History of the Green Bay Packers Essay Example

and Wisconsin.

During their debut season, the Packers won 10 of their 11 games but lost to the Beloit Fairies. Despite this setback, they received renewed support from the Indian Packing Company and sought official franchise status in the National Pro Football League on August 27, 1921. At season's end, each player received $16 from divided donation money, which was insufficient given their medical bills. The team's financial struggles led to forfeiture at season's end and marked a challenging start for the young franchise.
In 1920, Curly Lambeau secured new support for the team and paid $205 (including $50 out of his own pocket) to re-enter them into the league. In contrast to traditional running plays emphasized at that time, during following seasons, the Packers stood out by using a passing game strategy. However, opponents criticized Lambeau for not sticking with conventionally accepted plays and even labeled him as a "sissy".

In 1921, Curly Lambeau paid college students to play with fake names and consequently had his franchise revoked. After apologizing, Lambeau borrowed $250 from a friend and reapplied for admission into the newly named NFL. At the time of reinstatement, the Decatur Staley’s had been moved by George Halas to Chicago and were renamed the Bears, becoming the Packers’ rivals. The competition to recruit players out of college within the growing NFL became more intense, but Lambeau excelled at identifying and persuading star players that Green Bay was their ideal destination.

Johnny “Blood” McNally was a feared acquisition. He teamed up with quarterback Red Dunn and led the Green Bay Packers to dominate for three consecutive NFL Championships from 1929 to 1931. However, in 1933, Don

Hutson and Clark Hinkle replaced the Dunn-McNally duo and helped the team win three more Championships within the next nine years. In the mid 1920s, the team faced bankruptcy but Lambeau turned them into a non-profit organization and sold local stock to save the team.

During the late 1940s, the Packers were able to achieve financial stability as a result of the NFL starting to establish profitable TV agreements. With this newfound stability, Curly attempted to repurchase his cherished Green Bay team; however, the stockholders refused to consider the proposition, leading Curly to leave Wisconsin. Many residents believed that Curly became excessively conceited and haughty, as he was living an extravagant lifestyle in California. Although Curly had saved the Packers from financial ruin on multiple occasions, he decided to depart from Green Bay.

Following Lambeau's exit, the Packers forfeited their winning culture. In 1958, their victories amounted to only one game. Nonetheless, this resulted in the recruitment of Vince Lombardi who is revered as a top-tier football coach in NFL chronicles. On February 2, 1959, Lombardi was designated as the fresh head coach of the Packers and throughout his inaugural season with them, he secured a scorecard of 7-5.

Lombardi was named the National Football League's 'Coach of the Year' due to his earned respect, authority and pursuit of perfection. Upon arrival, he established his leadership by meeting with the board of directors and asserting complete control. Lombardi assumed multiple roles as both head coach and General Manager.

Henry Jordan, the former Packers offensive tackle, affirmed his immediate compliance with Lombardi's request to sit down. He stated, "I don't even look for a chair when he says sit

down." Lombardi constructed upon Lambeau's groundwork and elevated the team in the NFL to unparalleled levels of achievement and supremacy. The Packers established a novel level of excellence under his guidance. Although they were defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1960 NFL championship game, Lombardi led them to this milestone within just his second season at Green Bay.

After the match, Lombardi motivated his team and conveyed that they had the ability to succeed despite their defeat. He expressed confidence in their drive to win next year and promised them that they would not experience a similar loss again. Despite facing challenges, the players fulfilled Lombardi's promise and emerged triumphant in all future championship games.

The Green Bay Packers, led by Vince Lombardi, achieved world championships in 1961, ’62, ’65, ’66 and ’67. Under Lombardi's guidance from 1960 onwards, they consistently finished second or higher. Lombardi's impressive coaching record resulted in a winning percentage of 96-34-6 (.728), ranking as the second best in football history. After his departure, Phil Bengtson served as head coach and secured three consecutive Super Bowl championships before leaving with a less successful record of 20-21-1. Dan Devine succeeded Bengston as head coach and at that time was highly accomplished as a college coach.

Despite a disappointing debut season resulting in a 4-8-2 record, Dan Devine successfully guided the Packers to victory and secured their first Central Division championship since Lombardi's departure. However, the team's performance gradually worsened, ultimately finishing the 1974 season with an 11-15-2 (.429) record, prompting Devine to resign as head coach. Following Devine's departure, Bart Starr was appointed as head coach and led the Packers to some of their

most successful seasons.

After coming back in December 1974, Bart Starr held both coaching and general manager positions for the Packers. He had previously led them to five world championships from 1961-1967 and sought support from fans while expressing confidence that the team would triumph with patience and prayers. While their first season resulted in a record of 4-10, the Packers won three out of their last five games and started on a major rebuilding effort. Despite facing initial setbacks, Starr persisted in creating a positive and victorious atmosphere within the Packers' locker room.

After a period of progress, the Packers had their first winning season since 1972 in 1978 by finishing one game above .500. Unfortunately, injuries affected the team during the next two years and prevented them from having successful records. Even though they had a strong midseason comeback in 1981, the Packers were unable to make it to the playoffs.

In the season that followed a strike, the Packers reached the postseason but were defeated by Dallas 37-27. Prior to this loss, they had won their first game in the NFL Super Bowl Tournament against St. Louis Cardinals. The team failed to make it to the postseason in the subsequent year and on December 19, 1983, Bart Starr was replaced as coach by Forrest Gregg. Gregg was a former teammate of Starr's and had been one of NFL's most successful offensive tackles and became the ninth head coach for Green Bay.

Gregg led the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl XVI before taking the best team in pro football with him to Green Bay for a five-year contract. While slow starts marked subsequent seasons, they finished strong

and almost made it to the playoffs. Despite mediocre years, Gregg eventually resigned in January 1988 to coach at Southern Methodist University, his alma mater. Only nineteen days later, Lindy Infante signed a five-year contract hoping to revitalize the team as an innovative NFL leader aiming to rebuild a stagnant squad.

In his second season, Infante guided the Packers to their best 17-year record of 10-6. Despite this success, they fell short of reaching the playoffs. The following year brought high hopes for a postseason appearance after nearly two decades, but five consecutive losses resulted in a disappointing finish of 6-10. This decline continued and on December 22, 1991, Ron Wolf - the new executive vice president and general manager - fired Infante from his position as coach. Mike Holmgren was selected by Wolf to fill the vacancy left by Infante and he led the team back to success. During his first season as coach, Holmgren achieved a winning record of 9-7 which made him only the third Green Bay coach to achieve such success in their inaugural year.

From 1993 to 1996, the Green Bay Packers had a varied experience in the playoffs. They put an end to their ten-year absence from post-season in 1993 with a score of 9-7, beating Detroit Lions but losing against Dallas Cowboys. In the next year, they got into playoffs again with a season record of 9-7 but were defeated by their rivals Dallas once more. In 1995, they achieved their best regular season performance in over twenty years by winning their division for the first time since1972 and boasting an impressive record of 11-5; nevertheless, they suffered another loss

at the hands of Dallas Cowboys during playoffs. Despite these setbacks, Packers stayed determined and eventually made it to Super Bowl in 1996.

During a press conference, Brett Favre, the Green Bay Packers' quarterback, expressed his certainty in their preseason preparations and challenged journalists who disagreed to bet against them. The outcome proved those who accepted the challenge wrong as Green Bay finished with the best record in the league during the regular season at 13-3. With Favre leading, they were an unstoppable force with a high-scoring offense ranking top among NFL teams and defense only allowing 179 points - equivalent to just 12 points per game - that dominated opponents.

During their journey to the postseason, the Green Bay Packers were an unstoppable force. Fans witnessed quarterback Favre break an NFL record for touchdowns as the team dominated their opponents in three games, almost doubling their point totals. The Packers continued their complete control in a 35-14 victory over the New England Patriots - a game played less than an hour from Favre's hometown of Kiln, Mississippi. With a second consecutive 13-3 record in 1997, they signaled readiness for another Super Bowl appearance and sailed through playoffs once again. Unfortunately, at Super Bowl XXXII against Denver Broncos in San Diego, they lost 31-24.The Packers were hopeful for Super Bowl XXXIII in 1998, boasting a record of 11-5. However, their aspirations were crushed by the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs thanks to a last-second touchdown. Just five days after this defeat, Mike Holmgren quit as head coach due to being denied the position of general manager within the organization. Holmgren subsequently joined the Seattle Seahawks while

Ray Rhodes took over as Green Bay's new head coach; Rhodes had previously served as both Eagles head coach and defensive coordinator for the Packers. Despite initially appearing promising under Rhodes' leadership, Green Bay ended up with an 8-8 record that season and failed to qualify for playoffs for the first time since 1992.Although they missed the playoffs in Sherman's first year as head coach, Wolf was still pleased with their performance at the end of the season, which was actually their best record since Wolf became part of Green Bay. After that season, Ron Wolf retired from being General Manager. Two years before this occurred, Holmgren had asked for Sherman to take on GM duties. During his time as head coach for six years, Sherman led the Packers to four back-to-back playoff appearances but unfortunately failed to progress beyond the Divisional Playoff Round. The 2005 season brought many injuries and ended in disappointment with a 4-12 record which ultimately resulted in Sherman losing his position as head coach. Ted Thompson then employed Mike McCarthy to be the franchise's fourteenth head coach during its eighty-eight year history.

While serving as the NFL draft leader, McCarthy played a crucial role in forming the league's youngest team. Although they missed the playoffs by only seven hours and finished with an 8-8 record in his initial season, Pro Bowl picks Donald Driver and Aaron Kampman achieved their personal bests. In his second year, Brett Favre made a comeback alongside a sturdy draft class to strengthen Green Bay. They currently hold the second position in NFC with a remarkable 12-2 score and have secured both the NFC North Division Title

and playoffs bye. Furthermore, Al Harris received his debut Pro Bowl selection while Driver and Kampman were once again picked for it.

According to reports, the Green Bay Packers are headed in a positive direction and have their sights set on winning the Lombardi Trophy - a title named after their former coach. Both Phil Bengtson's "Packer Dynasty" and Denise L. Behreandt's "Coaching with Conviction" acknowledge Vince Lombardi's principles and leadership as crucial components of the Packers' success.

The source of this text is the New American, issue 21.12, published on June 13, 2005. It can be found on page 32(7) in the Student Edition, provided by Gale. This information was accessed on December 6th through the South Dakota State Library's SDLN system.

007 ;http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS; portrays the origin of a team and a legendary figure.

The website address for Packers.com is listed as http://www.packers.com with a date of December 7, 2007. The information is contained within paragraph tags.

The article by Jim Doherty in Smithsonian 22, issue 5 (August 1991) titled "In chilly Green Bay, Curly's old team is still packing them in" can be found at com/history/birth_of_a_team_and_a_legend/#chapter10;.

The South Dakota State Library's Gale Student Edition was accessed on December 7, 2007 by using the URL: http://find.galegroup.

com/ips/start. do? prodId=IPS . Lombardi Jr, Vince. What it takes to be #1: Vince Lombardi on Leadership.

The book "New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2001" contains 205 pages.