Words from Weeb

I recently came across an odd book from 1977 called Football Greats written by coach Weeb Ewbank, broadcaster Jack Buck and sportswriter Bob Broeg. Ewbank writes about greats he coached and wished he had; Buck about greats he talked about and with and Broeg about those he saw and wished he’d seen. Here are a few of Weeb’s pithy comments about some Packers:

Tony Canadeo…I saw Tony play only once, but, though he was along in years and had only average size and speed, his heart got everything possible out of every play.

Bobby Dillon…Dillon played the free man in the Pack’s most-used coverage, though he had sight in only one eye, and was five times an All-Pro, earning respect of ALL quarterbacks when throwing long because he intercepted all over the field. An inspiration.

Boyd Dowler…Not taking Boyd as a draft choice was bad scouting by Baltimore. I let a scouting report influence me…We passed. Green Bay claimed him. As a title performer with the Pack, Dowler wasn’t supposed to like getting hit, but you don’t last that long if you haven’t got the guts. He was nifty at finding the open seam of zone coverage for a first down completion.

Gale Gillingham…Oh how I hated to miss this one in the bidding war for the Jets before the American Football League merged with the NFL in 1966. He made All-Pro a couple of times, and we really could have used him.

Hawg Hanner…was not the eye-catching kind of defensive lineman, but he was fundamentally sound. You see, his best years were BEFORE the Packers hit their championship stride in 1960. As a result, he didn’t get full recognition, but the likeable Hanner has proved himself a good defensive coach as well as a player.

Paul Hornung…I remember once against my Colts when Paul started wide right, cut back over tackle, and my own great Artie Donovan met him head on. Wham! Hornung bowled over the 280-pound Donovan. No wonder he was Player of the Year in 1961.

Henry Jordan…My fine Baltimore left guard Art Spinney had more trouble with Henry than any other defensive tackle. Four times All-Pro. I don’t see how Jordan can miss the pro football Hall of Fame.

Jim Ringo…Durable Jim had the best center’s crackback block I ever saw and also had an important “reach” or long block, as we call it, on the Packers’ famed power sweep. Just a couple of good reasons he made All-Pro six times.

Tobin Rote…Big and strong for a quarterback, like a fullback when you tackled him, Tobin just ran over tacklers and–believe it or not for a man crouched under center–he’s among the top 100 career ball-carriers in the NFL with a 5.0 rushing average.

Bart Starr…Bart, given responsibility by Vince Lombardi, reacted well to the leadership challenge and became a winner.

All custom cards but Hornung and Gillingham are colorized.

Packers by the Numbers Update: #94

94 has been worn by just nine players in Green Bay history. The first to do so was notorious defensive end Charles Martin in 1984. After he left the team following the 1987 season, the number was not worn again until 1994 when Matt Brock switched to it from 62. Veteran guard Guy McIntire signed with Green Bay and requested his number from his days as a 49er, and Brock complied.

94 has been worn by six defensive ends and three defensive tackles in Green Bay.

DE: Charles Martin (1984-87), Matt Brock (1994), Roy Barker (1999), Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (2000-08), Jarius Wynn (2009-11) and Phillip Merling (2012).

DT: Stan Mataele (1987r), Bob Kuberski (1995-98) and Dean Lowry (2016-19).

KGB is the lone member of the team’s Hall of Fame to wear 94, and did so with distinction for a record nine seasons before retiring as the Packers official career leader in sacks with 74.5. Clay Matthews has since passed him on that list, but unofficially Willie Davis bested them both with over 100 sacks in green and gold.

 

 

Custom cards in Topps styles.

Packers by the Numbers Update: #93

After first being worn by halfback Dom Moselle in 1951, number 93 was not worn by another Packer for 30 years until defensive end Robert Brown donned it in 1982. Brown, who wore the number the longest at 11 years, was followed by three defensive ends, four defensive tackles and three linebackers in the ensuing years.

HB: Dom Moselle (1951)

DE: Robert Brown (1982-92), Calvin Wallace (1987r), Kenny Petway (2008) and Josh Boyd (2013-15).

DT: Gilbert Brown (1994-99, 2001-03), Johnny Jolly 92006), Conrad Bolston (2007) and Anthony Toribio (2009).

LB: Erik Walden (2010-12), Reggie Gilbert (2017-18) and B.J. Goodson (2019).

Gilbert Brown, who stretched a number 93 jersey over his stout frame for nine seasons in Green Bay, is the best player to wear the number and is the only member of the team’s hall of fame from this group.

 

 

First two custom cards are colorized.

Strength in Numbers by Eric Goska

Packer fans are lucky to have had their own insightful, accurate, dedicated statistical historian for the past quarter century, Eric Goska. Goska’s first book in 1995, Packer Legends in Facts, and its subsequent extension in 2004, Green Bay Packers: A Measure of Greatness, went season by season in Packer history, breaking down the numbers and chronology. From 1994-2016, he wrote unique pieces for the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Packer games–a practice he has continued since then on the web site Pro Football Journal.

This new book examines Packer history by quarters for the recordable statistics of rushing, passing, receiving and scoring. Armed with play-by-plays in the Green Bay Press-Gazette from the early years, handwritten ones from local legend Art Daley and the official ones, Eric has accumulated quarterly data for all but 38 Packer games from 1923-2018. I’ve spent time with him at NFL Films as he worked his way through their holdings of game films to track down or confirm the smallest bits of data and can attest to his devotion to this project.

In the sections for each quarter, Goska details what Packer had the most points and rushing, passing, and receiving yards for a career, a season and a game. He augments the numbers with short essays on relevant players and games for each quarterly section. He also touches on best first and last plays as well as breakdowns by first or second halves.

In this book OT stands for not only overtime but also Other Topics, allowing Goska to explore additional subjects:

• the longest distance for a first down,
• gaining 100 yards rushing with all positive yardage carries,
• maintaining a 100 passer rating from the first pass to the last,
• gaining 100 yards receiving and achieving a first down on each catch,
• touchdown drives of 10+ plays without a pass attempt,
• one player scoring all the Packers’ points in a game
• the longest touchdowns scored on fourth down.

Finally, Eric includes career totals through 2018 for rushing, passing, receiving and scoring. This statistical gem belongs on every Packer fan’s bookshelf.

Hitting the Century Mark

On this day in 1944, Tony Canadeo rushed for 107 yards in 12 carries against the Rams. It was the second time he reached that benchmark for a game, and just the ninth time any Packer had done so. Officially, Clarke Hinkle was the first to do so on December 1, 1933 when he gained 116 yards on fifteen carries against the Eagles. The 100-yard mark was then hit by Bob Monnett in 1935, Hinkle again in 1936, Andy Uram in 1939, Cecil Isbell in 1940, Uram again in 1941, Ted Fritsch in 1942 and Canadeo on October 31 1943.

Unofficially according to Packer historian Eric Goska’s meticulous play-by-play research of the early days, there were at least three prior 100-yard rushers: Myrt Basing carried 22 times for 102 yards on November 1 1925, Herdis McCrary ran 15 tiems for 100 yards on October 12, 1930 and McCrary again went 19 for 110 on October 4, 1931. I will have more on Goska’s new book in two days.

Canadeo’s 122 yard-game in ’43 remained the team record until October 8, 1950 when Billy Grimes ran 10 times for 167 yards against the New York Yankees. Canadeo would hit 122 yards again in both 1948 and ’49 and set the team mark with nine 100-yard games in his career. Jim Taylor surpassed that with his tenth 100-yard game on December 10, 1961 and ultimately totaled 26 such games. Ahman Green is the current team record holder with 33. Uram had set the mark for the longest run from scrimmage with a 97 yarder in 1939 on a day when he had two carries for 108 yards. Green topped that with a 98 yarder in 2003.

The odd thing about Canadeo’s great day in 1944 was that he was actually serving in the army at the time. Tony was given a three-week furlough to be home for the birth of his first son and joined his 5-0 old teammates for three games. The Ram game was the first of the trio, and Canadeo’s 107 rushing yards bolstered the home team’s total of 293 for the day as they rolled over Cleveland 30-21. Tony’s day featured gains of 18, 23 and 15 yards, with that 15-yard burst occurring on the game’s final play to push the Gray Ghost into three digits.

Tony appeared in the next two games on the road against the Lions (a win) and the Bears (a loss), but gained just 42 yards on the ground to finish his season. He would not return to the field until mustering out of the army in 1946, but had his greatest years ahead of him.

 

 

 

 

 

All custom cards except for Taylor and Green are colorized.

The Brief Tenure of Ray Rhodes

Born in tiny Mexia, Texas on October 20, 1950, Ray Rhodes came up the hard way. He once asserted to the New York Times, “I feel more comfortable as an underdog. This has been my life. I had to fight and claw for everything I’ve gotten – nobody has given me anything.” He was a 10^th round draft pick of the Giants in 1974 and spent three years with them as a wide receiver before being converted to defensive back in 1977. Three years later, he was traded to San Francisco where he came under the influence of Bill Walsh. After one season as a 49er, Rhodes joined the team’s coaching staff, tutoring the defensive backs for the next decade and winning four Super Bowl rings. When offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren was named head coach of the Packers in 1992, he hired Ray as his defensive coordinator. After two years, Ray was homesick for San Francisco and returned to the 49ers as defensive coordinator in time to win a fifth ring in 1994.

With this background, he was hired by the Eagles in 1995, to replace Rich Kotite who had taken Buddy Ryan’s talented team and dismantled it. Rhodes went about completely revamping the club by bringing in scores of free agents and aging retreads. In addition to signing big name runner Ricky Watters in that first year, Rhodes also imported three starting offensive linemen, several defensive linemen, linebackers Bill Romanowski, and Kurt Gouveia and quarterback Rodney Peete. Rhodes tried to restructure the Eagles as a very scrappy, hungry team, but was unable to get through to shifty, wifty quarterback Randall Cunningham. With the team sitting at 1-3, Randall was benched. New starter Rodney Peete did not have the skills that Randall did, but he was a leader with heart who led Philadelphia on a 9-3 stretch that got them into the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Many more free agents would follow in the ensuing three years, but the most significant free agents were receiver Irving Fryar, cornerback Troy Vincent and fullback Kevin Turner in 1996, center Steve Everitt, linebacker Darrin Smith and kicker Chris Boniol in 1997. Defensive end Hugh Douglass was also acquired in 1998 via trade. However, Rhodes success in the draft was spotty. His first round picks were the disappointing Mike Mamula, the long-term project Jermayne Mayberry, the flop Jon Harris and the blue chipper Tra Thomas. Aside from second round picks Bobby Taylor in 1995 and Dawkins in 1996, the rest of Rhodes’ picks were projects. Some would eventually be successful in Philadelphia like Duce Staley, Jeremiah Trotter and Ike Reese. Others would develop elsewhere, but most would simply languish like Jason Dunn, Barrett Brooks, Chris T. Jones, and Bobby Hoying. It was no way to build a team.

After Rhodes initial success when his fiery leadership was being compared by some to Vince Lombardi, the team declined rapidly. Ron Jaworski told Sports Illustrated, “One year, that stuff’s good for one year. Sometimes not even that long.” When a coach amps up his pregame speeches to the twilight zone level of comparing the opposing team to a band of rapists about to attack the players’ wives, he’s going to be tuned out. Ray was shown to be a tough guy fraud who could not develop talent, could not fix ongoing special teams’ problems and could not manage quarterbacks. Rhodes had tried unsuccessfully to obtain Packer backup quarterback Mark Brunell in 1995 but settled for Ty Detmer as a free agent in 1996. Early in the 1996 season, starter Rodney Peete hurt his knee and Detmer at last got his chance. Things couldn’t have gone better at first as the Eagles won Ty’s first four starts, but in the second half of the year both Detmer and the Eagles unraveled. The team made the playoffs, but played poorly in being shut out by San Francisco. In 1997, Detmer just barely won the starting job in training camp and the team went from Detmer to Peete to Bobby Hoying in the next two dismal seasons before Rhodes was fired.

Meanwhile, Mike Holmgren left Green Bay, and GM Ron Wolf was presented with a dilemma: the Packers had been pushing offensive coordinator Sherm Lewis as a great head coaching candidate to several teams, but Wolf did not think he was right for Green Bay. On top of that, Lewis was black, so that if he was passed over by his own team that would not sit well with many Packer players. So Wolf brought Rhodes back to Green Bay as head coach as the tough new sheriff in town. Rhodes retained Lewis on offense and brought Emmitt Thomas with him as defensive coordinator so that for the first time in the NFL a head coach and both coordinators were all black.

Unfortunately, Rhodes had no control over the team. While he would get upset, he would not enforce discipline on or off the field. Wolf told Chuck Carlson for Tales from the Packers Sideline, “The players just didn’t respond to Ray. The team had no life and it had to change.” So after one 8-8 season, Rhodes was fired, with Wolf drawing some racially tinged criticism from Jesse Jackson that ultimately did not amount to much. Subsequently, Rhodes worked as defensive coordinator for the Redskins in 2000, the Broncos from 2001-2002 and the Seahawks from 2003-2005 until he suffered a stroke. After recovering, Ray returned to Seattle for two more years as a defensive assistant and then moved on to Houston in 2008 and Cleveland in 2011-12. His five-year record was 37-42-1, and his teams ran 43% of the time, which was 98% of the league average, while giving up 2.7 more points than they scored per game.

(Adapted from NFL Head Coaches)

Custom card in style of 1960 Fleer.

Forrest Gregg as a Coach

Yesterday marked the birthday of Hall of Fame Packer tackle Forrest Gregg, also a member of the NFL’s 75^th Anniversary All-Time Team. Tough as nails, he was a multiple cancer survivor. As a coach, though, Gregg was never able to approach the legacy of Lombardi despite trying harder than any of Vince’s former players.

Born in Birthright, Texas, Gregg attended Southern Methodist and was drafted by the Packers in the second round in 1956; the tall Texan played 14 years in Green Bay and one last year as a backup in Dallas, with his playing career interrupted by military service in 1957. A seven-time All-Pro, he was part of six championship teams as a player, but none as a coach. Forrest’s coaching career started in earnest in 1972 as the Chargers’ line coach, although he originally had tried to retire in 1964 to take a coaching job at the University of Tennessee before changing his mind and had served as a player/assistant coach for his last two years as a Packer. After two years coaching in San Diego, Gregg joined Nick Skorich’s staff in Cleveland, again as line coach. Skorich was fired at the end of 1974, and Forrest was named the Browns’ head coach.

Gregg was quiet but very tough and a clear disciple of Vince Lombardi. In each of his three NFL stops as a coach, he was hired as much for his attitude as for anything else. Forrest tried too hard to live up to that tough guy reputation at the expense of his coaching. In both Cleveland and Cincinnati, Gregg’s best season was his second as he turned around losing teams, but then did not adjust his style; Forrest’s belligerent practice of cursing players as “yellow sons of bitches” quickly grew very stale to his players. Cleveland fullback Mike Pruitt told Jonathan Knight in Kardiac Kids, “Gregg was more of your military-type coach, a screamer.” Defensive back Tony Peters recalled an incident to Steven Norwood in Real Football when Gregg caught a front office person named Bob Nussbaumer appearing to spy on him. According to Peters, Gregg grabbed Nussbaumer, shook him up and threw him into a chair. With his relationship fully deteriorating with owner Art Modell, Gregg resigned from the Browns with one game to play in 1977.

Gregg spent a year in the business world and then was named head coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 1979. After a disappointing 5-11 first season, though, Forrest begged out of his three-year contract to become the head coach of the Bengals in 1980. Quarterback Ken Anderson praised Gregg to Bob McGinn for The Ultimate Super Bowl Book, “We were a team that wasn’t disciplined, wasn’t necessarily in great physical shape and wasn’t very strong. Forrest grabbed us by the back of the neck and shook us and made us a tough football team, physically and mentally.” The Bengals went to the Super Bowl in Gregg’s second year, losing to Bill Walsh’s 49ers and then went 7-2 in the strike-shortened 1982 season. 1983 was a disaster on many fronts. Pete Johnson and defensive end Ross Browner were suspended for drug use, 10 players signed with the USFL, offensive coordinator Lindy Infante signed a head coaching contract for 1984 with the USFL and was abruptly fired for disloyalty by Paul Brown before the 1983 season. The team unraveled, and Forrest was fired.

His next job brought him back to Green Bay to follow the failed nine-year stint of former teammate Bart Starr. Gregg succeeded in toughening the Packers a bit, but could do no better than Starr with an 8-8 record in his first two seasons. Once he cut quarterback Lynn Dickey in 1986, the team collapsed. The most noteworthy aspect of his Packer tenure was his 1-7 record against the Bears that was punctuated with several instances of dirty play. After two losing seasons, Gregg was fired again with a lifetime NFL coaching record of 75-85-1 His teams ran 48.5% of the time, which was 97% of the league average, and averaged 20 points per game on offense, while allowing 21 on defense.

Fortunately for Forrest, his alma mater was planning on reinstating football after having had the NCAA completely shut down the program a few years before for flagrant abuses of recruiting regulations. The upright Gregg coached SMU for two years going 3-19 and then stayed on as athletic director into 1994 when he returned to coaching with the Shreveport Pirates of the CFL. Gregg coached Shreveport for two years and went 8-28, leaving him with losing records as a college coach, CFL coach and NFL coach. He died at the age of 85 on April 12, 2019.

(Adapted from NFL Head Coaches)

 

 

Custom cards in Topps styles.

1936 Champs Team Set, Part 4 of 4

TO fill out the set of 29 players and head coach Curly Lambeau, I included cards for assistant coach Red Smith and five players who tried out for the Packers in 1936, but did not make the squad (NFL veterans Bill Croft and Ed Aspatore and rookie hopefuls Nebb Elduayan, Ralph Miller and Ray Trampe)

 

 

   

All custom cards are colorized.

1936 Champions Team Set, Part 3 of 4

Another installment of this National Chicle treatment of the first Packer team to win a championship game…

 

 

 

 

All custom cards are colorized.

Jim Temp

Today in 1933, Packer lifer Jim Temp was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Temp attended the state university from 1952-55 and is a member of the Badgers’ Athletic Hall of Fame. In his four years at Madison, Jim batted .303 as the first baseman and eventual team captain of the baseball team. He even was offered a professional baseball contract by the St. Louis Cardinals organization. However, he was also a football star. As a sophomore, he started at end for the Wisconsin Rose Bowl team and was voted Wisconsin Athlete of the Year in 1955.

That same year, Jim was selected in the second round of the NFL draft by Green Bay and started in the College All-Star Game. His pro career was postponed for two years while he served in the Army, but Temp joined the Packers in 1957 and was a regular for the next three seasons, starting 20 of 36 games in that time. With the acquisition of Willie Davis in 1960, Jim was relegated to the role of a reserve and a member of the kicking teams.

One coach’s comment quoted in Launching the Glory Years by Len Wagner seems apt:

Takes fakes. Good pursuit. Good speed. 100 percent boy and very serious about the game. Will play hurt, which is important. Probably a good third end.

In the November 13, 1960  game against the expansion Cowboys, Temp suffered a dislocated shoulder that ended his season. John Miller was activated from the taxi squad to replace him. Jim reported to training camp in 1961, but in the final preseason game against the Redskins on September 9, he reinjured his shoulder and then retired two days later.

He went on to become very successful in the insurance business and in community service. His fundraising efforts for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay resulted in a residence hall on that campus being named in his honor. He was tapped to join the Packers’ Board of Directors in 1987 and served as a member of the team’s seven-man Executive Committee from 1993-2004. Packer CEO Bob Harlan noted that he sought out Temp because, “He was a player in the league, had deep roots in Wisconsin and was highly successful in business and involved in the community.”

Jim died on November 25, 2012 at age 79 while watching a football game. He was survived by his wife, four daughters, 13 grandchildren and one great grandchild after a life well lived.

 

 

 

Custom cards 1-4 and 6 are colorized.