Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The “Dogfaces” Up Front

In military terms, a “dogface” is the term given to the front line infantry soldiers who slog through the mud and gore of battle. In football, the 1960 Packers yearbook referred to the offensive linemen by this same term. As the article stated, “If the holes are there, any back can eat up a few yards. But if the holes just aren’t holes, nobody, not even the sleekest of halfbacks, is going to bowl over one of the 250 pound defensive linemen. That’s probably why the Green Bay Packers have improved their rushing attack by 486 yards during the 1959 season over the 1958 season. The dogfaces were doing their job.”

Here we see Packer guards Fred “Fuzzy” Thurston (#63) and Jerry Kramer (#64) leading the way for fullback Jim Taylor (#31).