Green Bay Packers Pocket Primer (1997)

From the book description: “They are, for the most part, normal people who mow their lawns, pay their taxes and return their video rentals on time. But deep down, they are anything but normal. They are Green Bay Packers fans. They wear cheese wedges on their heads and are convinced it's normal attire. They paint their faces green and gold and can't figure out why everyone else doesn't. The Green Bay Packers Pocket Primer is the guide for Packers fans, for those who think they're Packers fans and for those who want to know if they have what it takes to join this very elite, very unique fraternity.” 

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

Green Bay Packers Pocket Primer

By Chuck Carlson (1997)

Taylor Trade Publishing

95 pages

This ad was in the Green Bay Press-Gazette this week. All we can say is, only in Packerville, U.S.A. would you see a production such as this. It’s playing while we’ll be at Training Camp, but it probably won’t fit into our plans.

Leap of Faith 2 (1997)

Leap of Faith 2 is Part II of the story of the Green Bay Packers, their fans, and their faith… by author and speaker Steve Rose. You can see the first volume here. 

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

Leap of Faith 2: God Loves Packer Fans
By Steve Rose (1997)
Prairie Oak Press
205 pages

Coach Lombardi at Sneezer’s

We’re taking a one-day break from our series on books about the Green Bay Packers to feature a photo we found today. On the great historical images site Shorpy, one of the photos posted today is the shot of Coach Vince Lombardi seen above. The caption reads: “1960. Green Bay, Wisconsin. Packers coach Vince Lombardi at lunch counter. Photo by Frank Bauman for the LOOK magazine assignment ‘The Packers Pay the Price.’ The site was Sneezer’s Snack Shop at 1608 S. Greenwood (now Ashland) Avenue. Vince Lombardi often ate breakfast here on his way to the practice field. The left half of the building was the restaurant, and the right half of the building was the Jahnke family home. On game day, Sneezer’s was a de facto tailgating site, 1960s style. During the 60s, tailgating at the stadium did not enjoy the popularity that it does today.” 

This is Sneezers back in the olden days. 

This caption for this old Sneezer’s advertising postcard reads: “Mrs. Geneva Jahnke with her 1966 Mustang which she won in the Icelandic Fish Company contest at The Wisconsin Restaurant Convention. Sneezer's specializes in Broasted Chicken, Hamburgers and Icelandic Sea Foods.” 

This is the location today, via Google. Too bad it’s not still there, or we’d make a stop during our 2013 Training Camp visit, July 27–August 3. More on that later.

Favre: For the Record (1997)

From the original book description of Favre: For the Record: “Superstar Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre has the arm of Dan Marino, the agility of Steve Young, the field presence of Joe Montana and the brashness of Jim McMahon. Born the son of an indomitable high school football coach in hardscrabble Kiln, Mississippi, Favre has gone on to become the NFL's most valuable player two years running (a feat equaled only by the legendary Joe Montana) and, after twenty-nine years, has brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay, Wisconsin.” 

Front and rear flaps. 

Sample photo spread with pictures from his youth. 

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

Favre: For the Record
By Brett Favre and Chris Havel (1997)
Doubleday; First edition
288 pages

This Day in Green Bay Packers History (1997)

One of the many books published following the Packers’ Super Bowl XXXI victory was this compendium of dates from the team’s long and storied history. Listed in a day-by-day format, This Day in Green Bay Packers History will enlighten you on many facts that you did not know previously. Also included is statistical data at the rear of the book. 

 The beginning of the “November” chapter.

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

This Day in Green Bay Packers History
By Jeff Everson (1997)
Angel Press of Wisconsin; First Edition
224 pages

Training Camp Schedule Set

The Green Bay Packers’ 2013 Training Camp schedule was released this afternoon. It is time to make your family vacation plans accordingly. If you live within reasonable driving distance and have never been there for camp, shame on you. You can download the practice schedule PDF here.

Mudbaths & Bloodbaths (1997)

From the book description: “Mudbaths and Bloodbaths is the inside story of the Bears-Packers rivalry by Gary D'Amato and Cliff Christl. It is filled with classic stories and statistics by two award-winning veteran sports writers for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The decades-long history of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers grudge match is told for a new generation of football fans. Covering Bears-Packers games since 1921, the book unfolds the history of the teams and their rivalry with all the passion and intensity of the series itself. This is a can't-put-it-down book for every Bears and Packers fan.” 

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

Mudbaths and Bloodbaths: The Inside Story of the Bears-Packers Rivalry
By Gary D'Amato and Cliff Christl (1997)
Prairie Oak Press; First Edition
288 pages

Lombardi: His Life and Times (1997)

Originally published in 1971, Lombardi: His Life and Times was added to our archives upon it's re-publishing in 1997, cashing in on the Packers’ post-Super Bowl XXXI hysteria. It is another re-telling of Lombardi’s life, from his New York upbringing to the years of glory in Green Bay, and the end in Washington. Since we add any books we find on Lombardi to our library, we think you probably should too. 

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

Lombardi: His Life and Times
By Robert W. Wells (1997)
Prairie Oak Press; 2nd edition
208 pages

Packers Legends In Facts: Volume II (1997)

This is the follow-up book to an earlier edition, which you can see here. As we stated in the earlier post, we normally like to show what the inside of each book looks like, but we want to maintain the integrity of the spine. Besides having, for each season, a summary of that year’s team, action photos, team and individual stats, team roster, that year’s draft choices, and the official team photo — Packers Legends In Facts: Volume II serves as a kind of record book and historical compendium as well. In addition, there is plenty of coverage of Super Bowl XXXI.

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

Packers Legends In Facts: Volume II
By Kim Robinson, Pat Canter, and Mark Wallenfang (1997)
Tech/Data Publications; Limited edition
188 pages

The Ice Bowl (1997)

This is the second of two books about the 1967 NFL Championship game — better known as “The Ice Bowl.” From the original book description: “The day of the Ice Bowl game was so cold, the referees' whistles wouldn't work; so cold, the reporters’ coffee froze in the press booth; so cold, fans built small fires in the concrete and metal stands; so cold, TV cables froze and photographers didn't dare touch the metal of their equipment; so cold, the game was as much about survival as it was about skill and strategy. On New Year's Eve, 1967, the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers met for a classic NFL championship game, played on a frozen field in sub-zero weather. The "Ice Bowl" challenged every skill of these two great teams. The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth about Football's Most Unforgettable Game based on dozens of interviews with people who were there — on the field and off — told by author Ed Gruver with passion, suspense, wit, and accuracy.” 

The front and rear flaps. 

 A sample spread with play diagram.

A sample of the photos included. 

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth about Football's Most Unforgettable Game
By Ed Gruver (1997)
McBooks Press; First Edition edition
232 pages

LOMBARDI TONIGHT

For those of you who have access to the NFL Network, tonight there will be a showing of the two-hour HBO “Lombardi” documentary that debuted in 2010. According to the official description, “Lombardi” is “the story of Vince Lombardi's life and Hall of Fame career. An inside look at the coach's philosophies and personality as told by his family members, colleagues and critics.” It will air from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. CT tonight.

The official website is here.

A Century of Lombardi

Vincent Thomas Lombardi was born in Brooklyn to Enrico "Harry" Lombardi (1889-1971) and Matilda "Mattie" Izzo (1891-1972) on June 11, 1913 — one hundred years ago today. Harry's mother and father, Vincenzo and Michelina emigrated from Salerno, Italy. Mattie's father and mother, Anthony and Loretta, emigrated from an area several miles east of Salerno. Harry had three siblings and Matilda had twelve siblings. Vincent would be the oldest of five children: Madeleine, Harold, Claire, and Joe. The entire Lombardi and Izzo clan settled in Sheepshead Bay, New York.

Matilda's father, Anthony, opened up a barber shop in Sheepshead Bay prior to the turn of the century. At about the time of Lombardi's birth, Harry, and his brother, Eddie, opened a butcher shop in the Meatpacking District. Throughout the Great Depression, Harry's shop did well and his family prospered. Lombardi grew up in an ethnically diverse, middle-class neighborhood.

St Mark's Church attendance was mandatory for the Lombardis on Sundays. Mass would be followed with an equally compulsory few hours of dinner with friends, extended family members, and local clergy. Vincent was an altar boy at St. Mark's Catholic Church. Outside of their local neighborhood, the Lombardi children were subject to the rampant racism that existed at the time against Italian immigrants. As a child, Lombardi helped his father at his meat cutting business, but grew to hate it. At the age of 12 he started playing in an uncoached but organized football league in Sheepshead Bay. And the rest is history.

— Source: Wikipedia

The Ice Bowl (1997)

This is the first of two books about the 1967 NFL Championship game — better known as “The Ice Bowl” — that we’ll bring to you here in our continuing series on books about the Green Bay Packers. The timing of both books was for the game’s 30th anniversary. From the description of The Ice Bowl: The Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers 1967 Season: “In 1966, the Green Bay Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys for the NFL championship. The teams’ intense rivalry in the following 1967 season would culminate in one of the most classic football games of all time — the Ice Bowl. Now one of the most irreverent sportswriters in the business brings the final game of the ’67 season to life, vividly profiling the players' distinctive personalities on and off the field.” 

The front and rear flaps. 

 A sample of the photos included.

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

The Ice Bowl: The Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers 1967 Season

By Mike Shropshire (1997)

Dutton Adult; First Edition edition

224 pages

“Lombardi’s Legacy”

“ESPN will air a “Lombardi's Legacy” special tonight at 8:00 p.m. CT. It will re-air on June 11, which happens to be the 100th anniversary of Lombardi’s birth. 

“The special will be hosted by Chris Berman and include former Bears coach/ESPN analyst Mike Ditka and former Packers guard Jerry Kramer. An interview is also scheduled with Lombardi’s quarterback, Hall of Famer Bart Starr. Finally, there will be a segment produced by NFL Films with rare audio of Lombardi in action.”

— ESPN

Titletown Again (1997)

Titletown Again: The Super Bowl Season of the 1996 Green Bay Packers follows the familiar format of our last two posts, with summaries of each game of the season through Super Bowl XXXI, and plenty of photos. This book was the official commemorative offering from the team itself, and, like the others, deserves to reside in your collection.

From the book description: “There was a feeling, even from the sultry days of training camp,that these Green Bay Packers were special. There was nothing anyone could put a finger on exactly, just a premonition that the 1996 Packers were destined for something big. And the inklings of July turned into the reality of January as the Packers rolled to their first Super Bowl title in 29 years.

“It is a story that chronicles the determination of quarterback Brett Favre, who stunned the NFL by voluntarily committing himself to a rehab clinic to kick an addiction to painkillers. He responded by simply winning his second straight MVP award.”

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

Titletown Again: The Super Bowl Season of the 1996 Green Bay Packers

By Chuck Carlson (1997)

Taylor Trade Publishing

144 pages

Titletown (1997)

This commemorative synopsis of the Packers’ 1996 season was published along with the others in February 1997 to celebrate the Wolf-Holmgren championship team. Brought to us by the fine folks at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Titletown: The Unforgettable Story of the Green Bay Packers' Road to Super Bowl XXXI is a must add to your Packers collection. Besides summaries of each game in that season, there are also interesting stories on things such as the replacement of the Lambeau Field sod prior to the playoff games. Looking back, it was a great time to be a fan. 

New sod in January! 

The back cover.

Find your copy here.

Titletown: The Unforgettable Story of the Green Bay Packers' Road to Super Bowl XXXI

By the Green Bay Press-Gazette Staff (1997)

AdCraft Sports Marketing

159 pages

And for those looking for some contemporary material, this ad offer is from yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The Road To Glory (1997)

When the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XXXI after the 1996 season, the avalanche of commemorative books and magazines began in earnest. The Road to Glory: The Inside Story of the Packers' Super Bowl XXXI Championship Season was put together by the folks at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel to celebrate the end of the team’s 29-year drought. All of these books are nicely done, and we will feature the others in coming days. To maintain the integrity of our book’s spine, we are unfortunately not scanning inside pages. 

The back cover. Reggie gets his sought-after championship trophy. 

Find your copy here.

The Road to Glory: The Inside Story of the Packers' Super Bowl XXXI Championship Season

By Bob McGinn (1996)

North Star Visions; First Edition edition

176 pages

Heir To The Legacy (1996)

This book was strangely published a few games into the championship season of 1996. Why on earth they decided to put Heir To The Legacy: The Memorable Story of Mike Holmgren's Green Bay Packers out before the season was even half over is beyond understanding. We did not buy the book until much later when it was available for peanuts. It is the story of the resurgence of the team under head coach Mike Holmgren, who at that time was in his fifth season in Green Bay. The team had gone all the way to the NFC Championship game in Dallas the previous year, and all the speculation was that 1996 would be THE year (and of course it was). If they had waited to publish it until the season was over, it would’ve made much more sense. Our copy is missing the dust cover (see above), so we apologize for not having a large image of it. A small image of the actual cover is seen below. 

The Table of Contents. 

Mike Holmgren on the day of his hiring. 

A familiar sight from the early-mid 1990’s — Holmgren and his QB, Brett Favre.

Find your copy here.

Heir to the Legacy: The Memorable Story of Mike Holmgren's Green Bay Packers
By Francis J. Fitzgerald and Chris Havel (1996)
AdCraft Sports Marketing
160 pages