A Card for Everyone: Earl Gros

Earl Gros, born on this date in 1940, is most famous in Green Bay for his inclusion in the trade of Jim Ringo to the Eagles for Lee Roy Caffey and a first round draft pick that turned into Donny Anderson. In 1962, Green Bay made Earl its first round draft choice, the 14^th overall pick. In the AFL draft he was selected by the Houston Oilers in the second round with the 15^th overall pick. Coming from LSU, he shared a lineage with the Packers’ starting fullback Jim Taylor, but was largely relegated to kicking teams as a rookie.

With the suspension of Paul Hornung in 1963, Gros had an opportunity to move into the starting lineup as an NFL sophomore, but could not beat out veteran backup Tom Moore. He did see increased action that season, but with six fumbles in 66 touches Earl lost the confidence of the coach, so Lombardi traded him in the offseason.

Gros played three seasons with the Eagles and three with the Steelers before finishing his career with one last game as a Saint in 1970. With Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Earl was generally a starter and mastered that fumbling problem, coughing it up just 18 times in 887 touches during the balance of his career. His best year was his first in Philly when he averaged 4.9 yards per carry and gained 748 yards on the ground. For the rest of his career, he averaged less than four yards per carry every season. He died in 2013 at the age of 72.

 

 

 

Fleer and Kahn custom cards are colorized.

Packers by the Numbers Update: #90

90 was first worn in Green Bay by guard Leon Manley in 1950-51 and then wasn’t worn again until 1979 when Ezra Johnson switched from wearing 78. That 27-year gap is the only multiyear gap the number has experienced since it was initiated.

90 has been worn by five defensive ends, four defensive tackles, one linebacker and the originating guard.

G: Leon Manley (1950-51).

DE: Ezra Johnson (1979-87), Nate Hill (1988), Darius Holland (1995-97), Vonnie Holiday (1998-2002) and Chukie Nwokorie (2003).

DT: Steve McMichael (1994), Colin Cole (2004-08), B.J. Raji (2009-13, 2015) and Montravius Adams (2017-18).

LB: Tony Bennett (1990-93).

Johnson wore it the longest, eight years, and is the only 90 in the team’s hall of fame, but Bennett, Holliday and Raji also had their moments of excellence.

 

 

 

 

Manley and Hill custom cards are colorized.

Cully Lidberg’s Birthday

In his time, Carl “Cully” Lidberg was described as a “bone-crushing line plunger” as a 5’10” 190-pound fullback/linebacker for the Packers. Born in 1900, Cully served in the Marines during World War I, which delayed his completing high school in Red Wing, Minnesota till the 1920s. He enrolled at Hamline University first and then transferred to the University of Minnesota in 1923. Lidberg played for the Gophers from 1923-25, with his most memorable moment being when Minnesota surprisingly upended Red Grange’s Fighting Illini in 1924. It was said that a hard collision between Grange and Lidberg knocked Red out of the game that day.

Curly Lambeau signed Cully for the Packers in 1926, and he finished second on the team in touchdowns with four as a rookie. Although he signed a contract for 1927, Lidberg did not report to training camp because he was hired as the backfield coach at Colgate University under former Gopher player and assistant coach George Hauser.

Cully returned to the Packers in 1929 for the team’s first championship season. His best game came in the title-clinching third shutout win of the season over the Bears on December 8. Lidberg scored the game’s first touchdown in the opening quarter. Then, he twice intercepted Chicago forward passes inside the Bear 30 yard line. Both picks led directly to Packer touchdowns.

He started the 1930 season with Green Bay, but was unceremoniously released by Lambeau on November 18, presumably due to injuries, as the team was set to embark on an East Coast road trip. Many years later, Lidberg complained of bad knees to reporter Art Daley, “I got clipped a couple times here and they just about ruined me. That was before clipping was illegal.”

Cully played and coached semi-pro ball for the Duluth Eskimos in 1932 and later served as an assistant coach at his alma mater in the late ‘30s. From 1948-65, he was president of General Services, a company that specialized in rebuilding large machinery. He died on June 26, 1987 at the age of 86, and was survived by three sons.

 

All custom cards are colorized.

A Card for Everyone: Ray DiPierro

Today in 1926, Ray “Dippy” DiPierro was born in Toledo, Ohio. A star at Libbey High School in town, he was recruited to Ohio State by Paul Brown and played on the varsity as a freshman in 1944 under coach Carroll Widdoes. Ray spent 1945 with the Army Air Corps before returning to OSU in 1946 under new coach Paul Bixler. He concluded his Buckeye career under Wes Fesler in 1947 and ’48.

The Bears signed him as a free agent in 1949, but Ray did not make the team. When former Chicago assistant Gene Ronzani became the Packers’ coach in 1950, Dippy was one of several former Bears that he brought in. The 5’11” 210-pound guard started for the Packers part of that season and 1951 as well. Quarterback Tobin Rote remarked many years later that he outweighed both of his guards (Dipierro and Buddy Burris) and center (Jay Rhodemyer) at the outset of his career in Green Bay, which was one reason he had to run for his life.

DiPierro was cut the week before the 1951 season, but was reactivated at midseason due to injuries. He retired in 1952 and went into sales and had a very successful career in that field. His son Scott remarked at his passing in 2014, “He had the gift of gab and a friendly approach and a trustworthiness. He was just fun and happy and good-hearted and easy going.”

 

 

All custom cards are colorized.

Packers by the Numbers Update: #89

Hall of Fame linebacker Dave Robinson was the first to wear 89 in Green Bay, and it hasn’t gotten any better than that in the ensuing 46 years since Dave was traded to Washington in 1973. Robby, who wore the number the longest (1963-72), has been succeeded by seven wide receivers and nine tight ends.

LB: Dave Robinson (1963-72).

WR: Charlie Wade (1975), Ollie Smith (1976-77), Willie Taylor (1978), Aundra Thompson (1979-81), Robert Ferguson (2001-06), James Jones (2007-13, 2015) and Michael Clark (2017).

TE: Henry Childs (1984), Mark Lewis (1985-87), Kevin Fitzgerald (1987r), Joey Hackett (1987-88), John Spagnola (1989), William Harris (1990), Mark Chmura (1993-99), Richard Rodgers (2014) and Jared Cook (2016).

There have been three two-year gaps when the number was not worn (1973-74, 1982-83 and 1991-92). Aside from Robinson, Jones (eight years) and Chmura (seven years) wore the number with the most distinction. All three earned Super Bowl rings wearing 89.

 

 

Custom cards of Lewis and Hackett are colorized.

A Card for Everyone: Howie Ruetz

The late Howie Ruetz was born in difficult circumstances on August 18, 1927 in Racine, Wisconsin. His father, George “Babe” Ruetz, died suddenly at the age of 33 the previous May and never met his second son. Babe Ruetz was a well-known local figure, having starred as a local semi-pro player in the 1910s before founding the Racine Legion of the NFL in 1922. Babe coached the Legion in the three years of its existence from 1922-24 to a 14-11-6 record.

Howie grew to 265 pounds and starred at St. Catherine’s High School before matriculating at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. The most famous alumni of tiny Loras are actor Don Ameche and sportscaster Greg Gumbel. Ruetz won Little All-America honors as a tackle there and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 26^th round in 1951. Waived in mid-September, he was claimed by Green Bay and appeared in the Packers’ final two preseason games, winning a starting slot on the defensive line.

Although Howie started all 12 games as a rookie, his sophomore season was cut short when he had his appendix removed in October 1952. He returned to the team in 1953, but was waived at midseason when Len Szafaryn was reactivated from a preseason injury. In all Ruetz appeared in 20 games with Green Bay. He then got on with his life, working in manufacturing and raising eight children that he had with his wife Barbara, whom he met at Loras.

Howie stayed a Packer fan all his life and died on July 2, 1999 at the age of 71. His son Joe played for the Wisconsin Badgers from 1978-80. Howie’s brother Joe died at age 86 in 2003.

 

 

All custom cards are colorized.

Update: I removed the reference to a brother Joe because that was incorrect.

1955 Topps Packer Set Part 5

The final installment…

All custom cards are colorized.

Packers by the Numbers Update: #88

88 was first worn by two-way halfback Rip Collins in 1951. A year later the number was restricted by the league to ends and was next worn by defensive end George Hays. The next player to wear it in Green Bay was Gene White who also was listed as an end but actually played defensive back. Since then, the number has been worn by 12 tight ends and 10 wide receivers.

HB: Rip Collins (1951).

DE: George Hays (1953).

DB: Gene White (1954).

TE: Ron Kramer (1957, 1959-64), Bill Anderson (1965-66), Dick Capp (1967), Ron Jones (1969), Len Garrett (1971-73), Bert Askon (1975-77), Darryl Ingram (1992-93), Keith Jackson (1995-96), Reggie Johnson (1997) Lamont Hall (1999), Bubba Franks (2000-07) and Jermichael Finley (2008-13).

WR: Ron Cassidy (1979-81, 1983-84), Preston Dennard (1985), Phil McConkey (1986), Albert Belle (1988), Aubrey Matthews (1988-89), Charles Wilson (1990-91), Terry Mickens (1994), Roell Preston (1997-98), Jahine Arnold (1999) and Ty Montgomery (2015-18).

88 has been in nearly constant use since Collins inaugurated it, with there being only one period longer than one season in which it was not worn (1955-56). Ron Kramer ended that two-year gap, and he is easily the finest Packer in the number, the only member of the team’s hall of fame from this group. Fellow tight end Bubba Franks wore it the longest with an eight-year tenure. Keith Jackson and Jermichael Finley are also of note for 88.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Custom cards of Collins, Hays, White, Kramer, Garrett and Matthews are colorized.

Founders Day

100 years ago the Green Bay Packers football team was organized in an office in the Green Bay Press-Gazette building. Presumably Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun were present, but there was no write-up of the event in the newspaper so all the attendees are not known. At the follow-up meeting three days later, 25 players attended and Lambeau was elected captain and Calhoun manager. From that inauspicious start, a semi-pro team in a small city in Wisconsin has grown to the team with the most unique history in all of professional sports, the publicly-owned 13-time world champion Packers.

The Indian Packing Company supplied uniforms for 18 players on that first team, and there are 18 players in uniform on the team card above, but these 25 names are listed as having played for the team that first year:

Nate Abrams, Henry (Tubby) Bero, ? Bradlee, Jim Coffeen, Jim Desjardin, Dutch Dwyer, Riggie Dwyer, Jen Gallagher, Fritz Gavin, Wally Ladrow, Curly Lambeau, Wes Leaper, Herm Martell, Al Martin, Orlo Wylie McLean, Andy Muldoon, Herbert Nichols, Al Petcka, Sam Powers, Gus Rosenow, Charlie Sauber,          Lyle (Cowboy) Wheeler, Milt Wilson, Martin Zoll and Carl Zoll.

Of the 25, just nine played and league games for the Packers two years later when the team joined the APFA, as the NFL was first known: Abrams, Ladrow, Lambeau, Martell, McLean, Powers, Wheeler, Wilson and Martin Zoll. Four others (Rosenow, Gavin, Leaper and Carl Zoll) appeared in non-league games for Green Bay that year. All but Rosenow of the latter group eventually played for the Packers in the NFL. Let’s salute those dozen earliest Packer pros in card form below.

All custom cards are colorized.

1955 Topps Packer Set Part 4

The penultimate group…

All custom cards aside from Johnson and Skibinski are colorized.