Draft Day Zero Heroes

With the Packers having jettisoned Tim Boyle, it seems pretty likely that 2020 first round pick Jordan Love will see some field action in 2021, even if it is just in mop up duty. That will cancel his membership in a frustrating small cohort Packer first round picks who never appeared in a game for Green Bay. The six long-standing members of this club all chose to sign elsewhere after being selected by the Pack at the top of the draft.

Marquette halfback Johnny Strzykalski (Johnny Strike) was the first. He was the sixth overall pick in 1946, but signed with the fledgling San Francisco 49ers of the new All America Conference where he had a very productive seven-year career by a different Bay in both the AAFC and the NFL after the merger.

The following season, Curly Lambeau selected UCLA’s left-handed quarterback with his first pick. He also selected Case’s favorite receiver Burr Baldwin in the third round, but could sign neither one. Case, as it turned out, was no great loss. He lasted just one year with the AAFC’s Baltimore Colts and played mostly on defense before ending his career.

The next player to eschew the Pack was Kentucky tackle Bob Gain in 1951. Gain decided he would rather play in Canada and signed with the Ottawa Rough Riders. Coach Gene Ronzani then dealt Gain’s rights to the Browns for Ace Loomis, Dom Moselle, Bill Schroll and Dan Orlich. Gain returned to the US in ’52 and spent a celebrated 13-year career in Cleveland, receiving All-Pro notice seven times and going to five Pro Bowls.

The top pick in 1959, Vince Lombardi’s first season, was Iowa quarterback Randy Duncan, but he also found Canada more attractive. However, Duncan was unimpressive in two seasons with the BC Lions and one with the Dallas Texans of the American Football League and he quickly moved on to a career in law.

Lombardi lost one of his first round picks to the AFL, and that cam in 1965 when Baylor end Larry Elkins signed with the home state Oilers. Unfortunately, Elkins injured his knee in training camp and missed that entire season. He was not the same when he returned and caught just 24 passes in two years before retiring.

The most recent member was Penn State defensive lineman Bruce Clark whom Bart Starr selected at the top of the 1980 draft and which blew up in his face. Team historian Cliff Christl tells the full story here.

Here’s hoping Jordan Love gets on the field and shows us something good this year.

All custom cards but Elkins are colorized.

David Whitehurst Turns 66

Born on April 27, 1955 in Baumhaulder, Germany, David Whitehurst grew up in Dekalb County, Georgia as a Packer fan. He was a late-round draft pick out of Furman in 1977 and impressed the coaching staff at the rookie camp in May. Quarterback Coach Zeke Bratkowski said at the time, “After the first day he loosened up and started throwing the ball all right. He’s got the tools to make it interesting with four quarterbacks.”

Whitehurst was competing with Carlos Brown for the third quarterback slot in training camp behind starter Lynn Dickey and backup Randy Johnson. Bratkowski commented in July, “For the round he was drafted in, everybody was pleased with what they saw.” By September 1, Brown and Johnson were both gone, and Head Coach Bart Starr said that decision “speaks for itself.”

Whitehurst became the starter in late November as a rookie when Lynn Dickey was severely injured. Dickey did not return till late in 1979, and Whitehurst piloted the Packers in the interim. Once Dickey returned to the starting lineup, David fell into place as the team’s backup for the next four years. When Coach Bart Starr was fired and replaced by Forrest Gregg in 1984, Whitehurst was cut. He finished his NFL career in Kansas City for one season. In retirement, he founded his own construction company.

David had limited quarterback skills, but was a hard worker. He was just barely a 50% passer, took a lot of sacks and threw 51 interceptions to just 28 touchdowns. His son Charlie was a third-round draft pick of San Diego in 2006 and appeared with the Chargers, Seahawks, Titans, Colts and Browns over an 11-year NFL career. In comparison, the father was was 16-20-1 as a starter and threw for 6,205 yards, 6.3 yards per attempts; son Charlie was 2-7 as a starter, completed 55.3% of his passes of 2,463 yards, 11 TDs, 8 interceptions and a 6.2 average gain per attempt.

Custom cards in Topps style.

A Card for Everyone: John Stonebraker

John Stonebraker was born on April 25, 1918 in Frankfort, Indiana, but grew up in Los Angeles where he attended Fairfax High School and was All-City on the gridiron. Stonebraker also attended Black Foxe Military Academy before matriculating at USC in 1937. He played end and tackle for the Trojans in back-to-back Rose Bowl victories in 1939 and ’40 and received Honorable Mention on the 1939 All-America teams.

Stonebraker spent the 1941 season with the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Football League and was named All-PC. The following June, he signed with the Packers and appeared in eight games in the 1942 season. John returned to the west coast in 1943 and played for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the PCFL before entering the Navy where he taught swimming.

After the War, Stonebreaker served as the line coach at Black Foxe Military Academy and then at Los Angeles City College before moving on to Mount San Antonio College in Pomona, California in 1949. He spent several years there as an assistant football coach and as the college’s swimming coach. He passed away in Claremont, California on January 25, 2000 at age 81.

Custom card is colorized.

A Look Back at 1985

The Packers recorded their third consecutive 8-8 season, but were clearly an aging team on the decline. The offense slipped to 16^th with 337 points, while the defense slid to 15^th by giving up 355. Although the team went 6-2 in the Central Division, it was a weak division. They were 5-3 at home, 3-5 on the road, 7-2 against losing teams, but just 1-6 against winners.

The highlight of the year was the Blizzard Bowl against Tampa on December 1 at Lambeau. In the white-out that held attendance under 20,000, the Pack won easily 21-0, outgaining the Bucs 512 yards to 65. Lynn Dickey was brilliant, completing 22 of 38 passes for 289 yards, while Tampa’s Steve Young was continually driven into the snow. The game would turn out to be the last regular season game that Dickey would play. That week he injured his neck on a weight machine, missed the rest of the season and then was cut and retired the following preseason.

1985 is also notable for Green Bay surrendering first and fifth round picks to San Diego to acquire the discontented and out-of-shape cornerback Mossy Cade. Cade was unimpressive in his two seasons in the Packer secondary before he was charged with sexually assaulting his aunt and disappeared from the game.

Dickey was 5-5 in his starts and completed 54.8% of his passes for 2,206 yards, 15 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Veteran backup Jim Zorn was 3-2 in five starts despite completing just 45% of his passes for 794 yards, four TDs and six picks. Randy Wright lost his only start and threw for 502 yards for two scores and four interceptions.

The ground game was a three-headed affair of Eddie Lee Ivery (636 yards), Jessie Clark (633 yards) and Gerry Ellis (571 yards). James Lofton was the leading receiver with 69 catches for 1,153 yards and four scores. Paul Coffman caught 49 passes for six touchdowns, and Phil Epps added 44 receptions. Al Del Greco led in scoring with 95 points.

On defense, Tim Lewis picked off four passes to lead the team, while Ezra Johnson was the top pass rusher with 9.5 sacks, and Alfonso Carreker added nine. Lofton was the team’s only Pro Bowl selection and was a second team All-Pro. The draft did produce some quality for a change. Tackle Ken Ruettgers came in round one, guard Rich Moran in round two, linebacker Brian Noble in round five and safety Ken Stills in round eight.

Custom card of Coffman is colorized.

A Card for Everyone: Terry Wells

Born in Wade, Mississippi on April 20, 1951, running back Terry Wells attended the University of Southern Mississippi several years before that Favre fellow. Wells signed with the Oilers as an undrafted free agent in 1974 and appeared in six games, recording one reception for nine yards on his only touch in Houston. Waived in 1975, Wells was picked up by new coach Bart Starr who was signing anyone he could to try to find some decent football players for Green Bay.

Wells showed some promise and had his biggest day in week four when he ran for 72 yards against the Saints. However, he also suffered knee and ankle injuries that day and would rush for just 11 more yards from scrimmage all season although he only missed one game. For the season, Wells gained 139 yards rushing and caught six passes for 11 yards. He was waived by the Packers in 1976 and never appeared in the NFL again.

Custom card in Topps style.

A Card for Everyone: Steve Wagner

Born on April 18, 1954 in Milwaukee, Steve Wagner was a 6’2” 208-pound hard-hitting, slowish safety who starred at Wisconsin and was drafted in the fifth round by Minnesota in 1976. After being cut by the Vikings in September before the start of the season, Wagner signed on with his home state team as a free agent later in the month.

Wagner spent four seasons in Green Bay, but never started a game nor intercepted a pass. He made his presence felt on the kicking teams where he was one of the leading tacklers each year. He appeared in 57 games for the Packers before being released in the preseason and claimed by the Eagles. However, Philadelphia cut him in September. Philly resigned Wagner in November when rookie defensive back Zac Henderson went down to injury, but Henderson came back in December, so Wagner missed the Eagles trip to the Super Bowl that year, his final one in the NFL.

First two custom cards are colorized.

A Card for Everyone: Jim Flanigan Sr.

Born in Pittsburgh on April 15, 1945, Jim Flanigan senior, whose father worked in the steel industry, went on to star at his hometown university as a 6’3” 240-pound linebacker. Vince Lombardi tabbed Flanigan as his second-round pick in the 1967 draft, and Jim served as a reserve on Vince’s final championship team as a rookie.

He continued as a backup and kicking teams’ player throughout his tenure in Green Bay. Even in his fourth season when Dave Robinson went down to injury, Flanigan was pushed aside by rookie Jim Carter who started the last ten games of the year in Robby’s place. Jim injured his knee in the Thanksgiving game against the Cowboys. Since he needed an operation, the Packers tried to slip him through waivers, but he was claimed by the desperate Saints.

In New Orleans, Flanigan finally got a chance to start in 1971, but then was traded to New England in 1972 and was cut that September. Jim retired to Sturgeon Bay and raised three children, a daughter and two football-playing sons: Brian who played at the University of Wisconsin and Jim Jr. who starred at Notre Dame and then spent seven years as a defensive tackle for the Bears before signing with the Packers as a free agent in 2001. Junior finished his career with a season in San Francisco and one in Philadelphia before he, like his father before him, returned to Wisconsin to settle down.

Custom cards are colorized.

A Look Back at 1984

Green Bay was the third coaching stop for Forrest Gregg, a disciplinarian and Lombardi acolyte. In previous stints at Cleveland and Cincinnati, Gregg’s second season were the high points before decline set in. That did not occur in Gregg’s disappointing Packer homecoming. The high point came in the second half of the first season when the Pack bounced back from a 1-7 start to finish on a 7-1 run and a second straight 8-8 season. The offense under OC Bob Schnelker scored 390 points, seventh in the league, while the improved defense allowed just 309, 10^th in rank. They were 3-5 against winning teams and 5-3 against losing ones. Likewise, they were 5-3 at home and 3-5 on the road.

Lynn Dickey was 7-8 in his 15 starts and threw for 3,195 yards 25 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. Rookie Randy Wright started game 15 against the Bears because Dickey had a back injury and left in the second quarter with a knee problem. Rich Campbell came in with the score 0-0 and directed a 20-14 win for which Wright got credit.

Gerry Ellis led the Pack with 581 yards rushing and caught 36 passes. Eddie Lee Ivery, who missed the first six games of the season, added 552 yards on the ground. James Lofton caught 62 passes for 1,361 yards for seven touchdowns and a league-leading 22 yards per catch average. Paul Coffman contributed 43 grabs for nine scores, while Phil Epps and John Jefferson each nabbed 26 passes. Al Del Greco joined the team in week nine and paced the scoring with 61 points.

On defense, Mike Douglass recorded nine sacks and Ezra Johnson seven, with disappointing first round pick Alfonso Carreker getting just three. Unheralded fifth round pick Tom Flynn led the Packers with nine interceptions, and Tim Lewis picked off seven. It would prove to be the one good season for Flynn, the only rookie of note on the team. Both James Lofton and Paul Coffman were selected for the Pro Bowl. Lofton was also named All-Pro with Coffman gaining second team recognition.

Custom cards of Coffman, Del Greco, Johnson, Carreker and Lewis are colorized.

Larry Coutre

Larry “Scooter” Coutre was born in Chicago on April 11, 1928. In 1946, he was part of one of the greatest recruiting classes in Notre Dame history. He joined the Fighting Irish the same year as future pros George Connor, Jim Martin, Leon Hart, Bill Wightkin, Gus Cifelli and Emil Sitko. That class would go 36-0-2 in four years under the Golden Dome with three national titles and one number two ranking. As a senior, Coutre and his two starting running backs mates each averaged over six yards a rush.

The 5’10” 175-pound Coutre was drafted in the fourth round by the Packers and showed promise as a rookie, averaging 6.9 yards per carry and catching 17 passes out of the backfield. However in 1951, Coutre was drafted into the service and missed the next two years. When he came back in 1953, he gained just 39 yards on 22 carries and was cut before Thanksgiving. The Colts signed Larry for the last three games of the year as a kick returner, and that ended his NFL career.

Coutre also was such a good softball player that he was named to the Chicago 16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame, but that sidelight was set aside when Larry joined the FBI as his life’s work. He died in Boca Raton, Florida on May 19, 2008 at the age of 80. He was survived by his wife and six children.

All Custom cards are colorized.

Terdell Middleton

The Packers’ fourth man to run for 1,000 yards in a season was born on this date in 1955 in Memphis, Tennessee. Thus far, Terdell Middleton is also only one of two NFL players with the first name of Terdell, and both played in Green Bay. The second being defensive tackle Terdell Sands in 2003.

Middleton starred at his hometown university, Memphis State, as a running back and was selected in the third round of the 1977 NFL draft by the Cardinals. The Packers obtained him in the preseason for cornerback Perry Smith, but Middleton made little impression as a rookie. However, in 1978 with rookie receiver James Lofton and second-year quarterback opening up the offense, Middleton burst forth as an able running back and gained 1,116 yards on the ground with the onset of the 16-game schedule. He also caught 34 passes and scored 12 touchdowns. He would never approach any of those figures again.

In 1979, he was beset with leg and shoulder injuries as well as by encroaching defenses and dropped to 495 yards gained rushing and 18 receptions. He spent two more seasons as a backup in Green Bay and then was released. After two seasons on the Tampa bench, Terdell finished his pro career by gaining just 46 yards with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL.

After football, Middleton worked as a firefighter and died just five days prior to his 60^th birthday in 2015.

As noted, Middleton was the fourth Packer to break 1,000 yards rushing in a season. Tony Canadeo was first in 1949, followed by Jim Taylor who cracked the barrier five years in a row, and then John Brockington who did so three consecutive seasons. After Middleton, the next 1,000-yard man in Green Bay was Edgar Bennett in 1995. Bennett, like Canadeo and Middleton, never did so again, although Canadeo and Bennett had several more productive seasons in their Packer careers. Middleton was a one-year wonder. Other Packer 1,000-yard men are Ahman Green, 6 times; Dorsey Levens, two times, Ryan Grant, two times; Eddie Lacy, two times and Aaron Jones, two times.

Altogether, the Packers have recorded 25 1,000-yard seasons, even with the Giants and Browns and one behind the Washington and Pittsburgh franchises. Highest in this metric are the Rams with 33 seasons, followed by the Bears with 32, the Titans and Bills at 30 and the Cowboys at 29.

All custom cards are colorized except for first one.