selection pick 5–169, the Packers selected Offensive guard
Marshall NewhouseMarshall Edward Newhouse is an American football guard for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.-Early years:...
from
Texas ChristianThe TCU Horned Frogs football team is the intercollegiate football team of Texas Christian University. TCU competes as a member of the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, but will move to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012 season. TCU began playing football...
. In the sixth round with pick 6–193, the Packers selected
Running backA 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...
James StarksJames Darell Starks is an American football running back for the Green Bay Packers. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, .-High school:James attended high school in Niagara Falls, New York...
from
BuffaloThe Buffalo Bulls football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University at Buffalo located in the U.S. state of New York. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Mid-American Conference. Buffalo's first...
. Their final selection of the draft came when the Packers selected
Defensive endDefensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
C. J. WilsonClifford James Wilson is an American football defensive end for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at East Carolina....
of East Carolina with pick 7–230.
At the beginning of September, the Packers announced the 53 man roster, and the 20 players that had been cut. Another loss for Green Bay was the season-long suspension of
Johnny JollyJohnny Ray Jolly, Jr. is an American football defensive end, who is serving an indefinite suspension from the National Football League's Green Bay Packers...
, after he violated the NFL drug policy. The Packers running corps suffered a blow when RB
Ryan GrantRyan Brett Grant is a running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2005 but was traded to the Packers shortly before the 2007 season in exchange for a future sixth-round draft pick...
suffered a season-ending ankle injury in week 1. By the end of the season, the Packers had 16 people on
injured reserveThe injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
, including 7 starters in running back Ryan Grant, tight end
Jermichael Finley-Green Bay Packers:Finley was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He battled Tory Humphrey in training camp to be the Packers' No. 2 tight end...
, linebacker
Nick BarnettNicholas Alexander Barnett is an American Football linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. A graduate of Fontana A.B...
, safety
Morgan BurnettMorgan Mark Burnett is an American football safety for the Green Bay Packers. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft with the 71st overall pick.-High school career:...
, linebacker
Brandon Chillar-St. Louis Rams:Chillar joined the St. Louis Rams as a fourth-round draft pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. On July 26, 2004, Chillar signed a four-year $2.1 million contract with the Rams. Having a father, Ram Chillar, of East Indian descent, Chillar became one of the handful of Indian Americans in the...
, tackle
Mark TauscherMark Tauscher is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft...
, and linebacker
Brad JonesBradley Edward Jones is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Colorado.-Early years:Jones played football for East Lansing High School from...
.
After finishing the regular season with a 10–6 record, the Packers clinched the #6 seed in the NFC playoffs. In the first round, they faced the #3 seeded
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Packers won the game by the score of 21–16. In the Divisional round, the Packers went on to defeat the #1 seeded
Atlanta FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
48–21 to reach the NFC Championship Game where they played the
Chicago BearsThe 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...
at
Soldier FieldSoldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
– only the second playoff meeting between the two storied rivals (the other game being a 33–14 victory for the Bears which sent them to the 1941 NFL Championship Game.) The Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 21–14 to head to
Super Bowl XLVSuper Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
which took place on February 6, 2011, where they defeated the AFC champion
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, 31–25, becoming the first #6 seed from the NFC to win a Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers was named Super Bowl MVP.
Public company
The Packers are the only community-owned franchise in American professional sports major leagues. Typically, a team is owned by one person, partnership, or corporate entity, i.e., a "team owner." The lack of a dominant owner has been stated as 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. While the team is operated as a non-profit organization, technically it is a for-profit corporation because under Wisconsin law non-profit corporations cannot issue stock.
By comparison, the typical NFL city has a population in the millions or higher hundred-thousands. The Packers, however, have long had a large following throughout
WisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and parts of the
MidwestThe Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American 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 ParkThe Wisconsin State Fair Park is a fairgrounds and exhibition center in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin, USA. It has been the location of the Wisconsin State Fair since 1892. It also hosts other venues such as the Milwaukee Mile, the oldest continuously operating motor speedway in...
fairgrounds, then at
Milwaukee County StadiumMilwaukee County Stadium was a ballpark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1953 to 2000. It was primarily used as a baseball stadium for the Milwaukee Braves and Brewers, but was also used for football games, ice skating, religious services, concerts and other large events...
. 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
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
-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 were to have been sold, after the payment of all expenses, any remaining money would go to the Sullivan Post of the
American LegionThe American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
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, which makes donations to many charities and institutions throughout Wisconsin.
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 StadiumCity Stadium is a football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It served as home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from 1925 to 1956. It remains the home of the Green Bay East High School football team...
, but after the death of founder Curly Lambeau, the stadium was renamed
Lambeau FieldLambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
on September 11, 1965.
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. There are 112,015 people, representing 4,750,934 shares, that 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 team's elected president represents the Packers in NFL owners meetings, unless someone else is designated. During his time as coach,
Vince LombardiVincent 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...
generally represented the team at league meetings in his role as general manager, except at owners-only meetings, where the team was represented by president Dominic Olejniczak.
Green Bay is the only team with this form of ownership structure in the NFL; such ownership is in direct violation of current league rules, which stipulate a limit of 32 owners of one team and one of those owners having a minimum 30% stake. However, the Packers corporation was
grandfatheredGrandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
when the NFL's current ownership policy was established in the 1980s, and are thus exempt. The Packers are also the only American major-league sports franchise to release its financial balance sheet every year.
Board of Directors
Green Bay Packers, Inc., is governed by a seven-member Executive Committee, elected from a 45-member board of directors. The committee consists 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 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.
Green Bay Packers Foundation
The team created the Green Bay Packers Foundation in December 1986. The foundation assists in a wide variety of activities and programs that benefit education, civic affairs, health services, human services and youth-related programs.
At the team's 1999 annual stockholders meeting, it was voted to make the foundation the recipient of any remaining assets if the team were to be sold or dissolved. In 1923, the Packers were incorporated in Wisconsin as a nonprofit corporation, with stipulations that if the Packers were sold, all assets would be transferred to the Sullivan-Wallen Post of the American Legion in order to build a "proper soldiers memorial." No shareholder can own more than 200,000 shares in the company. This has put the Packers in a unique situation, as it would be impossible to move the team from Wisconsin. In turn, the franchise has remained in the tiny market of Green Bay.
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. Despite the Packers having by far the smallest local TV market, 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. The Packers have one of the longest waiting lists for season tickets in
professional sportsProfessional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
with about 86,000 people, meaning there are now more names on the waiting list than there are seats at Lambeau Field. The average wait time for season tickets is said to be over 30 years; yet since the team estimates only 90 tickets are turned over every year, if a name were to be added to the list today the estimated wait would extend well over 955 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.
Packers fans are often referred to as
cheeseheadCheesehead is a nickname, sometimes used disparagingly, referring to a person from Wisconsin, referring to the large volume of cheese production of the state...
s. 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 SoxThe Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
fans at a
Milwaukee BrewersThe Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
game. In years since and particularly beginning in 1994, the name and the hats called "cheeseheads" have also been embraced by Packers fans.
During training camp in the summer months (held outside the
Don Hutson CenterThe Don Hutson Center is the indoor practice facility of the Green Bay Packers. Located across the street from Lambeau Field, it was built in 1994 at a cost of $4.7 million.The center is named after Don Hutson, who played for the Packers from 1935 to 1945...
), 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 KnafelcGary Knafelc is a former American football wide receiver who played 10 seasons in the National Football League . He attended the University of Colorado. Knafelc is the only player to ever be carried off the City Stadium or Lambeau Field turf by fans...
, 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.
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 attendance record with 62,492 fans attending.
In August 2008,
ESPN.comESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
ranked the Packers as having the second-best fans in the NFL. The team initially finished tied with the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
(who finished ahead of the Packers) as having the best fans, but the tie was broken by
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's own
John ClaytonJohn Travis Clayton is a National Football League writer and reporter for ESPN. He is also a senior writer for ESPN.com.-Early career:...
, a Pittsburgh native.
Nickname, logo, and uniforms
Curly LambeauEarl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...
, the team's founder, solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the
Indian Packing CompanyThe Indian Packing Company was a company that was involved in the canned meat industry and that was organized in Delaware on July 22, 1919. Its canned meat sold as "Council Meats." When the company was absorbed by the Illinois-based Acme Packing Company in 1921, it had facilities in Green Bay,...
. He was given $250 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 BearsThe 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...
). 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 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 had attended the
University of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, borrowed the team's colors of
navy blueNavy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue which almost appears as black. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world....
and
goldGold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
from the
IrishNotre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
, much as
George HalasGeorge Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
borrowed team colors from his alma mater Illinois for the
Chicago BearsThe 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...
. And like the Irish in the 1930s and 1940s, the Packers sometimes used green and gold before returning to the traditional blue and gold.
In the early days, the Packers were often referred to as the "Bays" or 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.
By 1950, the Packers changed their colors to hunter
greenGreen is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
and gold. Navy blue was kept as a secondary color, seen primarily on sideline capes, but it was quietly dropped from the team colors list on all official materials shortly thereafter. The color scheme yields the common Packer nickname, "The Green and Gold". In 1994, the NFL's 75th anniversary season, the team participated in the league-wide use of "throwback" jerseys. The Packers would wear them again for two Thanksgiving Day games against the
Detroit LionsThe 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...
: in 2001, throwback uniforms as worn in the 1930s; in 2003, uniforms from the 1960s (which were only slightly different from the current uniforms).
The oval "G" logo which stands for the "G" in Green Bay was created in 1961 by Packers equipment manager Gerald "Dad" Braisher.
Tiki BarberAtiim Kiambu Hakeem-Ah "Tiki" Barber is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia....
falsely reported it to stand for "greatness" without a reliable source to back up his claims. Other reputable media outlets then published similar stories using Barber's false claim as a source. The Packers' Assistant Director of PR and Corporate Communications had the following to say: "There’s nothing in our history that suggests there's any truth to this. The Packers Hall of Fame archivist said the same thing.". The team used a number of different logos prior to 1961, but the "G" is the only logo that has ever appeared on the helmet. The Packers hold the trademark on the "G" logo, and have granted limited permission to other organizations to utilize a similar logo, such as the
University of GeorgiaThe Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference...
and
Grambling State UniversityThe Grambling Tigers represent Grambling State University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Grambling's sports teams participate in Division I as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference...
. Adopted in 1964, the Georgia "G", though different in design and color, was similar to the Packers' "G". Then-Georgia head coach
Vince DooleyVincent Joseph Dooley was the head football coach and athletic director at the University of Georgia. During his 25 year coaching career at UGA, Dooley compiled a 201–77–10 record. His teams won six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship...
thought it best to clear the use of Georgia's new emblem with the Packers.
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 sunrays, the Packers have done so only twice, during the opening two games of the 1989 season. Although alternate gold jerseys with green numbers are sold on a retail basis, the team currently has no plans to introduce such a jersey to be used in actual games.
During the 2010 season, the Packers paid tribute to their historical brethren with a third jersey modeled after that worn by the club in 1929, during its first world championship season. The jersey was navy blue, again making the Packers "the Blues."
Stadium history
After their early seasons at
Bellevue ParkBellevue Park was the name of a stadium used for football games in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A minor league baseball park, it was the home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL in 1923 and 1924....
and
Hagemeister ParkHagemeister Park was the name of a park in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was the home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from their founding in 1919 through 1922. Owned by Hagemeister brewery, the park was located on the northern end of Washington Park .It was a classic sandlot, located near Baird and...
, the Packers played home games in
City StadiumCity Stadium is a football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It served as home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from 1925 to 1956. It remains the home of the Green Bay East High School football team...
from 1925 to 1956. The team won its first 6 NFL world championships while calling City Stadium its home.
Once the NFL threatened to move the franchise to Milwaukee if stadium conditions were not improved in Green Bay, the city responded by building a modern facility for the Packers, open in time for the
1957The 1957 Green Bay Packers season was their 37th season in the National Football League. The club posted a 3-9 record under coach Lisle Blackbourn, earning a last-place finish in the Western Conference. This season was the Packers last under Lisle Blackbourn...
season. The new stadium became the first built exclusively for an NFL team. Lambeau Field was originally known as City Stadium, like its predecessor, but its name was changed in 1965 after the death of Curly Lambeau.
When Lambeau Field opened in 1957, it had a
seating capacitySeating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 32,150. The stadium was expanded seven times before the end of the 1990s, and seating capacity reached 60,890. In 2003, Lambeau Field was extensively renovated to expand seating, modernize stadium facilities, and add an atrium area. These renovations raised Lambeau Field's seating capacity to 72,928. Despite the multiple expansions of Lambeau Field, ticket demand has far outpaced supply, as all Packers games have been sold out since 1960. Over 78,000 names are on the waiting list for season tickets.
The Packers played part of their home slate in Milwaukee starting in 1933, including two to three home games each year in Milwaukee's
County StadiumMilwaukee County Stadium was a ballpark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1953 to 2000. It was primarily used as a baseball stadium for the Milwaukee Braves and Brewers, but was also used for football games, ice skating, religious services, concerts and other large events...
from 1953 to 1994. The Packers worked to capture their growing fan base in Milwaukee and the larger crowds. By the 1960s, threat of an
American Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
franchise in Milwaukee prompted the Packers to stay, including scheduling a Western Conference Playoff in 1967. Since County Stadium was primarily a baseball stadium, the field could barely fit a football field, and the end zones extended onto the
warning trackA warning track is the term for the part of the baseball field that is closest to the wall or fence and is typically made of dirt, instead of grass or artificial turf like most of the field. It runs parallel to the ballpark's wall and looks like a running track...
. By 1994, improvements and seating expansions at Lambeau prompted the Packers to leave County Stadium after 62 years in Milwaukee, and again be based solely in Green Bay.
Season-by-season results
- This is a partial list of the last five completed seasons by the Packers, and the current season. For the full season-by-season franchise results, see List of Green Bay Packers seasons.
Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.
Record as of February 6, 2011
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; width:98%;"
|-
!rowspan="2" style="width:5%;"|
Season
!rowspan="2" style="width:5%;"|Team
!rowspan="2" style="width:5%;"|
League
!rowspan="2" style="width:5%;"|Conference
!rowspan="2"|Division
!colspan="4"|
Regular seasonThe National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...
!rowspan="2" style="width:27%;"|
Post SeasonThe National Football League playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held at the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the...
Results
!rowspan="2" style="width:30%;"|Awards
|-
!Finish
!Wins
!Losses
!Ties
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
2006- Game summary :The Packers opened the regular season on September 10 with a 26-0 loss to the Chicago Bears, the Packers' first scoreless game since October 17, 1991....
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|NFC
| style="text-align:center;"|North
| style="text-align:center;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|8
| style="text-align:center;"|8
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
2007The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
| style="text-align:center;"|
2007The 2007 Green Bay Packers season was the franchise's 89th overall and 87th season in the National Football League. The Packers finished the regular season with an impressive 13-3 record. They received a bye for the first round of the playoffs, won their divisional round playoff game, and lost in...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|NFC
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|North
| style="text-align:center; background:#d0e7ff;"|1st
| style="text-align:center;"|13
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|Won Divisional Playoffs (
SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
) (42–20)
Lost NFC Conference Championship (
GiantsThe 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...
) (23–20, OT)
|Brett Favre (
Sportsman of the YearSince its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the...
)
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
2008The 2008 Green Bay Packers season was the 88th season in the National Football League for the Packers and their 90th overall. They looked to continue success after posting a 13-3 record in 2007, but finished the season with a losing 6-10 record and missed the playoffs.- 2008 NFL Draft :The Packers...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|NFC
| style="text-align:center;"|North
| style="text-align:center;"|3rd
| style="text-align:center;"|6
| style="text-align:center;"|10
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
2009The 2009 Green Bay Packers season was the 89th season in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers and the 91st season for the team overall...
| style="text-align:center;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center;"|NFC
| style="text-align:center;"|North
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|Lost Wild Card Playoffs (
CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
) (51–45) (OT)
|
Charles WoodsonCharles C. Woodson is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Michigan for the Michigan Wolverines. In 1997, Woodson led the Wolverines to a national championship...
(NFL Defensive Player of the Year)
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
2010The 2010 Green Bay Packers season was the 90th season in the National Football League for the Packers and the 92nd season for the team overall. With a record of 10–6, the Packers entered the playoffs as the NFC's sixth seed...
| style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;"|NFL
| style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;"|NFC
| style="text-align:center;"|North
| style="text-align:center; background:#96cdcd;"|2nd
| style="text-align:center;"|10
| style="text-align:center;"|6
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|Won Wild Card Playoffs (
EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
) (21–16)
Won Divisional Playoffs (
FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
) (48–21)
Won NFC Conference Championship (
BearsThe 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...
) (21–14)
Won
Super Bowl XLVSuper Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
(
SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
) (31–25)
|
Bryan Bulaga-Green Bay Packers:Bulaga began the 2010 season as a back-up offensive lineman before getting his first start in the fifth week against the Washington Redskins. He went to start every game for the rest of the season, eventually being named to the NFL All-Rookie team. Bryan became the youngest...
(AP All-Rookie Team)
Josh Sitton-Green Bay Packers:In 2010, he was named Offensive Lineman of the Year by the NFL Alumni Association and was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate.On September 2nd, 2011, the Packers signed Sitton to a five-year contract extension.-External links:**...
(NFL Alumni Association Offensive Lineman of the Year)
Clay Matthews IIIWilliam Clay Matthews III is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers 26th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Southern California.-Early years:Matthews was born in the Los...
(AP All-Pro Team, Sporting News Defensive Player of the year)
Aaron RodgersAaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Rodgers was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers...
(FedEx Air Player of the Year,
Super Bowl XLVSuper Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
MVP)
|-
! style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3" colspan="6"|Total
! style="text-align:center;"|664
! style="text-align:center;"|524
! style="text-align:center;"|36
!colSpan="2"|(1921–2010, includes only regular season)
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|29
! style="text-align:center;"|16
! style="text-align:center;"|
--
!colSpan="2"|(1921–2010, includes only playoffs)
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|693
! style="text-align:center;"|540
! style="text-align:center;"|36
!colSpan="2"|(1921–2010, includes both regular season and playoffs; 13 NFL Championships)
|-
Records
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:left"
|+ All-Time Packers Leaders
! Leader || Player || Record Number || Years on Packers
|-
| Passing ||
Brett FavreBrett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
|| 61,655 passing yards || 1992–2007
|-
| Rushing ||
Ahman GreenAhman Rashad Green is a retired American football running back. He is the all-time leading rusher for the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 3rd round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
|| 8,322 rushing yards || 2000–2009
|-
| Receiving ||
Donald DriverDonald Jerome Driver is an American football wide receiver and children's author. He plays for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
|| 9,740 receiving yards || 1999–Present
|-
| Coaching Wins ||
Curly LambeauEarl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...
|| 209 wins || 1919–1949
|}
Pro Football Hall of Fame members
The Packers have the second most members in the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
with twenty-one. They trail only the
Chicago BearsThe 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...
(with 27).
{|
|-
|valign="top"|
- 26 Herb Adderley
Herbert Allen Adderley is a former American football cornerback who played for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League....
, CB, 1961–1969
- 3 Tony Canadeo
Anthony Robert "Tony" Canadeo was a professional football player, a halfback and quarterback for the NFL's Green Bay Packers from 1941 to 1944 and 1946 to 1952, having missed the 1945 season while serving in the United States Army during World War II.Born and raised in Chicago, Tony Canadeo...
, HB, 1941–1944; 1947–1952
- 87 Willie Davis, DE, 1960–1969
- 75 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...
, OT, 1956; 1958–1970
- 38 Arnie Herber
Arnold "Arnie" Charles Herber was a professional American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966...
, QB, 1930–1940
- 30 Clarke Hinkle
William Clarke Hinkle was a professional American football player for the Green Bay Packers. Wearing # 30, he played Tailback and Linebacker from 1932 to 1941....
, FB, 1932–1941
- 5 Paul Hornung
Paul Vernon Hornung is a retired Hall of Fame professional football player who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957-66...
, HB, 1956–1962; 1964–1966
- 36 Cal Hubbard
Robert Calvin Hubbard was a professional American football player and later an umpire in Major League Baseball, and is a member of three major sports halls of fame...
, OT, 1929–1933; 1935
- 14 Don Hutson
Donald Montgomery Hutson was the first star wide receiver in National Football League history. He is considered by many to have been the first modern receiver....
, E, 1935–1945
- 74 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...
, DT, 1959–1969
|width="45"|
|valign="top"|
- 20 Earl (Curly) Lambeau
Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...
, Coach, 1919–1949
- 80 James Lofton
James David Lofton is a former American football player and coach. He is a former American football coach for the San Diego Chargers but is best known for his years in the National Football League as a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers , Los Angeles Raiders , the Buffalo Bills...
, WR, 1978–1986
- 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...
, Coach, 1959–1967
- 24 Johnny "Blood" McNally
John Victor "Blood" McNally was an American football player who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
, HB, 1929–1933
- 2 Mike Michalske
August Mike Michalske was an American football player and coach. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964....
, OG, 1929–1935; 1937
- 66 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....
, LB, 1958–1972
- 51 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....
, C, 1953–1963
- 15 Bart Starr
Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....
, QB, 1956–1971
- 31 Jim Taylor, FB, 1958–1966
- 92 Reggie White
Reginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...
, DE, 1993–1998
- 24 Willie Wood, S, 1960–1971
|}
Emmitt ThomasEmmitt Earl Thomas is currently the secondary coach of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. He is a former college and professional football player who played for the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs from 1966 to 1969, and then for the Chiefs in the NFL from 1970 to 1978...
, who was inducted in the Hall of Fame for his career as a player, served as a defensive coordinator for the Packers, though he never played with them. Similar can be said for
Dick LeBeauCharles Richard “Dick” LeBeau is a National Football League Hall of Fame defensive back. He is currently the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator and is considered to be one of the greatest defensive coordinators of all time. He spent 14 years in the NFL as a player with the Detroit Lions and...
, who was elected as player and served as a defensive backfield coach for the Packers, but never played with them.
Retired numbers
In nearly nine decades of Packers football, the Packers have formally retired 5 numbers. All five Packers are members of the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
and their numbers and names are displayed on the green facade of Lambeau Field's north endzone as well as in the Lambeau Field Atrium.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:left"
|+ Retired Numbers
! No. || Pos. || Player || Date retired
|-
| 14 ||
WRA 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...
/DB ||
Don HutsonDonald Montgomery Hutson was the first star wide receiver in National Football League history. He is considered by many to have been the first modern receiver....
|| December 2, 1951 vs
New York YanksThe New York Yanks American football team played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. In 1949, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins had requested the NFL to fold his Boston team and give him a new one in New York City...
@
City StadiumCity Stadium is a football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It served as home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from 1925 to 1956. It remains the home of the Green Bay East High School football team...
|-
| 3 ||
HBA halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
/
QBQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
||
Tony CanadeoAnthony Robert "Tony" Canadeo was a professional football player, a halfback and quarterback for the NFL's Green Bay Packers from 1941 to 1944 and 1946 to 1952, having missed the 1945 season while serving in the United States Army during World War II.Born and raised in Chicago, Tony Canadeo...
|| November 23, 1952 vs
Dallas TexansThe Dallas Texans played in the National Football League for one season, 1952, with a record of 1–11.-History:After the 1951 NFL season, the financially troubled New York Yanks franchise were put on the market. Ted Collins had founded that franchise in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, moved it to New...
@
City StadiumCity Stadium is a football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It served as home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from 1925 to 1956. It remains the home of the Green Bay East High School football team...
|-
| 15 ||
QBQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
||
Bart StarrBryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....
|| November 11, 1973 vs
St. Louis CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
@
Lambeau FieldLambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
|-
| 66 ||
LBA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
||
Ray NitschkeRaymond 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....
|| December 4, 1983 vs
Chicago BearsThe 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...
@
Lambeau FieldLambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
|-
| 92 ||
DEDefensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
||
Reggie WhiteReginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...
|| September 18, 2005 vs
Cleveland BrownsThe 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...
@
Lambeau FieldLambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
|}
After Brett Favre stated his intent to retire in May 2008, the Packers announced that his #4 would be retired in a ceremony during the team's 2008 opening game against the Minnesota Vikings. The ceremony was cancelled following Favre's subsequent decision to return to the game, and he was traded to the New York Jets. In March 2009, the Packers indicated that the team still intends to retire Favre's number, but due to the circumstances surrounding his departure from the team, no timeline had been set.
Head coaches
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:140px;"|Name
!rowspan="2"|From
!rowspan="2"|To
!colspan="3"|Record
!rowspan="2"|Titles
|-
!W!!L!!T
|-
|align=left |
Earl (Curly) LambeauEarl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...
|align=left|1919
|align=left|1949
|231||108||21
|6
|-
|align=left |
Gene RonzaniGene Ronzani was the second head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He coached the Packers from 1951 until 1953. He resigned with two games remaining in the 1953 season and was replaced on an interim basis by the tandem of Hugh Devore and Ray Scooter McLean....
|align=left|1950
|align=left|1953
|14||31||1
|
|-
|align=left |
Hugh DevoreHugh John Devore was a football player and coach whose close connection to the University of Notre Dame saw him serve in both capacities, while also seeing time as head coach at two other colleges as well as the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles.-Early career:Devore was born and...
*
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|1953
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|1953
|rowspan=2|0||rowspan=2|2||rowspan=2|0
|rowspan=2|
|-
|align=left|
Ray (Scooter) McLeanRay "Scooter" McLean was a football player and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels, but may be best remembered for preceding Vince Lombardi as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1958....
*
|-
|align=left |
Lisle BlackbournLisle "Liz" Blackbourn was an American football coach who was the third head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He coached the Packers from 1954 to 1957....
|align=left|1954
|align=left|1957
|17||31||0
|
|-
|align=left |
Ray (Scooter) McLeanRay "Scooter" McLean was a football player and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels, but may be best remembered for preceding Vince Lombardi as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1958....
|align=left|1958
|align=left|1958
|1||10||1
|
|-
|align=left |
Vince LombardiVincent 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...
|align=left|1959
|align=left|1967
|98||30||4
|5
|-
|align=left |
Phil BengtsonJohn Phillip Bengtson was a college football player and longtime assistant coach on the collegiate and NFL levels, chiefly remembered as the successor to Vince Lombardi as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1968....
|align=left|1968
|align=left|1970
|20||21||1
|
|-
|align=left |
Dan DevineDaniel John Devine was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the University of Notre Dame from 1975 to 1980, compiling a career college football mark of...
|align=left|1971
|align=left|1974
|25||28||4
|
|-
|align=left |
Bart StarrBryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....
|align=left|1975
|align=left|1983
|53||77||3
|
|-
|align=left |
Forrest GreggAlvis 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...
|align=left|1984
|align=left|1987
|25||37||1
|
|-
|align=left |
Lindy InfanteGelindo "Lindy" Infante is a former American college football player and assistant coach, who became an offensive coordinator and head coach in both the National Football League and the United States Football League...
|align=left|1988
|align=left|1991
|24||40||0
|
|-
|align=left |
Mike HolmgrenMichael George Holmgren is a former professional football coach and current President of the Cleveland Browns. He served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 1998, and the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to 2008...
|align=left|1992
|align=left|1998
|73||36||0
|1
|-
|align=left |
Ray RhodesRaymond Earl Rhodes is currently a defensive assistant for the Cleveland Browns. He is also the former American football head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. He is the former assistant defensive backs coach of the Houston Texans...
|align=left|1999
|align=left|1999
|8||8||0
|
|-
|align=left |
Mike ShermanMichael Francis "Mike" Sherman is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies football team. Prior to coaching the Aggies, he served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from the 2000–05 seasons. Sherman led the Packers to five consecutive winning seasons from 2000–04 and three divisional titles...
|align=left|2000
|align=left|2005
|56||39||0
|
|-
|align=left | Mike McCarthy
|align=left|2006
|align=left|current
|48||32||0
|1
|}
*Interim Head Coaches
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 have not come into effect since
1972The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.-Major rule changes:...
(the last year home game local telecasts were prohibited regardless of sellout status) due to strong home attendance and popularity - the Packers have not had a non-sellout in over 50 years.
The Packers'
flagship radio stationIn broadcasting, a flagship is the broadcast which originates a television network, or a particular radio show or TV show, primarily in the United States and Canada. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication, but generally not backhauls...
and broadcast producer is Milwaukee-based
WTMJWTMJ is a radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin broadcasting at 620 AM. It is a 50,000-watt station airing a format of news, talk and sports. WTMJ is owned by Journal Broadcast Group, which also owns the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and sister station WLWK-FM....
(620), with the games airing in Green Bay on WTAQ (1360/97.5),
WIXX-FMWIXX is a Top 40 formatted radio station licensed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, that serves the Green Bay and Appleton-Oshkosh areas. WIXX's main competition is WKSZ...
(101.1), and WAPL (105.7) and
WHBYWHBY is a News/Talk formatted radio station licensed to Kimberly, Wisconsin, that serves the Green Bay and Appleton-Oshkosh areas...
(1150) in
AppletonAppleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...
and the
Fox CitiesThe Fox Cities of northeastern Wisconsin are the cities, towns and villages along the Fox River as it flows from Lake Winnebago northward into Green Bay. Together they form the core of the third largest metropolitan area of Wisconsin, with a population exceeding 360,000...
.
Wayne LarriveeWayne Larrivee is an American sportscaster, who is the radio play-by-play voice of the Green Bay Packers and football and basketball play-by-play voice for the Big Ten Network.-Early life and career:...
is the play-by-play announcer and
Larry McCarrenLaurence "Larry" Anthony McCarren is a former American football center who played for twelve seasons in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers. He earned the nickname the "Rock" after he started 162 consecutive games, which is the team's fourth longest consecutive games start...
is the color analyst. Larrivee joined the team after many years as the Chicago Bears' announcer.
Jim IrwinJim Irwin was a longtime sportscaster at WTMJ Radio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is probably best known as the radio voice of the Green Bay Packers for 30 years. Jim worked with former Packer Lionel Aldridge, and was then paired for 20 seasons with former Packer Max McGee...
and
Max McGeeWilliam Max McGee was a professional football wide receiver who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1954-67. He served as the team's punter during a few years of his career. McGee may be best known for his performance during the first Super Bowl game. Prior to his NFL career, he played college...
were the longtime radio announcers before Larrivee and McCarren. When victory is assured for the Packers, either a game winning touchdown, interception or a crucial 4th down defensive stop, Larrivee's trademark declaration of "And there is your dagger!" signifies the event. WTMJ has aired Packers games since 1929, the longest association between a radio station and an NFL team to date, and the only rights deal in American professional sports where a station outside of the team's main metro area is the radio flagship.
The TV rights for pre-season games not nationally broadcast are held by WFRV (Channel 5) in Green Bay and
WTMJWTMJ-TV, digital channel 28 ; branded as "Today's TMJ4", is the NBC-affiliated television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the flagship station of the Journal Broadcast Group. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin and parts of northeastern Illinois, including Racine, Kenosha,...
(Channel 4) in Milwaukee, along with
Quincy NewspapersQuincy Newspapers, Inc. is a family-owned media company that originated in the newspapers of Quincy, Illinois. The company's history can be traced back to 1835, when the Bounty Land Register was one of only four newspapers in all of Illinois. Over the next century, a number of mergers followed...
' six
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
stations in the central, northern and western parts of the state. As such, these stations are all allowed to use the tagline Your official Packers station in their market area by the team, and also carry the weekly coach's show hosted by WTMJ-TV's Jessie Garcia, The Mike McCarthy Show on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm throughout the football season.
Pre-season coverage is produced by
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, using the
NFL on CBSThe NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
graphics package, with the CBS eyemark replaced by the Packers logo, a remnant of WFRV's former ownership by the CBS Corporation itself until 2007. The TV play-by-play announcer,
Kevin HarlanKevin Harlan is an American television sports announcer. The son of former Green Bay Packers executive Bob Harlan, he currently broadcasts NFL and college basketball games on CBS. Harlan is also a play-by-play announcer for the NBA on TNT...
(also on loan from CBS), is the son of former Packers president
Bob HarlanRobert E. "Bob" Harlan is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Green Bay Packers, an American professional football team. He is a graduate of Marquette University, where he was the Sports Information Director for many years...
. Since the 2008 pre-season all of the Packers preseason games on the statewide network are produced and aired in high definition, with
WTMJ-TVWTMJ-TV, digital channel 28 ; branded as "Today's TMJ4", is the NBC-affiliated television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the flagship station of the Journal Broadcast Group. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin and parts of northeastern Illinois, including Racine, Kenosha,...
subcontracting the games to minor network affiliates in Milwaukee during Summer Olympics years due to mandatory non-preemption policies by their network,
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Monday Night FootballMonday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
games, both pre-season and season, are broadcast over the air on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliates WBAY (Channel 2) in Green Bay and
WISN-TVWISN-TV, virtual channel 12.1 , is a television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin serving as an affiliate of the ABC television network. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin and parts of northeastern Illinois, including Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan and Waukesha...
(Channel 12) in Milwaukee, while the stations airing Packers games in the
NFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
Thursday Night Football package have varied.
The team's intra-squad Lambeau scrimmage at the beginning of the season, marketed as Packers Family Night, is broadcast by WITI (Channel 6) in Milwaukee, and produced by WLUK (Channel 11) in Green Bay, both
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliates which broadcast the bulk of the team's regular-season games. The scrimmage is also broadcast by the state's other Fox affiliates. It was aired for the first time in 2011 in high definition.
External links
- Green Bay Packers Official Club Homepage
- Green Bay Packers at the 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...
Official Homepage
- Green Bay Packers at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...
Online Website
- Green Bay Packers at the Green Bay Press-Gazette
The Green Bay Press-Gazette is a newspaper whose primary coverage is of northeastern Wisconsin, including Green Bay. It was founded as the Green Bay Gazette in 1866 as a weekly paper, becoming a daily newspaper in 1871. The Green Bay Gazette merged with its major competitor, the Green Bay Free...
Online Website
- Green Bay Packers Information at Sports E-Cyclopedia.com