The Green Bay Packers probably have one of the most, if not the most, colorful and most interesting backgrounds in the history of professional football. They are located in Green Bay, Wisconsin and are in the NFC of the NFL. They are the third oldest franchise team in the NFL. They started out as a small town team of the kind that was commonly found in the 1920s and 1930s. They were founded by two former high-school football rivals Earl "Curly" Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun. They came up with name for the Green Bay Packers because the team's first uniforms were paid for by Lambeau's employer the Indian Packing company. Today the team is the oldest team in the NFL to still have its original name.
August 1920 was the year for the Packers to become a franchise is the then new pro football league. Even though there were money problems and the franchise was lost that year, Lambeau did not give up and he found new backers for the team. These new backers were called the "Hungry Five" and they became the Green Bay Football Corporation.
The Packers illustrious history includes twelve league championships. This is a record for being the most championships than any other team in the NFL. To their name they have nine NFL championships prior to the Super Bowl becoming into existence and three Super Bowl victories. Their Bowl wins were in 1967, 1968 and 1997. There is an intense rivalry with the Chicago Bears with whom they have played in over 170 games. They also have a rivalry with the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have historically been the Packers playoff rivals, especially after the Packers beat Dallas in the famous Ice Bowl in 1967.
Green Bay is the only non-profit, community-owned Major league professional team of any sort in the USA. They can sport of a history of a 13 year non-losing streak that began in 1992. They have had 2 Super Bowl appearances during that streak with one win at Super Bowl XXXI. The Packers losing streak came to an end in 2005 and in 2006 they had a marginal season with an 8-8 record. In 2007 they ended up with a 13-3 season with Coach Mike McCarthy at their head.
In the 1960s the Packers won five league championships under Coach Vince Lombardi. This occurred over a seven-year span that led to winning the first two Super Bowls. Bart Starr is one of their most notable players, along with Jim Taylor, Paul Hornung, Carroll Dale, and Jerry Kramer. The 1967 season was the last one for Vince Lombardi as the Packers' head coach. The end of that season saw one of the most famous, if not the most famous, of all NFL Championship games. It is still known as the Ice Bowl now, 41 years later. And people still talk about it. With only sixteen seconds left in the game, Bart Starr ended the game with the Dallas Cowboys with a quarterback sneak touchdown that brought the Packers their third straight NFL Championship. This is a feat that has been matched to this day by no other NFL team. They beat the Cowboys 21-17 and made their place in history. The death of Lombardi in 1970 led to the naming of the Super Bowl trophy as the Vince Lombardi Trophy in recognition of the great accomplishments of Vince and his beloved team, The Packers.
One of the best moves that the Packers have ever done is to get quarterback Brett Favre from the Atlanta Falcons for the first round draft pick in 1992. The Packers then had a quarterback that never missed a game start until he left the team for the New York Jets in 2007. Will the Packers miss their beloved Favre? Only time will tell. But my bet is that the Jets will now have a comeback with Favre at their head the likes of which professional football has never seen. It will be fun to watch.
Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school football coach of 25 years. His love of the game of football is reflected in his words and memories of growing up in the South and playing football in the back yard with his brother, cousins and neighborhood friends. His biggest thrill is watching former high school players he has coached play at the college level. His favorite pastime is watching NFL football on tv and attending the games in person every chance he gets. Freddie Brister is a huge fan of the NFL and the Green Bay Packers. Check out his Green Bay Packers Watch or his Green Bay Packers Blankets
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