Those We Lost in 2025

As we close out 2025, we pay tribute to the Packers we lost this year.

Al Matthews Passes Away

Former Packer DB Al Matthews has passed away at the age of 77. Check out the post on the team’s site HERE.

Packers in MAD

This is the first installment of our effort to get back to why this blog was created in the first place. Posting things from our Packerville, U.S.A. archives. This one features a look at professional football from the late 1960’s (it appears in this compilation from MAD magazine in 1971, see cover below). Written by Larry Siegel and illustrated by the super-talented Jack Davis.

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.

50th First NFL Game Anniversary (Two Days Late)

With Family Night going on, I forgot to mark August 5th as the 50th anniversary of my first ever NFL/Packers game, a 13-13 preseason tie with the Bears in Milwaukee in 1973. The caption to the phone above: “Packers kicker Chester Marcol's 39-yard field goal kick misses its mark, and Green Bay has to settle for a 13-13 tie in an exhibition game against the Chicago Bears at Milwaukee's County Stadium on Aug. 5, 1973.” Henry A. Koshollek/Milwaukee Journal

Lo, these many years later, this coming season will mark 33 years of being a season ticket holder.

More Brockington — From the Packerville Archives

Wrapping up our tribute to Packers Hall of Fame RB John Brockington (who died on April 6th) we are sharing some vintage publications from the early 1970’s. Above is the bio listing of him in the 1971 Packers Official Media Guide.

The cover of the 1972 Packers Official Media Guide featured Brockington in action against the Denver Broncos.

In 1974, he made the media guide cover again.

After their “return to glory” in the 1972 season (where they won the NFC Central division, but lost to the Washington Redskins in the Divisional game, 16-3), Brockington was featured on the cover of this book.

Brockington was the cover subject for the 1972 Green Bay Packers Yearbook.

A feature article inside the 1972 Green Bay Packers Yearbook.

An alternative “yearbook”-style publication (which was actually published for each of the NFC Central teams), 1972 Sports Focus Football Issue — Green Bay Packers put the team’s featured star on the cover, as well as featuring him inside.

And again in 1974, the Sports Focus publication put him on the cover, as well as featuring him in an article inside.

John Brockington Dies at 74

John Brockington in 1972 during the final game of the N.F.L. season in New Orleans. A Brooklyn native, he earned All-Pro honors and was named N.F.L. offensive rookie of the year in his first season with the Packers. Credit: Ross Lewis/Getty Images

John Brockington, former running back in the National Football League who played for the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, passed away at the age of 74. After graduating from Ohio State University, he was selected early in the draft and went on to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 1971.

In the 1971 NFL Draft, Brockington was the ninth player selected overall. He was selected after Jim Plunkett, Dan Pastorini, Archie Manning, and John Riggins.

Brockington was selected before Jack Tatum, Jack Youngblood, Jack Ham, and Dan Dierdorf. Brockington set a record by being the first player in the history of the National Football League to rush for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. In his first season with the Green Bay Packers in 1971, Brockington was voted NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. He played in all 14 games for the Packers and rushed for 1,105 yards while averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Brockington finished his career with 5,024 running yards, which was good for second place all-time in Packers franchise history. As of the month of December 2022, Brockington is now ranked fourth all-time in the Packers’ rushing yardage record. In 1971, Brockington was selected for the 1st Team All-Pro, in 1973 he was selected for both the 1st Team and the 2nd Team, and in 1972 he was named to the All-NFC team. Moreover, Brockington was named for the Pro Bowl three times in a row (1971-1973).

His first running partner in the Green Bay backfield was sixth-year halfback Donny Anderson, another Packer first round draft choice. Anderson was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for running back MacArthur Lane in the offseason following the season in which he was drafted by the Packers. Between the years 1972 and 1974, Brockington and Lane worked together as a dynamic rushing tandem in the backfield for the Packers, helping to carry the team’s offense. In 1972, the Packers earned their first trip to the playoffs in the previous five years by winning the NFC Central division.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Scott Hunter (16) hands off to Brockington (42) during a game in 1971. Credit: George Gellatly/Getty Images

Brockington exemplified the power running back with a style of running that was focused on his considerable strength. A power running back is a player who prefers to break tackles and run over defenders rather than run away from them. Brockington’s running style was based on his strong strength. He was a pioneer in the sport of running backs, having been one of the first to combine speed with power.

After surpassing 1,000 yards rushing in each of his first three seasons, Brockington ran for 883 yards in 1974 (including a career-high 43 receptions for 314 yards), but he dropped to only 434 yards rushing on 3.0 YPC in 1975 under new head coach Bart Starr. Brockington’s success was fleeting. This was the result of normal wear and tear, the trading of Lane in July 1975, and changes in the playbook that did not take advantage of Brockington’s ability. All of these factors contributed to Brockington’s decline. In 1976, he ran for 406 yards and averaged 3.5 yards per carry.

Brockington also spent part of the 1977 season with the Kansas City Chiefs and finished his career with 5,185 yards rushing. He had 30 touchdown runs and four touchdown catches.