Yesterday, we lost Packer great Max McGee in a tragic home accident. For those of us too young to remember much of his playing career, we remember the many, many radio broadcasts we listened to with Max and his partner Jim Irwin on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee. If you couldn't get the Packer game on television, you listened to the AM radio, if you were fortunate enough to live close enough to Milwaukee.
In his rookie season, McGee led the NFL in punting yards while also catching 36 passes for 614 yards and nine touchdowns. He missed the next two seasons to serve as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, but returned to become the Packers' leading receiver from 1958-62. McGee was one of the few bright spots on the 1958 Packers team, which finished the season with a league worst 1-10-1 record. During that season, he lead the NFL in yards per catch average (23.2), punting yards (2,716) and net yards average (36.0).
After Vince Lombardi took over as the team's head coach in 1959, McGee helped the team to six NFL championship appearances, five NFL championship wins, and two Super Bowl wins during the remaining years of his career. He also was a Pro Bowl selection during the 1961 season. In his final two seasons, injuries and age had considerably reduced his production and playing time. Ironically, these two seasons would be the ones for which his career is best remembered. In the 1966 season, McGee caught only four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown as the Packers recorded a 12-2 record and advanced to Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs. Because McGee didn't expect to play in the game, he violated his team's curfew policy and spent the night before the Super Bowl out on the town. The next morning, he told starting receiver Boyd Dowler, "I hope you don't get hurt. I'm not in very good shape."
However, Dowler went down with a separated shoulder on the Packers' second drive of the game, and McGee, who had to borrow a teammate's helmet because he couldn’t find his own on the bench, suddenly found himself thrust into the lineup. A few plays later, McGee made a one-handed reception of a pass from Bart Starr, took off past Chiefs defender Fred Williamson and ran 37 yards to score the first touchdown in Super Bowl history. By the end of the game, McGee had recorded seven receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns, assisting Green Bay to a 35-10 victory.
The following year, he recorded a 35-yard reception in the third quarter of Super Bowl II that set up a touchdown in the Packers 33-14 win over the Oakland Raiders. McGee retired shortly after the game. He finished his 12-season career with 345 receptions for 6,346 yards and 12 carries for 121 yards. He also scored 51 touchdowns (50 receiving and 1 fumble recovery). On special teams, he punted 256 times for 10,647 yards, an average of 41.6 yards per punt, and returned 4 kickoffs for 69 yards.
