Former Packers DE Clarence Williams Dies

Clarence Williams, a starting defensive end for the Green Bay Packers for most of his eight seasons, died May 8.

Williams, 70, played for the Packers from 1970 to 1977. Funeral services were held Saturday, May 13, at Spring Grove Funeral Home in Cincinnati.

Nicknamed “Big Cat,” Williams was, at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, known for both his size and his quickness. He grew up in Texas, led his high school to a state championship and then went to Prairie View A&M and was an 11th-round draft pick of the Cowboys in 1969. In 1970 he was traded along with Malcolm Walker to the Packers in exchange for Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley. Having lived his entire life in Texas, he didn’t know what to expect.

Williams started the last seven games at left defensive end in his first season with the Packers and held the job through 1976, playing in 107 consecutive games at one point. After filling in at both defensive end and tackle in 1977, Williams was released in training camp in 1978.

In 1972, when the Packers won the NFC Central Division, Williams led them in sacks with nine, although sacks weren’t yet an official statistic. Three of them came in the title-clinching game against Minnesota and future Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle Ron Yary on Dec. 10.

“I’ve been in Green Bay 10 years and I’ve never seen anybody tackle Fran Tarkenton three times in one game,” linebacker Dave Robinson said in the Packers’ locker room at old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minn. “But the Big Cat (Williams’ nickname) did it today.”

In 1975, Williams had a career best 10½ sacks, but he always felt 1972 was his best season.

“I don’t think I had a great year after that year,” he said in a 2004 interview. “I had solid years.”

In all, he played in 111 games for the Packers.

“I just didn’t know much about Green Bay,” Williams recalled years later to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I was a small-town country boy from Texas. I watched Green Bay in the Super Bowls and the Packers-Cowboys games all the time on TV. Green Bay was just so far north, and I hadn’t gone anywhere north in my life. I had no sense of the climate or the town… I saw cornfields and woods on the plane and then went straight to St. Norbert’s [the college where the Packers had training camp]. I was young, 24 or 25, and was just in awe. The weather was so different and there weren’t any black people up there. I couldn’t get a haircut anywhere. All I knew about Green Bay was the football team.”

Williams was a player representative for the Packers during his career. He also made Green Bay home when he left football and served as a defensive coach for St. Norbert College for two years.

From 1988-91, he coached at Southeast Missouri State. He moved to Cincinnati in 1994.

Williams is survived by Icy, his wife of 48 years, and his children Clarence Jr., Cary Leon and Marla Rachelle.

Sources: Pro Football Talk; Green Bay Packers; Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Green Bay’s Packers — Return to Glory (1973)

Green Bay’s Packers — Return to Glory was published following the team’s 1972 Central Division championship season, which saw them finish 10-4 and advance to the NFC playoffs. The fans thought this could be the revival of the organization to the winning habits of the Lombardi Era, this time under the command of head coach Dan Devine. New Packer heroes came to the forefront — QB Scott Hunter, RBs John Brockington and MacArthur Lane, LB Fred Carr, K Chester Marcol and more. Unfortunately, the championship quest came to an end in Washington with a 16-3 loss. The real “Return to Glory” would have to wait more than 20 years.

In order to not damage the binding of the book, we only have front and back cover scans. 

Find your copy here.

Green Bay’s Packers — Return to Glory

By Bob Rubin; Photography by Vernon and John Biever

Prentice-Hall, Inc. (1973)

144 pages

46 Years of Media Guides — Part V

Today we conclude our look back at the Green Bay Packers Media Guides (and Press Books) that we have in the Packerville, U.S.A. archives.

1974 RECORD • 6-8-0 In what would be Head Coach Dan Devine’s final year in Green Bay, the team wound up third again in the NFC Central and obviously missed the playoffs with a losing record. One bright spot was that K Chester Marcol led the league in field goals made (25). RB John Brockington was the cover subject.

1973 RECORD • 5-7-2 A third place in the NFC Central was all the team could accomplish this year, the last in which two ties occurred to the Packers. The Green Bay defense makes the cover, stopping a Chicago Bears runner.

1972 RECORD • 10-4-0 The club posted a 10-4 record under coach Dan Devine, earning them a first-place finish in the NFC Central division. This marked the return of the Packers to the playoffs after a four-year drought. The Packers lost in the Divisional Playoffs to the Washington Redskins, 16-3. Chester Marcol set an NFL rookie record (since broken) for most Field Goals in one year with 32. RB John Brockington makes his first appearance on the cover.

1971 RECORD • 4-8-2 Former Missouri Head Coach Dan Devine took the helm in Green Bay, attempting to return the team to glory following the Phil Bengston years. The players he had to work with netted a fourth place finish in the NFC Central division. On the cover, Devine runs with the team in spring workouts. To his right are G Gale Gillingham (#68) and S Willie Wood (#24).

1970 RECORD • 6-8-0 In coach Phil Bengston ’s final year in Green Bay, the team was far from the Lombardi era greatness, and they finished third in the NFC Central. On the cover, the Packers’ defense stops the San Francisco 49ers offense.

1969 RECORD • 8-6-0 The club posted a 8-6 record under coach Phil Bengston, earning them a 3rd place finish in the NFC Central division. Without the disciplined guidance of Vince Lombardi steering the Packers for the first time in a decade, Green Bay started the season strong at 5-2, but stumbled down the stretch. Plagued by injuries and inconsistent play, the team clawed their way to their 10th winning season in the last 11 years. On the cover, the million-dollar “bonus babies” Donny Anderson (#44) and Jim Grabowski (#33) come out of the Packer backfield.

1968 RECORD • 6-7-1 Vince Lombardi retired as coach following Super Bowl II, taking on the full general manager job, and left his defensive coordinator Phil Bengston to coach the team. The club posted a 6-7-1 record, earning them a third-place finish in the NFC Central division. It was also the Packers' first losing season since 1958. Our copy of the ’68 media guide is autographed by Hall of Famer Willie Davis.

1967 RECORD • 9-4-1 This season culminated in a victory in Super Bowl II. The team beat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1967 NFL Championship Game, a game commonly known as the "Ice Bowl," which marked the second time the Packers had won an NFL-record third consecutive NFL championship, having also done so in 1931 under team founder Curly Lambeau. The Packers were coached by Vince Lombardi and led by quarterback Bart Starr. Green Bay's victory in Super Bowl II over the Oakland Raiders was the fifth world championship for the Packers under Lombardi and the last game he coached for the Packers. On the cover, RB Elijah Pitts (#22) turns the corner behind G Fred “Fuzzy” Thurston (#63).

1966 RECORD • 12-2-0 The team beat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1966 NFL Championship Game, the Packers' 10th NFL title. The Packers recorded a 35-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the inaugural AFL-NFL Championship Game. In 2007, the 1966 Packers were ranked as the 6th greatest Super Bowl champions on the NFL Network's documentary series “America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions.” On the cover, QB Bart Starr sets to pass during a home game against the Chicago Bears.

1965 RECORD • 10-3-1 The club’s ’65 record under coach Vince Lombardi earned them a tie for first place in the Western Conference with the Baltimore Colts. The Packers and Colts played a one-game playoff in Green Bay, which the Packers won 13-10, in overtime. The Packers then defeated the defending champion Cleveland Browns, 23-12, in the NFL Championship Game. This marked the Packers 9th NFL World Championship, third under Lombardi, and the last NFL championship game before the advent of the Super Bowl. On the cover, FB Jim Taylor gains yardage against the Detroit Lions.

Our collection stops at 1965, but the media guides go back further than that. According to the Price Guide to Packers Memorabilia (1998), “Until 1964, the only way to obtain press guides was from the team. Starting in 1965 (where our collection originates) and continuing until 1979, the Wisconsin Ford automobile dealerships distributed them free of charge and made them a lot easier to find. From the early 1980’s to the present, the media guides are available both in the Packer Pro Shop and numerous retail outlets. Finding press items from the 1920’s to the 1960’s is very difficult. Most items were given out free and many items were thrown out later.”

We hope you’ve enjoyed this series and learned a few things along the way. We will continue with our intermittent publishing schedule until we get near football season.

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Anybody for Some John Hadl?

Let’s take a short journey back to 1974, to see the Green Bay Packers vs. the Minnesota Vikings at old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. The date was November 17th, and the teams were playing in Week Ten of the ’74 campaign. Here’s a good chance to see Packers’ QB John Hadl in action — something you see rarely in the highlights of Packers’ history. This was head coach Dan Devine’s last year in Titletown, and Hadl was brought in to save the franchise. In reality, the deal hamstrung it for years to come. This segment is from “This Week in the N.F.L.,” hosted by Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier. By the way, the Packers won that day, 19-7.

A Few from ’72

We like to jump around chronologically here in Packerville, U.S.A., so today we’re off to 1972, the last time the Packers won the division outright (barring strike-shortened years) until the Mike Holmgren era. Above, Jim Carter (#50) and Clarence Williams (#83) sack 49ers’ quarterback Steve Spurrier. Yep, that Steve Spurrier — well-known current coach of the University of South Carolina, and most known for his time at the University of Florida.

Quarterback Scott Hunter gets a pass off under a heavy rush by the Houston Oilers.

Mike McCoy (#76) makes a hard hit on the Bears’ Jim Harrison.

Running back MacArthur Lane breaks into the open and turns the corner for some positive yardage.

Running back John Brockington heads into the teeth of the opponent’s defense at home.

Green Bay native Jerry Tagge passes against the Bears in Chicago’s Soldier Field.

Assistant coach Bart Starr (left), and head coach Dan Devine talk strategy with Tagge during a time out on the road.

Lane and Brockington ready in the backfield for the snap of the ball.

Taking On the Lions in 1974

After a fine, redemptive victory over Brett Favre and his Minnesota Vikings last night, we look back to 1974 and the last year of head coach Dan Devine’s administration in Green Bay. This post features items from the September 29, 1974 game program — which had the Lions taking on the Packers in Milwaukee’s County Stadium.

This article tells of Devine’s quest to bring a championship back to Green Bay in 1974.

Here’s your roster for the 1974 Green Bay Packers.

Follow along during the season with this entire league schedule.

We like these classic 1970’s-style illustrations that accompanied an article on the changing kicking rules in ’74.

We’ve got to get Mom to buy some Quik® so we can get a couple official team pennants!

Look through these pages and see how many of these players you remember — or haven’t thought about for 30+ years.

Lastly, these several pages of game action photos are from the last few preseason games (they played six that year!).