When Green Bay drafted Arizona’s Bill Lueck as its second first round pick in 1968, general manager Vince Lombardi called him, “the best guard in the nation.” Lueck did have a fine career as the running mate of his roommate Gale Gillingham, but he was never at Gillingham’s level.
The 6’3” 250-pound Lueck had grown up on a dairy farm in Arizona and attended the University of Arizona, unlike his brother Bob who played at Arizona State. Packers’ line coach Ray Wietecha liked Lueck for his ability to pull, an essential trait for a guard in the Lombardi offense. When Jerry Kramer retired following Lueck’s rookie season, Bill moved into the lineup at right guard. A year later he and Gillingham swapped sides, and Lueck was the team’s left guard for the next five years.
Both Lueck and Gilly were early proponents of weight lifting, even though that was generally frowned upon by football coaches of the time who felt it would lead to stiff, muscle-bound players. As a player, Lueck was noted for his strength and mobility and was a part of the team’s best line of the time, the 1972 unit that led the Packers’ crushing rushing attack to a division title. While there was a steep drop-off from the Lombardi years at the quarterback and receiving positions, the Himes-Gillingham-Bowman-Lueck-Hayhoe offensive line was a solid one that did not fall too far short of the revered 1960s version.
Lueck played in every game from 1969 through week nine of the 1974 season when he tore his ACL and missed the rest of the season. After Gillingham retired in 1975, the recovered Lueck requested a trade and was sent to Philadelphia, where he spent the final season of his NFL career. He was never a star, but Lueck filled his position ably and well.
(Adapted from Green Bay Gold)
1971 custom card is colorized.
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