Lambeau Field

[racepug]

Hi. As I mentioned in another thread I've been watching videos on the history of the Green Bay Packers. One thing I found out is that having Curly Lambeau's name assigned to the Packers' home stadium was not universally well-received. Vince Lombardi was not at all in favor of it. In fact, in the show it was mentioned that Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi were not especially close, at all. (One Packer historian in the video said that that was largely because Curly Lambeau "was a BS'er" while Vince Lombardi was an honest, "straight-shooter"). Interesting. I had no idea that naming of that stadium had ever been so contentious.

[RichardBak]

They got the wrong Curly. That's what caused all the commotion.

Curly.jpg (16.1 KiB) Viewed 15352 times

[rhickok1109]

As one who was there at the time, I can tell you that Lombardi basically wanted everyone to forget that the Packers had ever had good teams before he arrived. He removed every photo and every other artifact pertaining to Lambeau and Lambeau's teams from the Packer office and he fought very hard to keep Lambeau's name off the stadium.

[racepug]

As one who was there at the time, I can tell you that Lombardi basically wanted everyone to forget that the Packers had ever had good teams before he arrived. He removed every photo and every other artifact pertaining to Lambeau and Lambeau's teams from the Packer office and he fought very hard to keep Lambeau's name off the stadium.

That makes sense. I recently read "Instant Replay" by Jerry Kramer and in it Jerry Kramer states that Vince Lombardi was obsessed with winning three straight N.F.L. titles. When reminded that the Packers had accomplished that before he basically replied: "Those don't count. The 'Little Sisters of the Poor' could've won the N.F.L. championship back then."

[RichardBak]

Well, if the Little Sisters of the Poor included some of those tough old German and Polish nuns I grew up with in Detroit in the 50s and 60s, they probably would have kicked some ass. I've only had my head smashed into a wall once in my life, and it wasn't my dad, a D.I., or a coach. It was a nun.

[SixtiesFan]

As one who was there at the time, I can tell you that Lombardi basically wanted everyone to forget that the Packers had ever had good teams before he arrived. He removed every photo and every other artifact pertaining to Lambeau and Lambeau's teams from the Packer office and he fought very hard to keep Lambeau's name off the stadium.

This attitude appears to have been common among football men of those days. Joe Thomas destroyed all 49ers films when he became GM in 1977. He was fired a year and a half later. I read somewhere that in 1972 someone went outside the Baltimore Colt offices and saw films of the pre-1972 Colts in a dumpster, and saved most. Thomas wanted no memory of the past concerning teams he was in charge of.

Years ago I read a 1967 novel by Robert Daley titled "Only a Game." Daley was PR man for the late 50-early 60s New York Giants. The novel is obviously based on the Giants of the era. You can guess while reading the players the main character is a composite of. It's a dark story, better than North Dallas Forty IMO. Daley wrote that players of the 30s meant nothing to players circa 1960. The NFL mindset Daley described was the present only counts. The past, pro football history, and the future meant nothing. Winning now was all that mattered.

[JuggernautJ]

....Joe Thomas destroyed all 49ers films when he became GM in 1977. He was fired a year and a half later. I read somewhere that in 1972 someone went outside the Baltimore Colt offices and saw films of the pre-1972 Colts in a dumpster, and saved most. Thomas wanted no memory of the past concerning teams he was in charge of.

And yet some people here promote him for the Hall of (the) Very Good... or even the Hall of Fame...
And we're football historians...
It truly baffles me.

Next up: Librarians nominate book burner for citizen of the year...

[TanksAndSpartans]

I read this book years ago:

Gridiron Gumshoe: My Life in and Out of the NFL Films' Vault Hardcover – October 3, 2013
by Ace Cacchiotti (Author)

The author mentions that he saved TelRa videos from the trash. There's one of the 49ers I've been looking for for years. It was on the web, but taken down long ago. Had McElhenny highlights against the Texans in '52. That kid of stuff should be available at least to purchase, but it isn't. I think a lot is in private collections. Maybe they will create NFTs.

[Terry Baldshaw]

The present is built upon the foundations of the past. It's sad that a man such as Vince Lombardi, a member of Fordham's famous Seven Blocks of Granite of the 1930s, would slight the greatness of football past. The same applies to the Giants of the '50s-'60s. Heritage is a precious gift that should be cherished.

Never make light of the past because some day you'll be it.

[sheajets]

Well, if the Little Sisters of the Poor included some of those tough old German and Polish nuns I grew up with in Detroit in the 50s and 60s, they probably would have kicked some ass. I've only had my head smashed into a wall once in my life, and it wasn't my dad, a D.I., or a coach. It was a nun.

They used to love to do it next to coat hangers. Just to show you how much worse it can be