History of the Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team that has played since 1919 and played professionally in the National Football League since 1921.

Franchise history

Founding

The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 11, 1919 by Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun. Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor. Today, "Green Bay Packers" is the oldest team name still in use in the NFL.

The Packers became a professional franchise when they joined the newly formed American Professional Football Association on August 27, 1921. However, financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise had to be forfeited at the end of the season. Curly Lambeau found new backers the next year and regained the franchise for $250. Further troubles threatened to add more debt to the team, but local businessmen, known as the "Hungry Five," got behind the team and formed the Green Bay Football Corporation.

Public Company

The Packers are now the only publicly owned company with a board of directors in American professional sports (although other teams, such as the Atlanta Braves [Time Warner] , the Chicago Cubs [Tribune Company] , New York Rangers [Cablevision] , the Carolina Hurricanes [Compuware] , the Seattle Mariners [Nintendo of America] , and the Toronto Blue Jays [Rogers Communications] are directly owned by publicly traded companies). Typically, a team is owned by one person, partnership, or corporate entity; thus, a "team owner." It has been speculated that this is one of the reasons the Green Bay Packers have never been moved from the city of Green Bay, a city of only 102,313 people in the 2000 census. [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/55/5531000.html]

By comparison, the typical NFL football city's population is in the millions. The Packers, however, have long had a large following throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest; in fact, for decades, the Packers played four (one pre-season, three regular-season) home games each year in Milwaukee, first at the State Fair Park fairgrounds, then at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Packers did not move their entire home schedule to Green Bay until 1995.

The reason for ending the series of Milwaukee games, according to team president Robert Harlan, was the larger capacity of Lambeau Field and the availability of luxury boxes, which were not available at Milwaukee County Stadium. Fact|date=September 2008 County Stadium's replacement, Miller Park, then being planned, was always intended to be a baseball-only stadium instead of a multipurpose stadium.

Based on the original "Articles of Incorporation for the (then) Green Bay Football Corporation" put into place in 1923, if the Packers franchise was sold, after the payment of all expenses, any remaining monies would go to the Sullivan-Wallen Post of the American Legion in order to build "a proper soldier's memorial." This stipulation was enacted to ensure the club remained in Green Bay and that there could never be any financial enhancement for the shareholders. At the November 1997 annual meeting, shareholders voted to change the beneficiary from the Sullivan-Wallen Post to the Green Bay Packers Foundation.

In 1950, the Packers held a stock sale to again raise money to support the team. In 1956, area voters approved the construction of a new stadium, owned by the city. As with its predecessor, the new field was named City Stadium, but after the death of founder Lambeau in 1965, on September 11, 1965, the stadium was renamed Lambeau Field.

Another stock sale occurred late in 1997 and early in 1998. It added 105,989 new shareholders and raised over $24 million, money used for the Lambeau Field redevelopment project. Priced at $200 per share, fans bought 120,010 shares during the 17-week sale, which ended March 16, 1998. As of June 8, 2005, 111,921 people (representing 4,749,925 shares) can lay claim to a franchise ownership interest. Shares of stock include voting rights, but the redemption price is minimal, no dividends are ever paid, the stock cannot appreciate in value, and stock ownership brings no season ticket privileges.

No shareholder may own over 200,000 shares, a safeguard to ensure that no individual can assume control of the club. To run the corporation, a board of directors is elected by the stockholders. The board of directors in turn elect a seven-member Executive Committee (officers) of the corporation, consisting of a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and three members-at-large. The president is the only officer to draw compensation; The balance of the committee is sitting "gratis."

The team's elected president represents the Packers in NFL owners meetings unless someone else is designated. During his time as coach, Vince Lombardi generally represented the team at league meetings in his role as general manager, except at owners-only meetings.

Championships

The Packers have won 12 league championships, more than any other American professional football team. They have also won 3 Super Bowls. (One of these games decided the NFL champion, and the first two date to the era when the AFL and NFL were still two separate leagues.)

Their arch-rivals the Chicago Bears are second, with nine NFL championships (including one Super Bowl). The historical rivalry with Chicago extends to the Hall of Fame - the Packers have the second most Hall of Famers (21, behind the Bears' 26). The Packers are also the only team to win three straight NFL titles, which they did twice (1929–1931 and 1965–67).

Lombardi era

The Packers of the 1960s were one of the most dominant NFL teams of all time. Coach Vince Lombardi took over a last-place team in 1959 and built it into a juggernaut, winning five league championships over a seven-year span culminating with victories in the first two Super Bowls. During the Lombardi era, The Packers had a group of legendary stars: the offense was led by quarterback Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Carroll Dale, Paul Hornung and Jerry Kramer; the defense was led by the likes of Willie Wood, Ray Nitschke, Dave Robinson, and Herb Adderley.

The greatness of the Packers of the '60s really began one year earlier with the hiring of head coach Vince Lombardi. In their first game under Lombardi on September 27, 1959, the Packers shut out the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. The Packers got off to a 3-0 start but lost the next five and then won their last four games to achieve their first winning season since 1947.

The next year, the Packers, led by Paul Hornung's 176 points, won the NFL West Title and played in the NFL Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles at Philadelphia. In a see-saw game the Packers trailed the Eagles by four points late in the game. The Packers began their final drive, aiming for glory, but it was not to be as Chuck Bednarik tackled Jim Taylor just nine yards short of the goal line as time ran out. In the locker room after the game, Lombardi told his men that this would be the last time the Packers would lose the championship game with him at the helm. That prediction became fact, as the Packers would never again lose the NFL Championship game under Lombardi.

The Packers returned to the NFL Championship game the following season, as they faced the New York Giants. This time the game was no contest as the Packers exploded for 24 2nd quarter points as Paul Hornung, having recently returned from the Army, scored an NFL Championship record 19 points as the Packers beat the Giants to win their first NFL Championship since 1944.

Not resting on their 1961 Championship, the Packers stormed back the following season, jumping out to a 10-0 start en route to an amazing 13–1 season. The Packers faced the Giants in a much more brutal championship game than the previous year, but the Packers prevailed on the surprising foot of Jerry Kramer and the determined running of Jim Taylor. The Packers beat the Giants 16-7 and Titletown U.S.A. reigned supreme.

After a two-year absence from championship football, the Pack was back in 1965. They won some crucial games, including a 42–27 win over the Baltimore Colts, a contest in which Paul Hornung (coming back from a betting scandal and injuries) scored five touchdowns. The Packers would again beat the Colts in a playoff for the Western Conference title. The game would be remembered for Don Chandler's controversial field goal in which the ball possibly went wide right, but the official raised his arms to grant the three points. That disputed win earned the Packers a trip to the NFL Championship game, where Hornung and Taylor ran through the Cleveland Browns, helping the Packers defeat the Browns to earn their 3rd NFL Championship under Lombardi.

The 1966 season was the best ever for the Packers, as the team was a well-balanced group led by NFL MVP Bart Starr. The Packers went 12-2 and in the NFL Championship, they rose to the occasion to seal victory: with the Packers leading 34–27, the Dallas Cowboys had the ball on the Packers' 2-yard line, threatening to tie the ball game. But on 4th down, the Packers' Tom Brown intercepted a Don Meredith pass in the end zone to preserve a memorable victory. The Packers went on to win Super Bowl I 35–10 over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 1967 season was the last season for Vince Lombardi as the Packers' head coach. His team was aging quickly and they lost four games in the regular season. One of those losses was against the Minnesota Vikings and the other was against the Los Angeles Rams, but the Packers still won the Western Division Title. In the playoffs, they gained revenge on the Rams by beating them at home 28–7. Then came the 1967 NFL Championship game, known universally as the Ice Bowl, perhaps the most famous football game (college or professional) in the history of the sport. With 16 seconds left, Bart Starr's touchdown on a quarterback sneak brought the Packers their third straight NFL Championship - a feat no other team has matched since. Super Bowl II was no contest as the Packers delivered a parting gift to Lombardi with a 33–14 victory over the Oakland Raiders. That game marked the end of the Lombardi coaching era in Green Bay and one of the most consistently dominant teams in National Football League history.

After the death of Vince Lombardi in 1970, the Super Bowl trophy was renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy in recognition of his and his team's accomplishments. The road that goes by Lambeau Field, which is also one of Green Bay's major thoroughfares, was named Lombardi Avenue in honor of the coach.

Lean years after Lombardi

For about a quarter century after Lombardi left the Packers, they had little success. Poor drafting of players was a key reason. To cite a few examples, in the first round of the 1972 draft, when future Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris was still available, the Packers instead chose mediocre quarterback Jerry Tagge. In 1981, when no fewer than three future Hall of Fame defenders were still available -- Ronnie Lott, Mike Singletary, and Howie Long, the Packers chose another mediocre quarterback, Rich Campbell. Finally, in 1989, when such future legends as Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derrick Thomas were available, the Packers chose offensive lineman Tony Mandarich. Though rated highly by nearly every professional scout at the time, Mandarich's performance failed to meet expectations.

Although the Packers would not have winning success until 1992, they were moments when the Packers at times resembled the old Packer days of the 1960s. In 1972, led by workhorse running backs John Brockington and new Packer MacArthur Lane, and a sturdy defense that featured rookie Willie Buchanon, the Packers clinched the NFC Central Division Title with 10–4 record. In 1975 under new head coach Bart Starr the Packers won only 4 games, but one of those wins came at home, as the Packers beat the eventual 1975 NFC Champions Dallas Cowboys 19–17 on October 19th.

Three years later, the Packers had another 1,000 yard rusher in Terdell Middleton: he rushed for 1,116 yards. In the early 1980s, the Packers had a star-studded aerial attack led by quarterback Lynn Dickey and wide receivers James Lofton and John Jefferson. In the 1982 strike-shortened season, the Packers made it to the playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, the Pack led by Dickey's four touchdown passes and Jefferson's 148 yards receiving, The Pack easily beat the Cardinals 41–16.

A new golden era

Ultimately, the Packers' poor performance through the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s led to a shake-up in which new General Manager Ron Wolf was hired, who in turn brought on Mike Holmgren as head coach; Brett Favre as the team's new starting quarterback, and later, Reggie White on defense. Beginning with the 1992 season, the Packers had 13 non-losing seasons in a row (their worst record being 8–8 in 1999), two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl win (Super Bowl XXXI).

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