For the Love of the Packers: An A-to-Z Primer for Packers Fans of All Ages
44
For the Love of the Packers: An A-to-Z Primer for Packers Fans of All Ages
44eBookUpdated edition (Updated edition)
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781623685355 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Triumph Books |
| Publication date: | 08/01/2010 |
| Series: | For the Love of... |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 44 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Frederick C. Klein is a longtime writer and editor for the Wall Street Journal, where he originated the "On Sports" column. He is a freelance writer and the author of many books, including several other entries in the For the Love of . . . series. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. Mark Anderson is an illustrator whose work has appeared on the back cover of National Geographic, the New Yorker, and Time and inside the Atlantic Monthly, BusinessWeek, Harvard Business Review, Outside, and many other periodicals. He is the illustrator and designer of Triumph Books' popular For the Love of . . . series. He lives in Chicago. Paul Hornung is a former player for the Green Bay Packers and a member of both the Pro and College Football Halls of Fame. A versatile player, he was a halfback, quarterback, and placekicker.
Read an Excerpt
For the Love of the Packers
An A-to-Z Primer for Packers Fans of All Ages
By Frederick C. Klein, Mark Anderson
Triumph Books
Copyright © 2008 Frederick C. KleinAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-62368-535-5
CHAPTER 1
"A" is for Aldridge, An end with no bend. When he'd hit a runner he'd Put him on the mend.
Lionel Aldridge came to the Packers in 1963 from Utah State University. He went on to become a fixture in their defensive line for nine seasons, including the championship years of 1965, 1966, and 1967. He was known for his durability and for his ability to both stop the run and rush the passer. He missed only three regular-season games during his career in Green Bay.
"B" is for Brown, Whose trademark was girth. When he took the field He rattled the earth.
Gilbert Brown was the prototypical nose tackle of the 1990s, a massive man who anchored the middle of the Packers' defensive line. Nicknamed "the Grave Digger" for his dirt-shoveling charade after tackles, he was listed as weighing 345 pounds, but many people thought he was heavier. So famous was his eating prowess that a Green Bay restaurant featured the "Gilbert Burger" in his honor. It contained double everything except pickles, which he didn't like.
"C" is for Canadeo, The "Ghost" with the most. Give him the ball and He'd find the goal post.
Tony Canadeo went to little Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he got the nickname "the Gray Ghost of Gonzaga." Short but tough and elusive, he started variously at quarterback, running back, and defensive back in his 11 seasons with the Pack (1941–1944; 1946–1952). In 1949 he became the first Packer to rush for more than 1,000 yards. He registered 8,667 yards of total offense over his career.
"D" is for Driver; This wheelman can steer. When Brett looked downfield, There was Don in the clear!
Donald Driver was a late-round draft choice out of Alcorn State University in 1999, but after settling into the pro game he became an NFL star and Brett Favre's favorite pass receiver. Through 2007 the Houston, Texas, native was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and had exceeded the 1,000-yard receptions mark in five seasons. His 503 career catches put him third on the team's all-time list.
"E" is for Earp, Not Wyatt but "Jug." At center for the Pack He was a sparkplug.
Francis Louis "Jug" Earp was an athletic legend at Millikin University in Illinois, then starred in his 11 seasons in Green Bay (1922–1932). In the pros he played every line position, but mostly center. He is credited with inventing the modern center snap, where the crouching center, facing forward, hands the ball between his legs to the quarterback.
"F" is for Favre, A Mississippi lad, In each Packers outing He gave all that he had.
Brett Favre, from Kiln, Mississippi, was the Packers' offensive leader after taking over as starting quarterback in 1992 until his retirement after the 2007 season. His competitive spirit, durability, and all-out playing style made him the team's most popular player as well. Favre led the Packers to the Super Bowl XXXI championship in January 1997. At the time of his retirement, he held NFL career records for most passing yards (61,655), most completions (5,377), and most touchdown passes (442), among others. His brilliant performance in leading the Pack to the 2007 NFC championship game, at age 38, earned him Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award.
"G" is for Gregg; As a lineman, the best. When his playing days ended He took the coaching test.
Forrest Gregg spent 14 seasons with the Packers and was a starting offensive tackle on all five of their 1960s championship teams. Not big for his position at 250 pounds, he instead overcame foes with superior technique and game preparation. He did this so well that he was named to the All -NFL team eight straight times (1960–1967), and Vince Lombardi called him "the finest player I ever coached." Gregg later turned to coaching himself, eventually holding the top job with the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Packers (1984–1987), and with his alma mater, Southern Methodist University.
"H" is for Herber and Hutson, An aerial show. They racked up big yardage And made the score grow.
Green Bay native Arnie Herber was one of pro football's first great long passers, and his throws helped usher in the modern passing game. He was a mainstay of the championship Pack teams of the 1930s. For much of that period his favorite receiver was end Don Hutson, the best pass catcher of the NFL's first 50 years. For many years the lean former University of Alabama star held the league record for touchdown receptions (99). More than 60 years after his 1945 retirement he still leads the team in career touchdowns (105) and stands third in catches (488) and yards gained receiving (7,991).
"I" is for Indian A firm that packed meat. Its $500 for jerseys Began the Pack beat.
The Packers were formed in 1919 when young Earl "Curly" Lambeau persuaded his Green Bay employer, the Indian Packing Company, to sponsor a team. A year later the firm was sold to Acme Packing Company. It continued the relationship and the Packers name stuck. Direct commercial sponsorship of teams was common in the early years of pro football.
"J" is for Jordan, Who was good on the mat. Then he came to Green Bay And knocked running backs flat.
"K" is for Kramer, Whose block cleared the way for the big "Ice Bowl" victory That's remembered today.
Henry Jordan was a multisport athlete at the University of Virginia, lettering in wrestling and track as well as in football. In 1957 he was runner-up in the heavyweight division of the national collegiate wrestling tournament. Jordan excelled as a defensive tackle with the Packers from 1959 through 1969, joining Willie Davis and Lionel Aldridge on one of the game's all-time best defensive lines. He is one of 10 members of the 1960s champions to be elected to the NFL's Hall of Fame.
Jerry Kramer played right guard on the 1960s Pack titleholders, winning fame as a lead blocker in the famous "Green Bay sweep." He gained further note as co-author of the book Instant Replay, his diary of the 1967 season that's considered a sports classic. Kramer's block that allowed quarterback Bart Starr to score the winning points on a 1-yard sneak in the dying seconds of the frigid "Ice Bowl" game against Dallas for the 1967 NFL crown provided one of football's most unforgettable moments.
"L" is for Lambeau, The man and the Field. In Packerdom annals No name's deeper sealed.
Few individuals have had a longer or more productive association with a major sports team than Earl "Curly" Lambeau. He founded the Packers in 1919, played for them for 11 seasons, and was their only head coach through 1949. His teams won six NFL championships and more than 200 games. City Stadium, the Packers' home since it was built in 1957, was renamed Lambeau Field in his honor in 1965. His statue stands outside the structure.
"M" is for McNally, Who played many a part. His days on the gridiron Were only a start.
John McNally wanted to play semi-pro football while still in college, so to protect his eligibility took the name "Johnny Blood" after a Rudolph Valentino movie(Blood and Sand) he enjoyed. As Blood he played 14 NFL seasons ending in 1938. Seven of them were in Green Bay, where he starred at halfback on four championship clubs. McNally pursued multiple interests after football. He was an Army cryptographer in World War II. At age 42 he returned to St. John's College in Minnesota, earned a degree in economics, and later taught the subject and wrote a textbook. He was said to take the stage and recite long verses from Shakespeare by heart. They made a movie that was based on his life and career called Leatherheads starring George Clooney.
"N" is for Nitschke, Who fomented foe fear. He pounced on a runner Like a lion on a deer.
Ray Nitschke was a second-string fullback and sometime-linebacker at the University of Illinois who was switched to full-time defense in Green Bay. He won the team's starting middle linebacker job in 1960 and quickly became known for his tackling ferocity and swiftness of pursuit. He was the Most Valuable Player of the Packers' 1962 NFL title game against the New York Giants and a many-time All-Pro, and was named to the league's 50-Year and 75th-Anniversary teams.
"O" is for Nothing, Which is what the Giants got, In two title games When the Packers were hot.
In the NFL's long history only five championship playoff games have ended in shutouts, and the Pack recorded two of them. In 1939, at State Fair Park in Milwaukee, they beat the New York Giants 27–0 as Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell each threw touchdown passes and the defense held the visitors to 164 yards. Twenty-two years later in Green Bay, they beat the New Yorkers by a 37–0 score. Paul Hornung scored 19 points in that one on a touchdown run, three field goals, and four extra points. The Pack defense secured the rout with four pass interceptions and a fumble recovery.
"P" is for Paul Hornung, A man about town. He'd sweat for the Pack, Then chug a few down.
Hornung was the last of the game's triple-threat backs in an increasingly specialized NFL. He was a quarterback at Notre Dame, where he passed, ran, and kicked so well that he won the 1956 Heisman Trophy with a team whose won-lost record was 2–8. He became a halfback in Green Bay, and seldom passed, but ran, caught, and kicked his way to league scoring titles in 1959, 1960, and 1961. Hornung was a "playboy" off the field as well. "Never get married in the morning — you never know who you might meet that night," he said. He served a year's suspension for betting on sports, but returned to the Packers and later was elected to the league's Hall of Fame.
"Q" is for Quarterback, Where the Packers went far With Isbell, Lynn Dickey, And, most of all, Bart Starr.
Cecil Isbell took over as Packers tailback in 1938 but his duties were mostly those of a present-day quarterback. The possessor of a rifle arm and the man Curly Lambeau called the best passer he'd ever seen, he starred for the 1939 champs and in 1942 became the first Packer to throw for more than 2,000 yards. Dickey was the Pack quarterback from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, racking up big yardage with less-than-successful teams. The cool-headed Starr came aboard in 1956 as a 17th-round draft choice out of the University of Alabama and stuck around to command the great Packer dynasty squads. From 1975 through 1983 he was the team's head coach.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from For the Love of the Packers by Frederick C. Klein, Mark Anderson. Copyright © 2008 Frederick C. Klein. Excerpted by permission of Triumph Books.
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