“Three-Peat”? Don’t Forget Bart Starr

The “Three-Peat” issue is dead for a while after the Kansas City Chiefs were not able to even compete for the chance to do so in Super Bowl LIX. By the next time a team is approaching such a scenario, Bart Starr may be even more forgotten. Kudos to FOX for making the point for recognixing the 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1965, 1966, 1967 Green Bay Packers near the end of the Super Bowl broadcast. The case for not forgetting Bart Starr and those teams is HERE.

1967 New Orleans Saints Media Guide

From the 1967 New Orleans Saints Media Guide: In 1966, Jim Taylor did not sign a one-year contract and played out his option with the Green Bay Packers. In July 1967, Taylor signed four one-year contracts to play with the expansion Saints. His former partner in the Green Bay backfield, Paul Hornung, was placed on the list of the 1967 expansion draft, along with C-LB Bill Curry and FB-LB Phil Vandersea. A pinched nerve in Hornung’s neck prevented him from ever suiting up for New Orleans, and he retired in training camp. Taylor himself would also retire before the 1968 season began following training camp. Hornung’s page in the Saints Media Guide is basically a summary of his entire playing career in Green Bay. Also shown is the Packers preview page for the upcoming 1967 season. They, of course, were NFL champions that year.
.
#GreenBayPackers #GreenBay #Packers #GoPackGo #LambeauField #NFL #LoveGB #NOvsGB #NewOrleans #Saints #WhoDat

Monte Kiffin dies at 84

Kiffin was the Packers’ linebackers coach for the 1983 season.

Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. — Monte Kiffin, the longtime NFL and college assistant coach whose Tampa Bay defenses routinely ranked among the league's best, died Thursday. He was 84.

One of the architects of the ultra successful "Tampa 2" defensive scheme, Kiffin spent 13 seasons as defensive coordinator of the Buccaneers under former coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden from 1996 to 2008 and helped the franchise win the first of its two Super Bowl titles.

The Old Miss football program announced on the social media platform X that Kiffin, once the head coach at North Carolina State, died surrounded by family and friends in Oxford, Mississippi, where Kiffin's son, Lane, is coach of the Rebels.

Kiffin played tackle at the University of Nebraska and was a defensive assistant under Bob Devaney for the Cornhuskers' 1970 and 1971 undefeated national championship teams.

In a career that spanned more than five decades, Kiffin also worked at Arkansas and as an NFL assistant for the Green Bay Packers (1983), Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys.

After leaving the Bucs, he mostly worked for son, Lane, in college stops at Tennessee, Southern California, Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss.

(Photo from the 1983 Green Bay Packers Media Guide / Packerville, U.S.A. Archives Collection)

On the Road to Green Bay — 1966

Have you ever wondered about the details of traveling to an away game in Green Bay if you were a Packers’ opponent in, say, 1966? Well, this post is for you. Here is George Halas’ copy of the travel details for the November 19-20, 1966 road trip to play the Packers. Interesting to see some names that are current in Green Bay, such as the revitalized Hotel Northland and Schneider Transport & Storage (now known as Schneider National, Inc.)

By the way, the Packers beat the Bears 13-6 on Sunday, November 20, 1966. You can check out the box score and all of the stats HERE.

.

#GreenBayPackers #GreenBay #Packers #GoPackGo #Titletown #LambeauField #NFL #Bears #DaBears 

Cherry Starr Tribute in Sunday's Paper

A full-page tribute to Cherry Starr (wife of Packers QB Bart Starr) that was placed in the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Sunday, March 3, 2024. Mrs. Starr passed away on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, at her Birmingham, Ala., home.

Cherry Starr Dies at 89

Cherry Morton Starr, 89, passed away peacefully at her Birmingham home with her family and close friends at her side. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bart Starr (2019) and her son Bret (1988). She is succeeded by her son Bart Starr, Jr. (Elaena), grandchildren Shannon (Ryan), Jenny, and Lisa, and her six great-grandchildren (Bryan, Teddy, Violet, Dillon, Skyler, and Caden). She was a figurative mother to many more.

Originally from Ohio, she eventually moved to the South, settling in Montgomery, AL, where she attended Sidney Lanier High School. While there, she met her future husband, Bart. Although their personalities were beautifully distinct, they shared, from the beginning, a love for all of mankind and a deep commitment to treat everyone they met with the highest level of dignity and respect.

After attending Auburn University, Cherry married Bart and resided in Tuscaloosa, where they lived until the most important chapter in her life unfolded. She moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Bart pursued a career in football. Immediately she met a group of citizens throughout the state who, for the rest of her life, brought out the best in her and her husband. Hundreds of times she would cite the thousands of individuals in Wisconsin who demonstrated generosity, compassion, empathy, kindness, and hard work. No trip, anywhere, brought her as much joy as returning to Green Bay.

Her love for the Packers and Green Bay only grew stronger, as did her devotion to Rawhide Boys Ranch, starting in the 1960s and still thriving today. Words cannot express her appreciation towards everyone at Rawhide who has contributed to improving the lives of teenagers who need unconditional love, trust, and confidence. Later, she devoted several decades to help raise money for cancer research, following the death of Vince Lombardi. That work continues today through the Starr Children’s Fund, thanks to the enormous dedication of those in Milwaukee to support research and physicians in numerous cities.

Upon transitioning to one of those cities, Birmingham, AL, Cherry was further blessed to meet an extraordinary group of individuals who again inspired her to contribute to her community. Every week of her life was filled with stories regarding the gracious and considerate individuals she encountered throughout Birmingham and Alabama.

While we are deeply saddened to lose her, we are filled with ineffable joy regarding what is now taking place, per the last note we wrote to her: “For 65 years you and Dad fell in love with each other every day. And while you have been able to hold close to your heart your sweet memories of him, soon you will be able to experience something miraculous: You will be reunited with your best friend, allowing both of you the opportunity to fall even deeper in love, each day, for eternity.”

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choosing, or to the Bart and Cherry Starr Foundation (2647 Rocky Ridge Lane, Birmingham, AL 35216) which supports the causes noted herein.

www.starrchildrensfund.org

Ken Bowman Passes Away at 81

We learned last evening that former Packers center Ken Bowman died on December 27, 2023.

From ESPN: “Bowman, who played center for the Green Bay Packers from 1964 to 1973 and was part of three consecutive championship teams, has died. He was 81.

The Packers announced Tuesday that Bowman died last Wednesday in Oro Valley, Arizona. The team did not disclose a cause of death, but the Packers' statement cited Bowman's wife, Roseann, saying he died of natural causes.

Bowman was part of the Packers' NFL title-winning team in 1965, the year before the first Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl-winning teams of the next two seasons.

He is perhaps best known for snapping the ball to Bart Starr and delivering a block on the Hall of Fame quarterback's game-winning, 1-yard touchdown sneak in the "Ice Bowl," the Packers' 21-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in a 1967 NFL championship game that had a kickoff temperature of minus-13 degrees Fahrenheit.

That sent the Packers to the Super Bowl, where they beat the Oakland Raiders. A year earlier, Bowman stepped in for an injured Bill Curry at center during the first Super Bowl, helping the Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Packers selected Bowman out of Wisconsin in the eighth round of the 1964 draft. He played in 123 games and made 107 starts, all with Green Bay.

Bowman was the Packers' player representative for part of his career. He also was an NFL Players Association vice president.”

The Packers’ official team historian Cliff Christl posted this story.

Our condolences to his family, friends, and teammates.

Ice Bowl Anniversary

As the Packers will play the Minnesota Vikings today, it is also the anniversary of the 1967 NFL Championship Game, commonly known as “The Ice Bowl.” If you’re interested, check out our extensive post for the 50th Anniversary back in 2017. I’ve updated the video and audio links (don’t believe anyone who says that everything you put on the internet stays there forever). Enjoy!

Lombardi in TIME Magazine 1962

This week in 1962, Packers Head Coach Vince Lombardi was on the cover of TIME magazine. His team would meet the New York Giants for the NFL Championship on December 30th and outlast them 16-7 at Yankee Stadium. Here on the original blog, we share not just the cover but also the entire article (for the second time). Enjoy.
.
#GreenBayPackers #GreenBay #Packers #GoPackGo #NFL

1956 Green Bay Phone Book

On Saturday, we were looking through some online auctions and came across this unique item that enabled us to add another Green Bay landmark for our informal tours of Packers history. You see, kids, each city used to have their own phone book listing the names and numbers of every citizen’s household as well as all local businesses. This was way back when phones were attached to the wall either physically, or by a cord. You had to either sit or stand by the phone to talk to anyone. And if you weren’t home to answer a call, you likely missed out on something, or you had to catch them calling back another time, provided they did call back (there were no answering machines). How quaint, huh?

Anyway, back to the unique aspect of this Green Bay directory from 1956. Seen in the “S” section of the phone book, at lower right (enlarged below), is the address and phone number for then-rookie QB Bart Starr. That’s right. If you had a play that you wanted to get to coach Lisle Blackbourn, you could call up Bart (who wasn’t playing much), or drop by his house with your diagramed football plans to give to the coach.

In those days, telephone numbers started with words. What?! The first two letters stood for a name — in this case, “Hemlock” — and the “H-E” represented the numbers “4” and “3” on a telephone dial (remember the early days of texting?). Telephone exchange names were phased out in favor of numeric systems in the 1960s, as the demand for telephone service outpaced the scalability of the alphanumeric system, and after introduction of area codes for direct-distance dialing, all-number calling became necessary.

When the phone company began replacing the charming prefixes with a fully numeric system, a group called the Anti-Digit Dialing League was founded. This San Francisco group mounted a light-hearted campaign against the “dehumanization” of the telephone system through the elimination of prefix names (“Luddites of America, unite!”).

Here’s the back of this 1956 directory, containing one number that someone in the household quickly wrote down when there was no scratch paper around.

So now we were able to add another historic site in Green Bay to our list — the house where QB Bart Starr lived until he moved to the later home on Chateau Drive.

And, although Mr. Starr did not have a football card until 1957, one online artist has mocked up this card to the 1956 series’ specs.