1948 Training Camp

Setting today’s Time Machine to 1948, we wind up at the Packers’ preseason camp at Rockwood Lodge, believed to have been the first self-contained team training facility in pro football history. Located approximately 17 miles north of the city of Green Bay, on a limestone bluff overlooking the bay, the 53-acre complex included player housing and a natural outdoor “amphitheater” in which team meetings were held. The then-extravagant $32,000 purchase by team president and head coach Curly Lambeau was controversial among the team's board of directors, and contributed to the deteriorating relationship that eventually led to Lambeau's departure.

On January 24, 1950, Rockwood Lodge burned down. One week later, Lambeau resigned his position with the Packers and moved to Chicago to coach the Chicago Cardinals. The team eventually received $75,000 from its insurance company.

After Rockwood Lodge, the Packers moved their training camp to Grand Rapids, Minnesota from 1950 through 1953 and then Stevens Point, Wisconsin from 1954-1957 before settling in at St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin, where they train to this day. The grounds of Rockwood Lodge now make up Bay Shore Park (see maps below).

We’ve posted this photo before, but thought a refresher was in order with today’s subject matter.

In that 1948 season, when today’s top photo of Coach Lambeau was taken, the Packers posted a 3-9 record, earning a fourth-place finish in the Western Conference.