The 1959 Green Bay Packers - 7-5 (T-3RD - Western Conference)
Head Coach: Vince Lombardi
1959 PRE-SEASON RESULTS (4-2)
OFF DEF
AUGUST (2-1) RESULT RECORD ATT RSH PSS RSH PSS STARTING QB LEADING RUSHER LEADING PASSER LEADING RECEIVER
15 M-CHICAGO BEARS L 16-19 0- 1-0 28,286 190 119 130 183 Bart Starr Tim Brown (61) Bart Starr (67) Max McGee (4-49)
23 at San Francisco 49ers W 24-17 1- 1-0 18,916 163 123 126 268 Babe Parilli Jim Taylor (60) Babe Parilli (130) Max McGee (4-52)
29 Philadelphia Eagles at Portland, OR W 45-28 2- 1-0 25,456 220 185 63 404 Joe Francis Paul Hornung (45) Joe Francis (167) Max McGee (4-52)
SEPTEMBER (2-1)
5 New York Giants at Bangor, ME L 0-14 2- 2-0 20,000 136 105 133 126 Lamar McHan Paul Hornung (35) Lamar McHan (65) Three tied with 3 each
12 Washington at Winston-Salem, NC W 20-13 3- 2-0 15,000 208 66 198 151 Bart Starr Jim Taylor (77) Bart Starr (31) Paul Hornung (2-20)
20 Pittsburgh Steelers at Minneapolis W 13-10 4- 2-0 18,081 92 155 69 184 Bart Starr Jim Taylor (35) Lamar McHan (141) Two tied with 2 each
1959 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS (7-5)
SEPTEMBER (1-0)
27 G-CHICAGO BEARS (0-0) W 9- 6 1- 0-0 32,150 177 85 75 89 Lamar McHan Jim Taylor (98) Lamar McHan (81) Four tied with 1 each
OCTOBER (2-2)
4 G-DETROIT LIONS (0-1) W 28-10 2- 0-0 32,150 113 150 82 142 Lamar McHan Don McIlhenny (52) Lamar McHan (146) Max McGee (3-124)
11 G-SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (2-0) W 21-20 3- 0-0 32,150 284 87 122 117 Lamar McHan Paul Hornung (138) Lamar McHan (94) Gary Knafelc (3-48)
18 M-LOS ANGELES RAMS (1-2) L 6-45 3- 1-0 36,194 117 145 258 198 Lamar McHan Paul Hornung (54) Lamar McHan (148) Paul Hornung (5-58)
25 at Baltimore Colts (3-1) L 21-38 3- 2-0 57,557 139 205 118 191 Lamar McHan Lew Carpenter (88) Lamar McHan (233) Gary Knafelc (5-69)
NOVEMBER (2-3)
1 at New York Giants (4-1) L 3-20 3- 3-0 68,837 69 91 80 135 Lamar McHan Paul Hornung (36) Joe Francis (91) Don McIlhenny (3-54)
8 at Chicago Bears (2-4) L 17-28 3- 4-0 46,205 158 72 172 107 Lamar McHan Jim Taylor (90) Lamar McHan (52) Two tied with 2 each
15 M-BALTIMORE COLTS (4-3) L 24-28 3- 5-0 25,521 218 237 192 317 Bart Starr Jim Taylor (79) Bart Starr (242) Boyd Dowler (8-147)
22 G-WASHINGTON REDSKINS (3-5) W 21- 0 4- 5-0 31,853 186 150 200 38 Bart Starr Jim Taylor (81) Bart Starr (120) Max McGee (5-75)
26 at Detroit Lions (2-6-1) W 24-17 5- 5-0 49,221 73 169 190 164 Bart Starr Jim Taylor (41) Bart Starr (169) Boyd Dowler (4-107)
DECEMBER (0-2)
6 at Los Angeles Rams (2-8) W 38-20 6- 5-0 61,044 143 192 99 187 Bart Starr Paul Hornung (74) Bart Starr (161) Two tied with 4 each
13 at San Francisco 49ers (7-4) W 36-14 7- 5-0 55,997 230 249 182 97 Bart Starr Lew Carpenter (113) Bart Starr (249) Boyd Dowler (6-61)
G - Green Bay M - Milwaukee
1959 IN REVIEW
Vince Lombardi became the fifth head coach on February 2, and the Packer franchise was changed forever. The former Giants' assistant coach immediately changed the face of the team. In April, he traded WR Billy Howton, the top Packer receiver of the decade, to Cleveland for HB Lew Carpenter and DE Bill Quinlan. In May, he acquired QB Lamar McHan from the Cardinals. After Bobby Dillon retired, Lombardi picked up DB Emlen Tunnell from the Giants. He also acquired OG Fuzzy Thurston from the Colts and DT Henry Jordan from the Browns. Lombardi also released Howie Ferguson, Babe Parilli and Al Carmichael, as 16 veterans from the 1958 team were sent elsewhere or released. In posting their first winning record in twelve years, Green Bay opened the season 3-0, lost five straight, then won their last four games. A change at quarterback from McHan to Bart Starr in Week Five re-energized the Green Bay offense, as Starr established himself as the team leader for the next decade. For the first time in years, Packer fans looked forward to the off-season, and the upcoming campaign.
A FATEFUL CHOICE FOR A FORMER TOP PICK
A half century ago, Randy Duncan was the best quarterback in college football and the most sought-after player in the National Football League draft. Duncan had led the Iowa Hawkeyes to the Big Ten title and two consecutive Rose Bowl victories in 1957 and in '58. His senior year, he was a consensus All-American, the Walter Camp Award winner and the Big Ten's most valuable player. The athletic, strong-armed quarterback led the nation in passing and total offense and ended second to Army's Pete Dawkins for the 1958 Heisman Trophy. "I was used to winning," said Duncan, who also excelled in the classroom and aspired to attend law school. So Duncan, who was 6 feet tall and 180 pounds, was less than thrilled when informed that the Green Bay Packers - the worst team in pro football - had chosen him with the No. 1 selection in the 1959 NFL draft. From 1956-'59, the draft consisted of 30 rounds and was held in two separate sessions, two months apart, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. The first four rounds of the 1959 draft were held on December 2, 1958 - as the Packers were in the midst of a seven-game losing streak in an atrocious 1-10-1 season. The remaining 26 rounds of the draft were conducted on Jan. 21, 1959. Duncan had hoped to play for the Los Angeles Rams, who had the No. 2 selection in the draft, in a metropolitan area that offered several options for law school. He received the news of his No. 1 selection via telephone from Jack Vainisi, Green Bay's personnel director, as he waited to catch a flight in Chicago back to Iowa. Duncan was returning from a television appearance in New York featuring the collegiate All-American team. "You have to remember, the Packers had only won one game in 1958," Duncan said. "It wasn't a real popular situation at the time. Nobody could have seen what Lombardi would do. Being the No. 1 draft choice in the league wasn't what it was now. So basically it came down to money. I got more to play in Canada." Jerry Kramer, a guard in his second season, said most Green Bay players did not pay much attention to the draft or rookies. "Pro football and the draft just weren't the big deal they are today," Kramer said. "We didn't get excited about the new guys coming in until they put on a helmet in training camp and you could see if they could play or not. I really don't remember much about drafting Randy Duncan because I was in my second year and worried about my spot." Duncan spurned the Packers offer and signed a two-year, $35,000 deal with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. His signing bonus was $2,000. "It's hard to believe with what No. 1 draft choices receive now," Duncan said Monday from his law office in Des Moines, Iowa. "But that was a lot of money back in 1959. It was a couple thousand more than Green Bay offered. And I was going to law school." It was a major blow to the reeling Green Bay franchise, whose finances mirrored its on-field performance. The NFL's smallest-market team was not held in high regard by NFL brass and many team owners. "The Packers were not doing well financially at the time," said Lee Remmel, former team public relations director and team historian. "Randy Duncan was very successful at Iowa, but he went to Canada and never played a down in Green Bay." But the Packers had a bigger void to fill. The organization was focused on finding a head coach to replace Ray "Scooter" McLean, who resigned under pressure in December after the worst season in team history. "The Packers underwhelmed 10 opponents, overwhelmed one, and whelmed one," said legendary sportswriter Red Smith. Duncan's coach at Iowa, Forest Evashevski, was the leading candidate for the vacant Green Bay position. Evashevski opted to stay at Iowa after a secret trip to Green Bay to meet with executive committee members. The Packers then pursued Vince Lombardi, an assistant
coach with the New York Giants. The rest is history. Lombardi became the fifth head coach in Green Bay annals and created a dynasty, winning five NFL championships in seven years in the 1960s. But what would have happened if Evashevski would have taken the Packer post? "If he would have gone to Green Bay, I'm sure I would have gone too," Duncan said. "But it didn't work out that way." Duncan played two seasons in British Columbia, throwing for 3,480 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 38 interceptions. In the offseason, he attended law school at Drake University in Des Moines. After his unimpressive CFL experience, he signed with the Dallas Texans of the American Football League in 1961 and continued his education at Southern Methodist University. Head coach Hank Stram traded for Len Dawson, relegating Duncan to a backup role. He appeared in nine games, throwing just one touchdown pass. Duncan's professional football career was over, but his business career was just beginning. "I didn't want to be on the bench," he said, "So I decided to go into law." Duncan completed his studies at Drake and followed in his father's footsteps, operating a successful law practice in Des Moines for more than 45 years. He and his wife, Paula, have been married for nearly 50 years. They raised three boys, two of whom played at Yale and Iowa. Duncan, who was inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997, closely follows Iowa Hawkeye football and the NFL. "I like the Packers and the Vikings - can you believe it?" Duncan asked with a laugh. He has attended a few games at Lambeau Field over the years, the last time for a Monday night contest against Tennessee in 2004. "I went up with some friends to a game at the renovated stadium. It's a great facility," he said. "We toured the Packers Hall of Fame and had a good time." Duncan said he has no regrets about his decision five decades ago to bypass playing for the Packers. "I'm 72 and golf, play tennis and even play a little handball - I don't have to work that hard anymore," Duncan said. "I have no regrets over the past and no fear of the future." SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 5 May 2009
NAME NO POS HGT WGT COLLEGE YR PR AG G HOW ACQUIRED
Ken Beck 73 DT 6- 2 240 Texas A&M 1 1 24 12 1959 Trade-Cards
Tom Bettis 65 LB 6- 2 225 Purdue 5 5 26 12 1955 Draft-1st
Nate Borden 87 DE 6- 0 240 Indiana 5 5 27 12 1955 Draft-25th
Tim Brown 25 HB 5-10 195 Ball State 1 1 22 1 1959 Draft-27th
Bill Butler 22 HB 5-10 180 Chattanooga 1 1 22 11 1959 Draft-19th
Lew Carpenter 33 FB 6- 2 210 Arkansas 1 6 27 12 1959 Trade-Cleve
Dan Currie 58 LB 6- 3 235 Michigan State 2 2 24 12 1958 Draft-1st
Bobby Dillon 44 DB 6- 1 180 Texas 8 8 29 12 1952 Draft-3rd
John Dittrich 68 OG 6- 1 235 Wisconsin 1 2 26 12 1959 FA-Cards
Boyd Dowler 86 E 6- 5 225 Colorado 1 1 21 12 1959 Draft-3rd
Bill Forrester 69 DT 6- 3 240 SMU 7 7 27 12 1953 Draft-3rd
Joe Francis 20 QB 6- 1 195 Oregon State 2 2 23 12 1958 Draft-5th
Bob Freeman 41 DB 6- 1 205 Auburn 1 3 26 12 1959 Trade-Cleve
Forrest Gregg 75 G 6- 4 245 SMU 3 3 25 12 1956 Draft-2nd
Hank Gremminger 46 DB 6- 1 205 Baylor 4 4 26 12 1956 Draft-7th
Dave Hanner 79 DT 6- 2 260 Arkansas 8 8 29 12 1952 Draft-5th
Paul Hornung 5 HB 6- 2 215 Notre Dame 3 3 23 12 1957 Draft-Bonus
Henry Jordan 74 DT 6- 3 250 Virginia 1 3 24 12 1959 Trade-Cleve
Gary Knafelc 84 E 6- 4 220 Colorado 6 6 27 12 1954 FA-Cards
Jerry Kramer 64 G 6- 3 245 Idaho 2 2 23 12 1958 Draft-4th
Ron Kramer 88 E 6- 3 230 Michigan 2 2 24 12 1957 Draft-1st
Norm Masters 78 T 6- 2 250 Michigan State 3 3 26 12 1957 Trade-Det
Max McGee 85 E 6- 3 205 Tulane 4 4 27 12 1954 Draft-5th
Lamar McHan 17 QB 6- 1 205 Arkansas 1 6 26 12 1959 Trade-Cards
Don McIlhenny 42 HB 6- 0 200 SMU 3 4 24 12 1957 Trade- Det
Ray Nitschke 66 LB 6- 3 230 Illinois 2 2 22 12 1958 Draft-3rd
Bill Quinlan 83 DE 6- 3 250 Michigan State 1 3 27 12 1959 Trade-Cleve
Jim Ringo 51 C 6- 1 230 Syracuse 7 7 29 12 1953 Draft-7th
Bob Skoronski 76 T 6- 3 250 Indiana 2 2 25 12 1956 Draft-5th
Bart Starr 15 QB 6- 1 200 Alabama 4 4 25 12 1956 Draft-17th
John Symank 27 DB 5-11 180 Florida 3 3 24 12 1957 Draft-23rd
Jim Taylor 31 FB 6- 0 212 LSU 2 2 24 12 1958 Draft-2nd
Jim Temp 82 DE 6- 4 250 Wisconsin 3 3 25 12 1955 Draft-2nd
Fuzzy Thurston 63 G 6- 1 245 Valparaiso 1 2 24 12 1959 Trade-Balt
Emlen Tunnell 45 DB 6- 1 215 Iowa 1 12 34 12 1959 Trade-NY
Jesse Whittenton 47 DB 6- 0 195 Texas-El Paso 2 4 25 12 1958 FA-Bears
A.D. Williams 81 E 6- 2 210 Pacific 1 1 25 12 1959 FA-LA
NO - Jersey Number POS - Position HGT - Height WGT - Weight YR - Years with Packers PR - Years of
Professional Football AGE - Age at Start of Season G - Games Played FA - Free Agent
1959 PACKERS DRAFT (December 2, 1958 (1-4) and January 21, 1959 (5-30))
RND-PCK NAME COLLEGE
1 - 1 QB Randy Duncan Iowa
2 - 13 HB Alex Hawkins S.Carolina
3 - 25 E Boyd Dowler Colorado
4 - 37 to Cleveland for Len Ford
5a - 49 to Washington for J.D. Kimmel
5b - 55 G Andy Cvercko (A) Northwestern
6 - 61 C Willie Taylor Florida A&M
7a - 73 HB Bobby Jackson Alabama
7b - 83 T Gary Raid (B) Williamette
8a - 85 E Buddy Mayfield S. Carolina
8b - 95 HB Bob Laraba (C) TX-El Paso
9 - 97 HB George Dixon Bridgeport
10 -109 G/T Sam Tuccio S.Miss.
11 -121 QB Bob Webb St. Ambrose
12 -133 G Larry Hall Misso. Vall
13 -145 *-FB Jim Hurd Albion
14 -157 G Jim Kerr Arizona St
15 -169 C Dick Teteak Wisconsin
16 -181 E Dan Edgington Florida
17 -193 HB Tom Secules Will.& Mary
18 -205 TE Dick Nearents Washington
19 -217 HB Bill Butler Chattanooga
20 -229 *-FB Chuck Sample Arkansas
21 -241 FB Dave Smith Ripon
22 -253 E Charles Anderson Drake
23 -265 *-T Orville Lawver Lewis & Clark
24 -277 C Joe Hergert Florida
25 -289 HB Leroy Hardee Florida A&M
26 -301 *-E Ken Higginbotham Trinity-TX
27 -313 HB Tim Brown Ball State
28 -325 G Jerry Epps W. Texas St
29 -337 HB John Flara Pittsburgh
30 -349 T Dick Emerich West Chester
A - from Pittsburgh for Dick Christy B - from New York for Al Barry C - from Cleveland for Dick Deschaine * - Juniors Bold - Played for the Packers
PACKERS AT COACH CROSSROADS - TOP PRO AIDE OR COLLEGE MENTOR
JAN 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers are at a sort of coaching crossroads. One road leads to coaches who have had pro football experience as a player or coach; the other to the top-flight college coach. Green bay has a rather unique coaching history because one individual, Curly Lambeau, coached for 30 yards and the next three coached only nine years - Gene Ronzani, four, Liz Blacknourn, four, and Scooter McLean, one. When 3-9 and 2-10 season started Lambeau's departure (he resigned early in 1950), the Packers looked for the coach with pro experience and hired Ronzani in a hurry. Lambeau resigned Feb. 1 and Ronzani was hired Feb. 6. Ronzani won 14, lost 33 and tied one, including the last two games (losses) of his final year when McLean and Hugh Devore co-coached the club. The thinking went collegiate as the Ronzani regime failed to produce a winner and Blackbourn was lifted from the Marquette campus. Liz produced the best record of the post-Lambeau trio - 17 wins and 31 losses, but he was dispatched with a year left on a five-year pact. McLean was bought in on a one-year, look-see basis a year ago. Scooter had no luck whatsoever, winning only one, losing 10 and tying one, and resigned recently to become backfield coach at Detroit. The Packers presently don't have a coach of any kid for 1959. Holdover assistants such as Nick Skorich, Ray Richards, Breezy Reid and Jack Morton presently are working out their contracts, some of which have until Feb. 1 to go. Who are the present head coaches in the league and what "road" did they travel? Five of the 11 head coaches now under contract did not work as pro assistants - George Halas of the Bears, Paul Brown of the Browns, Sid Gillman of the Rams, Frank Ivy of the Cardinals and Buck Shaw of the Eagles. Halas, of course, was the original Bear and always pulled the strings even if he did have other head coaches along the way. Brown started with the Browns fresh off the campus when they started play in the old All-America Conference. Shaw did the same thing - with the 49ers. Gillman was snapped off the University of Cincinnati campus to handle the Rams in '54 and he won one Western title. Ivy played with the Cardinals and then coached under Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma for six years. He head coached four seasons in Canada before going to the Cards a year ago. The remaining six all served assistantships - the Lions' George Wilson, with the Lions under Buddy Paker; the 49er' Red Hickey, with the 49ers under Frankie Albert, Red Strader and Shaw; the Colts' Weeb Ewbank, with the Browns under Brown; the Giants' Jim Lee Howell with the Giants under Steve Owen; the Steelers' Parker, with the Lions under Bo McMillin; and the Redskins' mike Nixon, with the Redskins under Joe Kuharich. The Packers undoubtedly are exploring all fields in their search for a new head man. The pro league has any number of assistant coaches who would like to become head coaches in the circuit and there are others who would rather work in the background than accept the responsibility - and grief and glory - that goes with head coaching. Due to pro football's position in the nation's sports picture and its great popularity, many college coaches have set a head coaching post in pro football as a golden goal. Pro head coaching certainly is more hazardous than the college brand but the rewards in the pros are much greater. Thus, the Packer coaching job is a choice morsel. Who are the candidates for the Packer job? Just name anybody but the 11 other head coaches in the league and the long-time established college coaches, and you have a candidate! This town is kicking around every name from Stagg to Evasheski to Dietzel to Wilkinson to Lombardi to Bengtson to Bruhn to Crisler to Skorich to Landry to Collier to Blaik to Pool to Erdalatz to Trimble to Joe Blow. So take our pick. But think it over. As Packer President Dominic Olejniczak said the other day: "We won't be panicked into acting in a big hurry."
DUNCAN OUT OF GAME
JAN 5 (Pasadena, CA) - Iowa quarterback Randy Duncan has decided to follow his doctor's orders and not make the trip to play in the Hula Bowl in Honolulu Sunday. The all-star quarterback suffered a bruised kidney New Year's Day when the Hawkeyes rode over California, 38-12, in the Rose Bowl. Duncan said, "I could make the trip to Honolulu now, but I'd have only one day to learn the offensive plays, and that's not enough." He said he was re-examined and informed that
the injury was not serious. He originally was to have flown to Honolulu Thursday. When questioned about plans to turn professional after his graduation from Iowa, Duncan said he would confer with representatives of the Green Bay Packers and Ottawa of the Canadian pro league when he returns home. He added that he was uncertain about turning pro at all and indicated he planned to attend law school after graduation in June.
PACKER CONFER ON GM, COACH IN CINCY
JAN 5 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packer general manger-coach scene shifts to Cincinnati this week. And there's a familiar ring to that. The 53rd annual convention of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn., opens informally in Cincy today and formally Wednesday. While the major business of the collegians is of no concern to the Packers and the 11 other pro clubs represented. the pros use the convention as an opportunity to talk over draft prospects with their coaches. Since all major college coaches - and three-fourths of the nation's small-college mentors, are in attendance, the convention provides Packer President Dominic Olejniczak with a good opportunity to meet with prospects including coaches and athletic director, for the Packer positions. Jack Vainisi, Packer scout and administrative assistant, will look into the draft matters, checking with college coaches on a number of recommended prospects. Nick Skorich, Packer assistant coach who scouted the Sugar Bowl and the Senior Bowl, will make his final report in Cincy before officially leaving the Bays. He resigned recently. Olejniczak said today he doesn't expect to come back with a coach or general manager, pointing out that the final hearing of anyone will have to be done by the board of directors. But it's possible that the groundwork for the new general manager or general manager, pointing out that the final hiring of anyone will have to be done by the board of directors. But it's possible that the groundwork for the new general manager and/or coach could be set in Cincinnati. Familiar ring? It was just five years ago Wednesday - and in Cincinnati, that the Packers hired Liz Blackbourn as their head coach. Blackbourn signed Saturday as Marquette football coach...Three recently-resigned Packer assistants will be looking for jobs - or at least making contacts for jobs, at the convention. They are Skorich, Breezy Reid and Jack Morton. Skorich and Morton are expected to have little difficulty since they've been in coaching for a number of years. Reid, former Packer players, may have trouble because the 1958 season was his first in coaching. Breezy also has done some scouting for the Pack...Packer assistant coach Ray Richards, who announced his retirement from football after the Packers' last game, is expected in Green Bay Jan. 12 to close out his affairs. Richards has gone into business on the west coast. He scouted the Rose Bowl game and the East-West game for the Packers. He will make a report here on the two games...And speaking about business, George Sauer, the former Packer player, has been named executive vice-president of the Polarmatic Corp. in Dallas. He resigned recently as athletic director at Baylor.
BROCK HEADS PACKER ALUMNI
JAN 6 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The top two centers in Packer history headed the Packer Alumni Assn. today following the January meeting of the group at the Beaumont Hotel Monday night. Charley Brock was named president and Jug Earp vice-president. Earp centered in the three championship days and Brock played on two title teams. Brock replaces Tony Canadeo. John Biolo was reelected secretary-treasurer and Carl Zorn was named sergeant at arms. Named directors in addition to the officers were Andy Uram and Charley Tollefson. The Alumni set Feb. 2 for their next meeting and Feb. 7 for their annual party.
SCHWARZWALDER? PACKER PREXY HAS 'NO COMMENT'
JAN 7 (Cincinnati-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Green Bay Packer President Dominic Olejniczak had "no comment" today on an Associated Press report out of the NCAA convention here that the Packers were interested in Floyd (Ben) Schwarzwalder, coach of Syracuse University's Orange Bowl team. Schwarzwalder, himself, said he wasn't interested in a pro football job. Reportedly, the Packers had not made any overtures to Schwarzwalder. Olejniczak is here along with Tony Canadeo, a member of the Packer executive committee, to make contacts relative to the hiring of a new Packer general manager and/or head coach. Jack Vainisi, Packer scout, is checking with college coaches here on possible Packer draft choices.
OTTO GRAHAM TALKS WITH PACK OFFICIALS
JAN 8 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Otto Graham, former Cleveland Browns quarterback, said in a United Press International dispatch from the NCAA meetings in Cincinnati today that he had a preliminary talk with Green Bay Packer officials Wednesday night. Packer President Dominic Olejniczak refused to comment on Graham, remarking: "All I'll say is no comment." Graham undoubtedly is one of a number of prospects being interviewed by Olejniczak and Tony Canadeo, a member of the Packer executive committee. They'll return this evening along with Jack Vainisi, Packer scout who is interviewing college coaches on draft prospects. Graham indicated he'd rather take a post with the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut than with the Packers. He maintains he will not get into coaching without a long-term contract. Graham actually coached only one team for one game - the 1958 College All Stars who beat Detroit last August. "Naturally, I don't want to take a crack at the present Green Bay situation with anything as short as a two-year contract," Graham told the UPI, adding: "The academy appeals to me as an institution where there would be more stability and security than at an average college. It probably would be a nice place for my wife and family to live, too." Graham indicated that if he entered coaching he would try to lure Tommy O'Connell, another former Cleveland quarterback, away from the Illinois University staff to go with him. "I think Tommy is really fine coaching material," Graham said.
DILLON ON ALL-AP; GINO UNANIMOUS
JAN 8 (Green Bay) - Gino Marchetti, Baltimore's destructive defensive end, led the voting for the Associated Press' 1958 NFL all-pro team, dominated by the champion Colts and the New York Giants. Marchetti, an eight-year veteran from the University of San Francisco, was the only unanimous choice among the 41 writers who covered the NFL campaign this season. The 6-4, 240-pounder was one of six Colts named to the two units, one more than the Giants. Johnny Unitas, the great quarterback; offensive end Ray Berry; offensive tackle Jim Parker; defensive tackle Gene Lipscomb; and fleet halfback Lenny Moore were the other Colts named. Linebacker Sam Huff led the five Giants named to the all-pro squad. The others were offensive tackle Rosey Brown, center Ray Weitecha, defensive end Andy Robustelli and safetyman Jimmy Patton. Los Angeles placed three men on offense, guard Duane Putnam, end Del Shofner and halfback Jon Arnett. Pittsburgh placed two, defensive tackle Ernie Stautner and defensive halfback Jack Butler. Detroit's Lions also won two places on the all-star squad - linebacker Joe Schmidt and defensive halfback Yale Lary. Cleveland's sole representative was Jimmy Brown, who received all but two of the votes for fullback. Green Bay's honored player was safety Bobby Dillon, while middle guard Bill George was the Chicago Bears' man. Offensive guard Dick Stanfel made it for Washington. Philadelphia, San Francisco and the Chicago Cardinals were not represented. Unitas, who received all but one of the 41 votes, made the team for the first time. In the championship game with the Giants, he completed 26 of 40 passes for 349 yards, an NFL playoff record. The
Louisville alumnus established a record by tossing a touchdown in 25 consecutive league games. He added another TD in the playoff contest...PERFECT TARGET: Moore, recipient of many of Unitas' passes, was also one of the top ground gainers in the league. His tremendous speed and deceptiveness made him a perfect target for the great Baltimore passer. Arnett, the great broken field runner from USC, and Brown, who wiped out Steve Van Buren's season ground gaining record with 1,527 rushing yards, completed the offensive backfield. Brown, Putnam and Stanfel, all veterans, were repeaters from last year's team. Schmidt and George, a pair of veteran linebacker-uppers, were members of last year's team, too. In the defensive backfield, Dillon, Lary and Butler made the team for the third straight year. Packer center Jim Ringo was named to the second team. He received 11 votes.
STATEMENT DUE FROM PACKERS
JAN 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers' three-man delegation at the national collegiate convention in Cincinnati returned to Green Bay Thursday night. And Packer President Dominic Olejniczak said today he expected to have a statement dealing with the general progress of efforts made thus far to obtain a general manager and/or coach for the Packers. Olejniczak and Tony Canadeo, a member of the Packer executive committee, interviewed prospects for the positions in Cincinnati. Also attending was Jack Vainisi, Packer scout who checked out draft prospects with college coaches...From Ottawa, Canada, comes word that the British Columbia Lions are seeking the services of Iowa quarterback Randy Duncan, the Packers' No. 1 draft choice. Duncan had been selected by Ottawa but the Lions offered the Ottawa Rough Riders two U.S. players - end Jerry James and an unnamed tackle - for the privilege of talking terms with Duncan. Ottawa recently signed Boston College QB Don Allard...The Packers plan to talk contract with Duncan as soon as he finishes final examinations in a few weeks. Duncan is a mid-year graduate.
PACKERS SET TO CONSIDER, EYE GM COACH PROSPECTS
JAN 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers' time of decision is close. Packer President Dominic Olejniczak, in a statement issued today, indicated that the names now can be placed on the table and closely examined. Olejniczak put it this way: "The time has now arrived when careful consideration and study will be given to all applications as well as to others who have been sought for the position of general manager." Thus, the Packers have been receiving applications and also going out and seeking individuals, which was done this week by Olejniczak and Tony Canadeo, a member of the executive committee, at the NCAA convention in Cincinnati. Selecting a general manager and/or coach won't be a quick and easy matter - like picking a name off the table. The individuals undoubtedly have connections that would have to be severed if they are to come to Green Bay. Quick? Olejniczak said that "we are hopeful that a decision in this matter will be forthcoming within the near future." The Packer president shed some light on the position to be filled. In the first two paragraphs of his prepared statement, Olejniczak said: "Since Dec. 16, we have been busy screening applications for the position of general manager of the Packer. With the assistance of others both from within and without the Packer organization, we have also sought to determine the interest of others in the position."...SITUATION ENCOURAGING: "At present, we are not selecting a coach. However, as it was originally stated, it is altogether possible that certain individuals could serve in a dual capacity." Olejniczak added: "The overall situation is encouraging. Many persons have expressed varying degrees of interest in the challenge which this new position with the Packer poses. However, I want to emphasize that no definite understanding has been reached with any individual. All applications and interviews have been held in strict confidence, and that policy will continue. We appreciate the great public interest in this matter in Wisconsin and throughout the football world. The press and other media have been most cooperative during a period when no public statements could be made. We have not said anything publicly for fear of discouraging certain people from talking with us."...Randy Duncan, the Packers' first draft choice, received a special tribute from his coach, Forest Evashevski, when the Iowa coach addressed an alumni club in Chicago last night. Evashevski said Duncan was "one of the few who could accept headlines and glory and still retain the respect of his teammates." The Iowa mentor gave the squad and coaching staff full credit for Iowa's successful season. "Actually, you might say I had six head coaches and I was the assistant to all of them."
FORMER PLAYER RAPS PACKER CLUB PLANS - SHOULD CUT GROUP FIRST
JAN 12 (Fond du Lac) - A former Packer lineman, Charlie Brock, severely criticized current plans to streamline the Green Bay club's front office and charged here Sunday that "the executive committee has interfered with the coaching staff for years." Brock, speaking at a father-son Holy Name program at St. Mary's, said, "They come out in the papers and say they're going to change the system. They're going to keep a 13 man executive committee, hire a new general manager and coach, hold a stockholders' meeting, then cut the committee down to six. They should hold the meeting first, cut the committee to six, name a president - and then go about the business of selecting a general manager or coach. Everytime something happens they've got to fire the coach. The executive committee has interfered with the coaching staff for years." The former Packer center also stated that the Packer club "has not been honest with the team's fans, who are the people of Wisconsin." He added that everyone would benefit if the entire executive committee resigned so the club could reorganize "from scratch." Brock also indicated that the Packer Alumni Association, composed of former players, might take action at its next meeting February 2. "We've kept our nose out of this but now we feel we should do something about it," he commented. "We can't see why Green Bay should not have good football teams as in the past. Maybe it's the material. Maybe it's the coaching. We have our own ideas." The method of drafting players for the Packers also came in for criticism. Brock said that the club had placed too much emphasis on getting All-American players whose achievements already "have gone to their heads." He emphasized that more stress should be placed on scanning small colleges for talent. "I've never believed in All-American stars," he said. "I've played with a lot of them who couldn't stay in camp two weeks. The kids coming out of college today think they are better than the rest of the people and they look down on them. That's where part of the trouble is. There's no spirit among the players, generally speaking." Brock said that he played for $2,200 a year when he was with the Packers and contrasted that salary with the $15,000 and $20,000 now offered highly publicized players. "Those players should be living football every minute of every day in the year," he said. "When we lost a game we didn't dare walk the streets of Green Bay until the next Sunday when we won. Then we'd show our faces and everybody greeted us. Today the Packers can lose by 40 points and players walk the streets with no one saying a word to them. Green Bay seems to have lost its spirit." Packer officials must learn to be truthful and honest with their fans, Brock said. "If they make a mistake, they should admit it immediately instead of trying to find a scapegoat. They never once asked anyone of any football knowledge or experience as to what to look for and what should be done to improve the team. That's a big mistake," Brock said.
PACKERS' BIG ANNOUNCEMENT COULD COME 'ANY TIME NOW'
JAN 13 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Packerland is really buzzin' over the matter of the Packers' new head coach and/or general manager. "Any time now" seems to be the consensus. The Packer executive committee held its weekly (that will become monthly under the committee's new streamlining program) meeting Monday noon and Dominic Olejniczak, Packer president, did not have an announcement. But there was a wave of talk around town and most of it centered on Forest Evashevski, coach of Iowa's Big Ten and Rose Bowl champions. It simmered with such intensity that the Associated Press dug up Forest, himself, for comment. The dispatch out of St. Petersburg, Fla., where he's apparently spending a brief vacation went like this: "Iowa Coach Forest Evashevski said Monday night he has not been contacted concerning the Green Bay Packer coaching post and added, 'I have no comment.' When asked if he would accept the pro job if it were offered, he said, 'I don't know, I have not thought about it. I would have to talk to the Green Bay officials first. I say again I have not been contacted.'" And there you are. We suspect the AP interviewee did not notice that Evashevski had his fingers crossed. Few names have leaked out and only one admitted he has talked with Packer officials. That would be Otto Graham, who could make an admission in view of the fact that he is unemployed footballwise, other than the All-Star game. Evashevski is a likely suspect since he is one of the top two or three college coaches in the nation and thus would seem ripe for the majors. But there are many other prospects - not only from the college field but from the pro-assistant ranks. All names are being named and that, of course, makes them all candidates - on the street corner, that is. Winning-coach pools are even springing up. The Packers would like to have a "man" for the opening of the NFL's annual draft and convention in Philadelphia. That show starts a week from Wednesday in the Hotel Warwick. The Packer delegation will leave by plane one week from today. If a coach and/or general manager is found before then, he or they will head the delegation. If not, a special committee will represent the Packers. Details of the draft are presently being worked out by Jack Vainisi, the club's talent scout who is compiling a master list of draft prospects. The last 26 rounds of the 30-round draft will be chosen Jan. 21. The first four rounds were picked last Dec. 1. Ray Richards, Packer defensive coach who resigned after the last game, was due here from his home on the West Coast today for a report on the East-West and Rose Bowl games. Nick Skorich, Bay offensive coach, isn't expected to return. He reported earlier on the Sugar Bowl and the Senior Bowl. Assistants Breezy Reid and Jack Morton are working until Feb. 1. Scooter McLean, who resigned as Packer head coach shortly after the Packers ended their 1-10-1 season, started work with the Detroit Lions as backfield coach last week. He'll attend the draft with the Lion delegation.
LEGION ASKS PACK OFFICER TO RESIGN
JAN 14 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Packer President Dominic Olejniczak and other Packer officers, busy with the crucial task of finding and hiring a general manager and/or head coach, have been asked to drop everything and resign. The request was made by the Sullivan-Walden Post No. 11, American Legion, in a resolution passed at a regular Legion post meeting Tuesday night. The resolution asked for the resignations of Olejniczak and all other present officers of the Packer Corp., and stated that "some well known and public spirited individual, such as Dr. R.L. Cowles, replace the present president of the Packer Corp." Dr. Cowles, presently a member of the Packer board of directors, said today he "felt flattered that they should mention me, but I never have been and am not a candidate for the presidency of the Packers." Olejniczak said today he had "no comment" on the resolution. The resolution, distributed to press, radio and television outlets, including the Associated Press and United Press, was signed by Post Commander John N. Patton. Patton said the resolution passed with 23 yes votes and nine no votes. The Legion has between 750 and 800 members. Patton pointed out today: "This was not an overnight decision. A special Packer committee headed by Lyle Evans worked on the resolution for two months and each committee member was in full accord with the resolution." Reminded that 32 total votes represents a minute section of the post's membership, Patton said that "the members are all informed of the meetings and they're held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month."...The Packers' board of directors voted to streamline their executive committee from 13 down to six members and hire a new general manager and give him broad powers at a meeting last Dec. 16. These changes will be made at the club's annual meeting in early spring...The Packers are in hopes of having a GM-coach combo (one or both) in time for the NFL's annual draft in Philadelphia starting next Wednesday. If negotiations can't be completed in time, the Packers will be represented by a special committee, with Jack Vainisi, talent scout, handling the draft. Ray Richards and Nick Skorich, Packer aides during the past season, turned in their final game reports Tuesday and both to expect to leave Thursday - Richards, with his wife, for California and a non-football life in the chemical business and Skorich for his home in Pittsburgh. Richards, former head coach of the Cardinals, resigned as Packer defense coach after the last game. Asked if he'd miss football, Ray said, "I won't know until next fall." Skorich, who handled the Packers' offensive line, undoubtedly will join another club in the league as an assistant.
CRITICS OF PACKERS SUPPORT LEGION
JAN 15 (Green Lake) - A drive seeking the resignation of all Green Bay Packer officials has drawn the support of two local businessmen who were among the first to organize criticism of the management of the NFL club. Harry Norton and Henry Eaton said Wednesday that they were 100% behind the move initiated by the Sullivan-Walden American Legion Post No. 11 at Green Bay. The post owns substantial Packer stock. At a meeting Tuesday night, the post asked the resignations of Packer President Dominic Olejniczak and all other officers. The legion also asked for a complete reorganizational of the club. Norton also said he and Eaton felt Olejniczak's resignation would be in the best interest of the Packers and the fans. Norton and Eaton have supported the return to the Packers of Curly Lambeau as general manager and coach. Petitions seeking Lambeau's return were supported by the two businessmen who said 2,840 of the documents, with a minimum of 27 signatures each, were presented to the Packers about 10 days ago. Norton said the petitions were not acknowledged.
PACKERS TO GET TWO EXTRA PICKS IN NFL DRAFT
JAN 17 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers will get two extra picks in the NFL's collegiate draft, to be held at the annual meeting in Philadelphia next Wednesday, the club announced today. They will lose a fifth choice to Washington for tackle J.D. Kimmel but gain a fifth from Pittsburgh for halfback Dick Christy. The Packers "bonus" choices will come in the seventh and eighth rounds, according to Public Relations Director Tom Miller, where they get two picks in each round. The extras will come from the New York Giants, for guard Al Barry, who was traded before the start of last season, and the Cleveland Browns, who gave a No. 8 choice for punter Dick Deschaine.
PACKERS WITHOUT COACH IN PHILLY?
JAN 19 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Unless there is a last-minute change, the Packers will be without a head coach at the NFL's annual draft and convention opening in Philadelphia Wednesday. The meat of the 1959 draft already has been selected since the first four rounds were completed in Philly last Dec. 1. That picking was conducted under the supervision of Scooter McLean who resigned as head coach Dec. 17. The remaining 26 rounds will be selected starting at 9 o'clock Green Bay time Wednesday morning. The Packer selections will be made by Jack Vainisi, Packer talent scout and administrative assistant. Vainisi works on the draft the year-around compiling information from scouts and bird-dogs, including many former Packers, from throughout the country. He completed work today on master lists on which every prospect, including eligible juniors and sophomores, is graded. Vainisi has worked on the Packers' draft since he joined the club in 1950 but the head coach made the selections. Jack will decide the picks Wednesday. All was not rosy for Vainisi today. He said that Canada has been "exceptionally active and has signed a number of good prospects who were not selected in the early draft." Among those is Ron Stover, the Oregon end who signed with Toronto. There probably will be plenty of agitation to cut out the early draft. Originally intended to get a jump on the Canadians, the early four-round start "slights" a lot of good prospects who decide to go up north - probably the case of Stover. The Packers won't get the first choice Wednesday despite their last place finish. They already owe their fifth round (the first round Wednesday) choice to Washington in exchange for J.D. Kimmel. Green Bay will get a fifth right back as payment from Pittsburgh for Dick Christy. Pittsburgh, however, will draw seventh due to its 7-5 finish. The Packers will get two additional selections in exchange for player traded last season, giving the Packers 28 selections out of the last 26 rounds. The extras will come from the New York Giants for guard Al Barry in the seventh round and the Cleveland Browns for punter Dick Deschaine in the eighth round. The Packers will be represented in Philadelphia by Dominic Olejniczak, club president; Verne Lewellen, general manager; Tom Miler, sales promotion director; and Vainisi. Two other Packer officials likely will make the trip. Olejniczak and Lewellen will take part in the league meetings. Miller will coordinate the flow of Packer news back to Green Bay radio and television outlets. After completion of the draft, the clubs will consider a number of playing rules changes. The more important ones: 1. Allow coaches to wander the sidelines from goal line to goal line, or from 10 yard line to 10 yard line. Currently, coaches are not permitted to go past the 40 yard markers, although they do, and last year it provoked several loud arguments. The Los Angeles Rams criticized George Halas of the Bears for roaming the length of the field, shouting at officials as well as his players. 2. When an onside kickoff fails to go 10 yards and is recovered by the receiving team, the receiving team should have the option of retaining possession or having the ball kicked over. It now is kicked over. 3. Make the umpire official timekeeper instead of the back judge because the ump is in a better position to recognize requests for timeouts, and to know when the ball is dead. 4. When a team scored and still is more than seven points behind, give it the option of kicking off or receiving. Now the team scored on has the option. 5. All kickoffs should be made from the 35 yard line instead of the 40. 6. Punters must kick from 10 yards or less behind the line of scrimmage. 7. When a kickoff is out of bounds, give the receiving team an option of taking the ball at the spot or another kickoff after a five yard penalty against the kicking team. 8. When an official calls a personal foul or holding penalty have him designate the offender. Commissioner Bert Bell listed the following among the number of constitutional amendments to be taken up: In the event of death of any person holding an interest in a league franchise the interest may pass on through a will, but the commissioner must approve the recipient. All tickets for the title game should be reserved; elimination of the early December draft; equalization of stadium rental in that each home team will deduct 10 percent from the gate for rent instead of 15 percent unless they actually pay more; cut the player draft from 30 to 25 rounds; reduce or increase the player limit; bar trading of the first and second draft choices.
PACKERS SHOW $72,612 PROFIT; EYE BEST AVAILABLE IN DRAFT
JAN 20 (Philadelphia-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Three major points will guide the Packers in the NFL's 26-round draft Wednesday. They are: (1) the best player available regardless of position; (2) size; and (3) speed. Jack Vainisi, Packer talent scout who will make the Green Bay choices, explained the three points, explaining "we just want the best boys available when our draft turn comes. We also want good sized players - especially linemen, and we hope to select backs who have considerable speed to go with size." Vainisi will be assisted at the draft table by Verne Lewellen, Packer general manager, and Bernard Darling, a member of the Packer executive committee. Both are former Packer players. Also here from the Packers are Dominic Olejniczak, club president; Tom Miller, sales promotion director; and Fred Trowbridge, Packer attorney. The Packers had hoped to have a head coach hired in time for the league meeting, but apparently negotiations could be not be completed in time. Work on selection of a new coach and/or general manager will continue through the meeting period. (Wednesday to Saturday) Olejniczak indicated today that "all is not lost" in the matter of hiring a new coach and added that "it's no catastrophe that we don't have our coach at the meeting." Olejniczak referred to the fact that the bulk of the draft has been set up in advance - in preparation for the preliminary four-round draft Dec. 1. All of the major games were scouted by members of the previous coaching staff headed by Scooter McLean. The two key games, the Senior Bowl and the East-West, were scouted by Assistants Nick Skorich and Ray Richards, respectively...SELECTED DUNCAN: Vainisi has been compiling the draft since 1950 when he joined the club as an administrative aide under Gene Ronzani. McLean presided over the earlier draft and selected Randy Duncan, the Iowa quarterback, as the club's first choice. Alex Hawkins,a tough 195-pound halfback from South Carolina, was named on the second round and the third choice was Boyd Dowler, Colorado quarterback and end. The fourth choice went to Cleveland in exchange for Len Ford. Hawkins already has signed with the Packers for 1959. Negotiations with Duncan will start early in February - or as soon as he finishes mid-semester examinations. He will be graduated in February and then enter service for six months. Duncan was the first player chosen in the December draft since the Packers' record was the poorest. That kind of record also will give the Bays the first crack in the opening (fifth) round at Wednesday's meeting but they owe it to Washington as payment for J.D. Kimmel, the big defensive tackle who was well worth the choice...GET 28 PLAYERS: The Bays will get a fifth round choice in return, though, since Pittsburgh owes Green Bay its No. 5 in exchange for Dick Christy. The
Packers will get an extra seventh round pick in payment from the New York Giants for Al Barry and an extra eighth round pick in payment from Cleveland for Dick Deschaine. In all, Green Bay will get 28 players out of the last 26 rounds...The NFL Players Assn., with insurance and pension benefits foremost in mind, also opened its annual two-day meeting here today. The Packers' Howton, president of the association, said that the past year the organization has been trying to get an accident, health and hospital plan with various pension benefits. "We feel, however," Howton added, "that before much can be accomplished along these lines a committee or two or three owners who could act on behalf of the league must be delegated authority to enter into negotiations with us." Asked if the association would send representatives to the league meeting, Howton said: "I just talked to Commissioner Bert Bell Monday night. We're going to get together this afternoon and work something out. We're not particularly interested in attending the NFL meeting. We just want an audience with the owners to outline our proposals. Perhaps our association could meet separately with the owners during the break in their sessions." Told that Bell had said that the league cannot afford a pension plan, Howton said: "I can't believe that myself. But possibly it's true. We don't know that much about the operations of the teams. But if they use that to stall us, it could go on for 10 years." Howton said the players intended to press for benefits. He added: "If we can work out insurance and pension benefits along the lines we've planned, it won't make any difference whether the owners lose money or not at the gate. There are possibilities of outside sources of revenue for benefits and it wouldn't be any money out of the owners' pockets." Howton said some of the outside sources being considered to finance players' benefits are postseason games and additional exhibition games. He added that other possibilities are percentages of television and radio receipts and player contributions.
NET CAPITAL AT $277,000
JAN 20 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Green Bay Packers showed a profit of $72,612 before taxes on 1958 operations, according to the report of auditors who completed examinations of the corporation books this week. General Manager Verne C. Lewellen reported to the corporation directors today that "the Packers are today in the best financial position they have ever been in during their many years of operation." He set forth a financial report on operations for the past five years contrasted with the five previous years to back up his statement. The report showed profits before taxes for the last five years, including 1958, have totaled $351,006 compared with a deficit of $105,682 for the period of 1949 through 1953. Lewellen also included in his report to the directors a comparison between the company's balance sheet as of Dec. 31, 1953 and Dec. 31, 1958. This revealed that net working capital has increased from $89,128 to $277,861 during that period. The corporation's surplus account for the same period has gone from a deficit of $2,409 to a surplus of $208,934...The startling increase in profits has come despite constantly increasing costs, Lewellen pointed out. As one example, he said that player salaries had increased 43.4 percent during the five-year period.
PACKER PROFITS UP; NO COACH
JAN 20 (Milwaukee Sentinel) - The Packers, preparing for the NFL player draft in Philadelphia Wednesday, still find themselves without a head coach but in solid financial shape. President Dominic Olejniczak Monday said "there is absolutely no chance we'll have a coach in time for the league meeting." "We've tried," Olejniczak said. "It is something out of our control but certainly not a catastrophe by any means." Meanwhile, it was learned that the club showed a profit of $72,612 (before taxes) for the 1958 season. The auditor's report revealed, as of December 31, 1958, the team had a total capital of $327,000. The Packers have been a money-maker since Verne Lewellen took over as general manager in 1954. During Lewellen's five-year reign the club has shown a profit of $351,000 before taxes. In the previous five years (1949-53), the club suffered a loss of $105,600. Although the Packers are seeking a combination coach-general manager, Lewellen apparently will stay on as business manager. The rosy financial picture has been accomplished even though player salaries have increased 43.4% during the past five years. Attendance at home and away has been mounting every year. The club also gets a boost from CBS television ($75,000 a season) for rights to its league games. Regarding the Philadelphia meeting, Olejniczak said Chief Scout Jack Vainisi will be in charge of the Packers' draft. He will be assisted by Lewellen and Boob Darling, a member of the executive committee. Olejniczak will attend the NFL's annual winter meeting, but will not participate in the draft. The last place Packers, who experienced their worst season in 40 years, will get the 26-round draft underway. They will receive two extra choices: the Giants' seventh pick in payment for guard Al Barry and the Browns' eight for punter Dick Deschaine. Green Bay loses its fifth pick - the first of Wednesday's draft - to Washington as part of the deal for defensive tackle J.D. Kimmel, but gains back a selection in the same round from Pittsburgh for halfback Dick Christy.
EVASHEVSKI EMPHATIC; NO JOB WITH PACKERS
JAN 20 (Milwaukee Journal) - Forest Evashevski, Iowa football coach, whose name has frequently been linked in rumors with the vacant Green Bay job, Monday flatly denied again that he had been offered the job or that he had any interest in it. Evashevski was reached in Minneapolis where earlier in the day he had filled a speaking engagement. "Yes, I know Dominic Olejniczak," he said. Olejniczak, president of the Packers, has been leading the hunt for a successor to Scooter McLean who resigned a month ago after the club's worst record in history (1-10-1). "No, the job has not been offered to me," Evashevski said. "No, I would not take it if it were offered to me." Evashevski, who clearly indicated he preferred the atmosphere of a college campus, has five years to on a 10-year contract with the Hawkeyes. He reportedly gets a salary of between $18,000 and $19,000 a year and almost as much from his television program on a statewide network. The Packers are reportedly ready to pay $40,000 for the combined jobs of general manager and coach. (Lisle Blackbourn in his last year as coach received $25,000 and Verne Lewelle, as general manager in name, $12,000). In Green Bay, Olejniczak confirmed that progress in obtaining a new coach had been slow. As club officials prepared to go to the annual league meeting in Philadelphia starting Wednesday, he said: "We've tried, but there is absolutely no chance we'll have a coach by that time. It is something out of our control. I want to point out, though, it is not a catastrophe." The Packer party at the league meeting will include Olejniczak; Jack Vainisi, chief talent scout; Lewellen, general manager; Tom Miller, publicity director, and Fred Trowbridge, Bernard Darling and H.J. Bero of the club's executive committee. The drafting of players, first order of business in Philadelphia, will be handled by Vainisi with the help of Lewellen and Darling who played with the Packers in their early years. Three other names, following Evashevski's statement that he is not interested in the job, immediately bobbed up in the speculation over who might succeed McLean: Jim Trimble of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian league; Hampton Pool of the Toronto Argonauts of the same league, and Blanton Collier of Kentucky. Collier, a former Paul Brown assistant at Cleveland, has steadfastly denied he was interested in the job. Trimble and Pool, however, are known to be vitally interested. Trimble, who has had unusual success in the Canadian league, was interviewed by Olejniczak at the recent NCAA meeting in Cincinnati. He formerly coached the Philadelphia Eagles. Pool once coached the Los Angeles Rams. Curly Lambeau, who has frequently been mentioned as general manager if this job and that of coach were to be filled separately, and who talked with Olejniczak on a brief visit to Green Bay three weeks ago, was on his way back to Green Bay Tuesday from his home in Los Angeles. He was expected there Wednesday.
PACKERS GRAB CVERCKO, 3 OTHER LINEMEN IN DRAFT
JAN 21 (Philadelphia-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Striving to beef up their forward wall, the Packers tabbed four linemen for 1959 delivery in the first five rounds of the NFL's annual collegiate draft here today. Chief among these was Andy Cvercko, 6-foot, 235-pound Northwestern University tackle, who comes to the Packers from the Pittsburgh Steelers in payment for halfback Dick Christy, traded before the 1958 season. Cvercko actually was the Steelers' fifth choice, since the first four rounds of the draft were conducted at Philadelphia last Dec. 1. The Packers lost their own fifth pick to the Washington Redskins in a trade for tackle J.D. Kimmel. The Redskins picked Bob Wetoska, 238-pound Notre Dame tackle. After Cvercko, the Packers landed Willie Taylor, 6-foot, 232-pound offensive center and defensive tackle from Florida A&M, as their sixth choice. The Green Bay selectors, which including administrative assistant Jack Vainisi, General Manager Verne Lewellen and Bernard (Boob) Darling of the executive committee, claimed two players in the seventh round. They nailed Bobby Jackson, Alabama defensive halfback, as their own No. 7 pick, then acquired Gary Raid, burly 6-2, 255-pound tackle from Willmette University, from the New York Giants in exchange for Al Barry, traded last fall. The Packers also collected two players in the eighth round. Their own choice was Clellon (Buddy) Mayfield, a 6-2, 190-pound offensive end from South Carolina. The other No. 8 is Bob LaRaba, a 6-2, 190-pound quarterback and defensive back from Texas Western. He was turned over by the Cleveland Browns in payment for punter Dick Deschaine. Although Cvercko has been a regular tackle at Northwestern for three years, Packer officials indicated the Big Ten star will be used at guard when he reports to training camp next July. Taylor, who will be a candidate to understudy Jim Ringo at center, is a Negro All-American while the strapping Reid was recommended as an offensive tackle. Reportedly "very agile," he is a gymnast. Mayfield, scout reports contend, could be the sleeper of the draft. Fast, the South Carolinian is the top 220 and 440-yard dash man in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The fleet Jackson, who reportedly runs the 100-yard dash, was drafted as a safety, a position he played with considerable success at Alabama. LaRaba, though a quarterback as well as defensive halfback, was selected for use as a corner man. He was recommended by Carlton (Stretch) Elliott, former Packer end. Since pickings are slim, most clubs began drafting "futures" early and the Packers were expected to follow suit. One of the first "futures" to go was Mitchell Ogiego, highly regarded sophomore quarterback from Iowa who appeared in the '59 Rose Bowl...The NFL Players Assn., got a final briefing Tuesday as it prepared for "the big pitch" to league owners for a pension and insurance program. Bill Dudley outlined to the association the details of a 47-page brochure prepared to show the club owners that pension plan can be a reality for the players. As Dudley went into the meeting with the players, he said all the pension proposals could be substantiated by actuary reports showing them economically feasible. Commissioner Bert Bell previously said the plan "was impossible for a majority of our clubs." Dudley said the proposals recognize that the normal player's career in the NFL is only a little more than four years. Creighton Miller, the association's attorney, said that when pension proposals first were made for major league baseball players, the club owners said they wouldn't work - because an average major leaguer has a career of only about eight years. "Yet, their pension plan is working today and working well. We think we can show the owners our will, too," Miller said. Miller and association president Bill Howton, of the Packers, said there are several possible sources of income for the plan. They mentioned additional exhibition games, postseason games, a share of television ad radio receipts and player, as well as owner, contributions. Miller said a regular insurance program also will be sought. Some teams have group insurance. Other items the players want to talk about with the league owners include payment for exhibition games. Howton said the players were supposed to get $50 for each preseason exhibition, but the Redskins paid nothing and the Giants made deductions from their payments.
DETROIT DELAY REUNITES PACKER HEADS, SCOOTER
JAN 21 (Philadelphia-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Delay in Detroit: The Packers' league-bound party (Dominic Olejniczak, Verne Lewellen, Jack Vainisi and Tom Miller) stopped in Detroit's Willow Run airport en route to Philly from Chicago Tuesday noon. There was time for a scamper to the terminal. And who's sitting here? Scooter McLean. So it's reunion time with the popular former Packer head coach who was waiting with other members of the Detroit Lions party. Yep, they were booked on the Packers' flight, a Capital Airlines Viscount. We settled down to a fine football discussion when, shortly before takeoff time, the plane was rendered unusable and everybody was ushered into a Viscount removed from the nearby Capital garage. The second plane had a "dead" radio and that required a hour of fixin'. Anyhow, the Packers and Lions had seen enough of each other to last until next Thanksgiving Day. Scooter's new card partner is Aldo Forte, a one-time Bear and Packer guard. Incidentally, we ran into Jim Trimble sitting in the Willow Run lobby. He was coming down from Canada and going to Pittsburgh to visit his folks and then on to Philadelphia. The former Philadelphia Eagle coach, who has had considerable coaching success in Canada, says he wants the Packer coaching job...The pro football people in Philly (the trip was peaceful) were curious about the Packers - especially the writers who merely asked: "Who?" There are many rumors concerning the Pack's new setup but few hold water. Being without a head coach, such as we are, isn't completely news: the Rams and Cards ran into a similar snag several years ago...The Washington Redskins have two head coaches - Joe Kuharich, who is also head coach at Notre Dame, and Mike Nixon, new Redskin head coach. Kuharich agreed to help with the draft and work some with the pro club until Feb. 1...This is an exceptionally lean draft from the standpoint of good senior players and eligible juniors. The Detroit coaches said they put in very little work on the '59 draft. Most teams would like to cut the draft from 30 to 20 or 25 players...Commissioner Bert Bell spent a lot of time greeting delegates in the Warwick Hotel lobby Tuesday night. He's still excited about the Baltimore-New York playoff game and sudden death. That's one of the greatest things that happened to and for Bell.
PACK ADDS NEW IOWA TOUCH AT QB: WEBB
JAN 22 (Philadelphia-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers of Green Bay, Wis., added another touch of Iowa to their key quarterback position during Round 2 of the NFL's 27th annual player draft in the Warwick Hotel Wednesday. Newest addition is Bob Webb, the slingshot artist from St. Ambrose College at Davenport who was chosen on the 11th round. Webb is a Little All-America selection and led the nation's small colleges in passing. He had several 300-yard games last fall, amassed a fantastic 5,000 yards passing and looked good against the big-school All-Americans in the Arizona bowl this winter. The other Iowans, of course, is Randy Duncan, the big-college All-American quarterback who was the Packers' No. 1 choice in the preliminary draft last Dec. 1. Webb is well known in Green Bay college circles, having competed against St. Norbert College. Packer scouts reported that he is a take charge type signalist. He has good wrists and can throw in a hurry. Talent scout Jack Vainisi, who handled the Packer draft with help from Verne Lewellen and Bernard Darling, said Webb was one of the players "we had hoped to get." Webb stands 6 feet tall and packs 201 pounds. Duncan goes 6, 180. Vainisi, picking the Packers' still-to-be-chosen head coach, said, "We got pretty much what we wanted except for a good defensive end early. We wanted to get a good one right away but they were gone before we got a chance." The Packer emphasis was on linemen - and heavy ones, and defensive backs. Five of 28 players Green Bay obtained in the final 26 rounds are junior eligibles - for delivery i 1960. The 1959 draft, especially Round 2, was considered poor because of a shortage of top-flight talent. And that made most everybody in the last 10 or 15 rounds a dark horse. Things go so bad in the final few rounds that some clubs started drafting track stars such as Dick Sime (Detroit), Rafer Johnson (Los Angeles) and Bill Austin (Washington). A few clubs even took a chance on some players recently reported signed with Canada, the Lions grabbing Ron Stover, end from Oregon, and the Packers Dick Emerich, 230-pound tackle from West Chester State. "We might as well take a chance with Emerich rather than pick somebody we're sure can't make it," Vainisi pointed out. Everybody, including the Packers, was in the market for a Galimore and the Packers think they might have a resonable facsimile in halfback Leroy Hardee, a six-foot, 180-pound streak of dark lightin' from Florida A and M on the 25th round. Leroy gained 530 yards in 59 trips - a nine yard average...SECOND POSSIBLE 'WILLIE': Another possible "Willie" was chosen in the ninth round - one George Dixon, who was the first offensive back picked by the Bays Wednesday. Dixon goes 6-1, 195, played at the University of Bridgeport, starred in the All-America Bowl game, and carries the title of game breaker. He took the opening kickoff back 85 yards for six in the All-America game. Before Dixon the Packers picked off four linemen and two defensive backs, indicating the positions at which the club needs help. Picked for duty up front were Andy Cvercko of Northwestern, 232 pounds; Willie Taylor of Florida A-M, 235; Gary Raid of Williamette, 255; and Cellon Mayfield of South Carolina, 190, an offensive end. The two defensive backs figure to shore up the pass defense - Bobby Jackson, a safety expert from Alabama who does the 100 in 9.7, and Bob Laraba of Texas Western who was recommended by Stretch Elliott as a cornerbacker. After the 11th round (Webb), Vainisi grabbed off five juniors, including 280-pound tackle Orville Lawver of Lewis and Clark. He snared two 260-pound senior giants - guard Ken Kerry of Arizona State on the 14th round and tackle Dick Nearents of Eastern Washington on the 18th. Pick No. 15 was familiar - one Dick Teteak, young brother of former Packer Deral. The Oshkosh High star stands 6 feet tall and weighs 212 pounds, much bigger than Deral who figured 5-10, 210. Young Dick was recommended by Deral, who said, "He's the toughest kid we have." Dick will put on another 10 pounds. He plays center and linebacker. Two other state players were chosen - Bill Butler, a halfback from Chattanooga, who hails from Berlin, and fullback Dave Smith of Ripon College. And speaking of state players, Washington grabbed off St. Norbert's Roger Wypyszynski, a 6-5, 270-pound tackle, who ranked well up on the Packer list. The draft was off to a miserably slow start and the first two rounds took nearly two hours alone. Shortly before 10:30 Wednesday night, with the draft in the 22nd round, Commissioner Bert Bell entertained a motion to end the draft at the end of 25 rounds. The motion was made by the Bears and seconded by the Colts. Then in the vote, the Bears, Cardinals and Colts yelled yes but Paul Brown boomed a loud "no" and that ended the idea. It had to be unanimous. Several other clubs, including the Packers, likely would have voted no. The picking finished shortly before midnight.
WEBB, KNIGHT 'WHIP' GET NICKS BOOST
JAN 22 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - St. Norbert College Coach Mel Nicks, an unfortunate victim of Bob Webb's accurate right arm in two out of three meetings, has nothing but praise for the St. Ambrose quarterback drafted by the Packers in the 11th round. "Webb could have played with any major university in the country," Nicks declared. "He's a tremendous passer and can drop back faster than anyone I have ever seen. He's agile and can really move; we chased him all over the stadium this year but could not nail him." Nicks said the Knights always felt that Webb was a bit afraid of contact but that St. Ambrose coaches have told him that, on the contrary, the Little All-America quarterback is a tough and rugged individual.
MIAMI AGAIN AFTER NFL'S TITLE GAME
JAN 22 (Philadelphia-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bits of brotherly love: The Orange Bowl (Miami) wants the pro championship game again and at least two owners are in favor of switching it there - George Marshall of the Redskins and Walter Wolfner of the Cardinals. "Television will take care of everybody if we play there," GM told a small audience late Tuesday night. And Wolfner added: "New York never saw their Giants on television in the last three weeks of their season - the last game with the Browns, the playoff with the Browns and then the championship game." Wolfner, seconded by his missus, says the Orange Bowl people are fed up with Bud Wilkinson and Oklahoma. "They want us now as bad as they did five years ago," said Walter...The league isn't likely to take any action against Bobby Layne and Ollie Matson for skipping the Pro Bowl game. "What can they do, anyway," is the common question. Mrs. Wolfner explained about Matson: "For four years Ollie just begged off the Pro Bowl game so he could play in Hawaii and take his wife out there and we insisted on him playing in the Pro Bowl every year until this one. That's not fair." Packer Billy Howton, a Pro Bowl steady, said he talked to Commissioner Bert Bell in September, pointing out that he had been invited to play in Hawaii and that "I didn't want to play in the Pro Bowl if I had been fortunate enough to be selected." The selections are made early in December. Incidentally, Howton sat at the Packer drafting table for a brief spell Wednesday afternoon. We told him that "Jack's been drafting nothing but ends" to which Billy smiled: "They better be good ones." Billy, while discussing some of the problems of the Players Assn., touched on the $50 pay for each player in exhibition games, explaining that "we hope to get the Redskins to follow suit but it will be a tough job with that Marshall. They tell me the players are scared to death of him."...Norm Van Brocklin admitted that "I've become a carpet bagger - it looks like the East will be my home." The Philadelphia quarterback reminded that "We needed just one more minute in Green Bay and your win total would have been zero." The Dutchman, hashing personnel with ex-Eagle Bosh Pritchard and Tom Miller, winked: "Anytime you want to trade that McGee just let me know; he can go and get the ball."...Ray Scott, the Packers' television voice, is here from his home base, Pittsburgh, with news that his town will get a new stadium with a roof. Scott hopes to return for Packer telecasts in 1959. Speaking about television, CBS sports officials Bill McPhail and Tex Schramm are here working out details and fine print on the contracts with the individual teams, including the Packers. There is suspicion that television is here to stay...Commissioner Bell asked the clubs to help each other and "Yell if any of those boys have signed with Canada." When the
Packers grabbed Bill Butler, the Berlin, Wis., back from Chattanooga, the Colts screamed Canada, Weeb Ewbank explaining that Steve Owen (now a Canadian coach) was in Chattanooga today waving some money in front of Butler. Jack Vainisi, the Packer picker, said he had just talked with Butler yesterday and was advised that he wouldn't sign with anybody until he heard from the Packers. Vainisi decided to take Butler - on the player's word. Butler was highly recommended by Joe Geri, the onetime Steeler star.
PACK COACH HUNT MAJOR SIDE STORY OF NFL MEETING
JAN 23 (Philadelphia-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers didn't come to this city of brotherly love to select a general manager and/or coach. Their reasons for being at the annual draft and convention of the NFL are to select college players and represents one-twelfth of the league at executive meetings which got off to a delayed start Thursday following the Wednesday draft. It would be wrong to say that the Packers "might" come out of this community with a new face - even a good rumor thereof. But it seems right to say that the Packer quest for a new coach (and folks here generally refer to the person we're looking for as a coach) is the major side story of the parley. So please pardon if we don't show the proper excitement for such matters as player pensions, settlement of the Bear-Cardinal territorial issue, etc. Let's recite a few thoughts on a new Packer fuehrer as gathered in the lobbies and assorted corners of the Warwick Hotel. One feller (believe it was Dick McCann of the Washington Redskins) felt that "you should get somebody from within the league - somebody who knows pro football. You have to commit yourself to rebuilding with a stranger to pro football, that means time. So you want to wait that long?" Another gent in the same group figures that the "right man out of the colleges probably could do himself a great job up there. That's a terrific atmosphere for pro football because those hot fans can help make those players want to win. But this guy must have a mind of his own." So there you have two interesting schools of thought. Jim Trimble, onetime coach of the Philadelphia Eagles who has had three successful years in Canada, makes no bones that he's interested in the Green Bay job. But he also indicated that he wanted no interference, referring specifically to "any trade I might have in mind. With the Eagles I had a good trade going once and by the time it got through all of the owners it was dead." Pro assistants now in the league? Somebody pointed to Herman Ball, an aide at Baltimore who has been in the league for years. Another aimed at Charley Winner, a live-wire guy on the Baltimore staff. A Colt scribe explained Winner this way: "There's a guy that could do it someday. Weeb (Ewbank, Colt head coach) will always beat Paul Brown and Weeb says so. But Winner says he could beat Ewbank just like Weeb can beat Brown." Sounds a little corny but us fellers got to talk about something while cooling our heels in the hall. A flock of names will enter into a conversation - like maybe Forest Evashevski, the Rose Bowl king from Iowa, who spoke in nearby Wilmington the other night. George Marshall, owner of the Redskins, was on the same sports program. Evashevski has been mentioned in many circles as a Packer probable. Packer President Dominic Olejniczak and General Manager Verne Lewellen both are keeping extremely mum about the situation. "There isn't even a good rumor; sure, we can talk about Collier, Lombardi and a flock of others but nobody will say a word," moaned one writer. Olejniczak is anxious to report this: "We have been active in the matter."...Packer Billy Howton apparently was convincing when he addressed club representatives at their opening session Thursday, making some headway in his fight for a player pension. Howton, president of the Players Assn., and Bill Dudley, who is drawing up the pension insurance plan, addressed the group before and after lunch. Commissioner Bert Bell, reporting after hearing the story, conceded he had a "open mind" on the subject. Bell originally was convinced a pension was not feasible within the NFL because of the short length of a players' career. "After hearing their story, I, for one, am perfectly willing to listen, discuss and study the situation." Bell and the others reportedly are pleased to learn that the players do not expect the clubs to contribute any cash to their plan. Howton said a satisfactory pension could be started by raising $213,000 through league sources and by players' contributions totaling $125,000 annually. With at least 75 percent of the players participating, this amount of money would make possible pension payments of $100 monthly at the age of 65 to those playing at least five years. Howton made several suggestions to the clubs as to how the league contribution could be raised: (1) Proceeds from six extra preseason games; (2) play a best of two out of three games for the championship; (3) use a percentage of the proceeds from the Pro Bowl and All Star games; (4) use the money the clubs no longer have to pay the government under the revised federal amusement tax law. The 10 percent tax no longer applied to the first 90 cents on admission. Bell said the clubs would probably appoint a committee to meet with the players in the future. Marshall boycotted the meeting Thursday afternoon while the player pension was discussed. Marshall and George Halas didn't want the player group recognized in the first place and are the foremost
opponents of a possible pension. In another action, the clubs voted to bar players from participating in preseason or postseason games not sanctioned by the NFL. This ruled out chiefly competition in the Hula Bowl in Hawaii. The club also voted against 11 rule change suggestions. Bell ruled on the Bear-Cardinal area dispute, keeping the Bears in open-playing territory as in the past north of Madison Street in Chicago and the Cardinals' are south of that street. Walter Wolfner and his wife, Cardinal owners, were furious and there may be continued court action, which already has been started in Illinois. Wolfner is trying to prove that Bell has no right to rule in the dispute.
PACK ALUMNI HAVE TAKEN NO STAND ON TEAM MANAGEMENT
JAN 23 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packer Alumni Assn. said today that it has made no formal decision, for or against, the present management of the Packers and has no plans at this time for taking a stand. The statement is contained in a joint announcement by Charles Brock, president, and John Biolo, secretary of the group. The announcement was made following several statements by former Packers, members of the association. The statement follows: "The Green Bay Packer Alumni Association has made no formal decision either for, or against, the present operation of the Green Bay Packer Football Corporation; and at this time has no plans on making any statements. Any comments made by any individual members of the Green Bay Packer Alumni Association are their own personal opinions and not to be considered opinions of the Green Bay Packer Alumni Association. Our next regular meeting will be held on February 2nd, at which time routine business will be conducted."
ROONEY DROPPED 100 G'S ON WINNING STEELERS!
JAN 23 (Philadelphia-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Personal mention: Art Rooney dropped 100 grand on the Steelers last season despite Bobby Layne and a good season, which is a lot of spoiled oats even for wonderful Art. The Steels moved to Pitt Stadium, apparently not the big hit everybody thought it would be, and three of their key games were ruined by foul weather. Rooney's men probably will go back to Forbes Field next year and await the opening of that city's new stadium. The Cardinals also reportedly lost $100,000 on 1958 operations, which isn't anything new. Walter Wolfner should be getting tired of losing money. One other club, supposedly the Eagles, lost a little dough. The other nine, including the Packers, finished in the clover. It is interesting to note here that the Green Bays, despite a last place finish with the worst record, stacked up $72,000-plus on the profit side. Just give us a winner...The Packers were down to two at the league meeting Thursday afternoon, following the departure of scout Jack Vainisi, director Bernard Darling and sales promotion chief Tom Miller earlier in the day. Miller stopped off in Williamsport, Pa., to visit his parents. Club President Dominic Olejniczak and General Manager Verne Lewellen are attending league executive sessions...Add Packer coaching interestees: Pete Pihos, the former Eagle who is now coaching at American Institute.
PACKERS TALK TRADE WITH COLTS; SHAW?
JAN 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Weeb Ewbank was one of a few head coaches still on duty when the NFL closed its 1959 convention at the Warwick Hotel Friday afternoon. George Halas of the Bears and Paul Brown of the Browns had to stick around because they attended league sessions in an executive capacity. Eagle coach Buck Shaw lives here and stayed. The Colts' Ewbank, who ranks as Mr. World Champion because his team won that title last month, might have remained around a little longer to talk trade with the Packers. "We got a few boys that might be of help to your club and I'm wondering about some of the Packers," Ewbank said, indicating that some trade ice had been broken. Packer President Dominic Olejniczak said that Webb had discussed various players in the course of informal conversations in the lobby here but quickly added, "Trading would be a matter for the new coach." Ewbank wouldn't name names - at least on his club. However, when asked if quarterback George Shaw had been mentioned, Weeb admitted that "Shaw was one of those discussed." Weeb, in eyeing the Packers, said. "You seem to have a surplus of good players at offensive end and linebacker and you have a couple of good defensive backs." The Eagles also might be in the market to talk trade and one of the possibles has Philly Clarence Peaks, a strong back, going to the Rams for an offensive end. Something similar could be worked out with the Packers, although Green Bay and Philly would probably rather both deal with talent-rich clubs than try to rob each other. At any rate, trade talk livened up a quiet Friday morning. The parley, which opened Wednesday with the draft, closed unexpectedly Friday afternoon. Commissioner Bert Bell predicted earlier that the meetings would last well into Saturday. The earlier closing enabled Olejniczak and General Manager Verne Lewellen to make a quicker getaway and get Olejniczak closer to home in search for a coach. But they were thwarted in Chicago Friday night, just missing seats on the last North Central plane to Green Bay. They were due home later this morning. Olejniczak is hopeful the GM and/or coach matter can be settled soon. The league, in one of several bits of action Friday, called a players' pension plan conference in Chicago for April 23. Each club will present to discuss the matter and the players will be called in April 26. The decision to have the meeting and hold the discussion was a reverse from the clubs' previous stand that the plan was impractical. Even Commissioner Bell, after hearing Billy Howton (Player Assn. president) explain the pension setup along wit insuranceman Bill Dudley, said he was willing to listen. In another important action, the owners voted to reduce the annual 30-player draft to 20 choices. The draft, first introduced in 1937 with 10 rounds of selections, had increased over the years to 30. Bell said the 20-round draft will be held each year "sometime before the end of the regulation season," pointing out that it would probably be in the first week of December. For the past three years, the NFL had split. Other actions were of a minor nature. Halas, reporting for the committee on expansion, said this was not the proper time to increase the number of league teams. Of the many other amendments proposed, all but one were either withdrawn or defeated. Approved was a measure giving Bell the right to pas on anybody receiving an interest in a club through a will unless the party is a member of the family holding the interest. Turned down or withdrawn were such proposals as making all tickets for the NFL title game reserved, equalization of stadium rental in that each home team would deduct 10 percent from the gate for rent instead of 15 percent; and an effort to bar trading of first and second choices. The owners decided to keep the maximum regular season player limit at 35.
JIM TRIMBLE BECOMES PROSPECT FOR PACKERS
JAN 24 (Milwaukee Journal) - Jim Trimble, former coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and present coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, Saturday became the No. 1 prospect as coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers. These were the developments in a situation the club's screening committee has been working on ever since Ray (Scooter) McLean resigned in mid-December. Trimble, in a taped interview admitted that he had talked with Packer officials several times in the last few weeks. He refused to affirm or deny he would take the job, saying "the timing on any statement at this time would be bad." Packer president Dominic Olejniczak, who first denied he had spoken to Trimble, admitted in Philadelphia that Trimble was one of those under consideration. Trimble, in a newspaper interview in Philadelphia, said he was happy in Hamilton but that he wanted "to win a world championship and the only place to win a world championship is in the NFL." When asked if he had an
interest in the Packer job he answered, "Yes at the right salary." Trimble admitted to friends he was very much interested in returning to the NFL. Other coaches whose names have been mentioned in connection with the Green Bay job have repeatedly denied they wanted it, notably Forest Evashevski of Iowa and Blanton Collier of Kentucky.
HAMILTON CATS DENY STORY
JAN 24 (Hamilton) - Jake Gaudaur, general manager of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Big Four Football League said Saturday a report that coach Jim Trimble would be the 1959 coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers was untrue. Oliver Kuechle, sports editor of the Milwaukee Journal, said in a television broadcast Friday night that a deal to obtain Trimble for the NFL team had all but been completed. Gaudaur admitted Trimble had been talking to the Packers but said he had turned down the offer. Gaudaur said Trimble had advised the Tiger-Cats at that time of the situation. Trimble, who has put the Tiger-Cats into the Grey Cup final in two of the three season he has been coach, is a former coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL.
NO PACKER COMMENT ON TRIMBLE
JAN 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Packer officials stuck by their standard answer of "no comment" today after Jim Trimble was rumored as a leading candidate to be the next coach and general manager of the team. Said President Dominic Olejniczak, "We have no announcement to make." He did say Trimble was among those under consideration. Trimble, interviewed by Sportscaster Joe Taylor of Milwaukee station WRIT via telephone Friday night, said, "I have no comment to make. It wouldn't be fair to my bosses or to Green Bay Packer officials. It's a matter of timing." Jake Gaudaur, general manager of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Big Four Football League, said today the report is completely untrue. Gaudaur admitted Trimble had been talking to the Green Bay team but said he had turned down the offer. Gaudaur said it was made two months ago and Trimble advised the Tiger-Cats at that time of the situation. Trimble has been coach of the Hamilton Tiger Cats in the Canadian Football League for three years. His teams took one loop championship and two divisional titles. Before moving to Canada, he coached the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL for three seasons. The Packers posted a 1-10-1 record and finished last in the Western Conference last season and immediately began looking for a new coach. It was the poorest slate in the club's 40 year history. Coach Scooter McLean quit earlier this year to go to the Detroit Lions as an assistant. He acted after Packer directors reorganized the club's management setup and instructed Olejniczak to find a man to lead the team out of the cellar. However, the way was not closed to hiring a coach and a general manager. Another development Friday night found Curly Lambeau, a founder of the Packers, arriving in Milwaukee unannounced. Lambeau was coach and general manager of the club from 1919 through 1949. There has been a spirited effort to get him back on the job and he has indicated he is interested. A recent rumor had it that Lambeau would come from his California home to plug personally for a place in the Packer lineup.
LAMBEAU MOVES TO CITY, EYES PACKERS' GM JOB
JAN 26 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Curly Lambeau has moved back to Green Bay from the west coast. And he's interested in the general managership of the Packers. Lambeau arrived over the weekend from Los Angeles, explaining "I'm closed up there now." He'll live in Green Bay in the winters and at his home in Door County in summer. Lambeau had been the object of a recent public rally asking his return as general manager. The rally was promoted by Fritz Van, local radio announcer, in cooperation with Tom Atkinson, Cal Buehrer, Keith Van Vuren and several others. "I have no connection with those people. They did that on their own," Curly said, adding: "I got especially interested in the general manager's job when the committee outlined its new plans for that position and I wired Ole (Packer President Dominic Olejniczak) my application for the job. I met with him for two hours here during the holidays. I like that new setup and it's certainly a step in the right direction." The Packers recently voted to streamline their executive committee from 13 down to six members, hire a general manager and give him broad powers - among other things. The football veteran, looking back, said, "I left here for unity's sake. I wouldn't be here right now talking this way if there was success by the method that caused me to leave." Lambeau resigned Feb. 1 of 1950 after two losing season and 30 years of Packer coaching. "No, I wouldn't be interested in the coaching and I wouldn't interfere with the coaching," Curly said in an answer to a question, adding: "I don't think anybody can do a good job as general manager and still coach in today's tough competition." Discussing the GM position, Curly said "salary is very secondary to me. I am not thinking of money - whatever the committee feels is proper. My only purpose is to build the team up." Asked if he planned to campaign for the job, Lambeau said: "I really don't know if I'll campaign for it. I think I'll wait and see."
$35,000 BID FOR DUNCAN
JAN 26 (Des Moines) - Iowa's All-American quarterback Randy Duncan, in the midst of studying for final exams, Monday again declined to discuss his future plans. It was reported that Wayne Robinson, new coach of Vancouver in the Canadian league, offered Duncan in the neighborhood of $35,000 for two years. The Packers, who drafted Duncan last December, probably will have to better the Vancouver offer to land the No. 1 collegiate draft choice.
DERAL TETEAK SOLD ON HIS BROTHER'S FOOTBALL ABILITY
JAN 27 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Deral Teteak, the former Packers who is now an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin, is sold on his brother Dick's football ability. Dick is Deral's young brother but by no means his "little" brother. Dick is 21, Deral 29. Dick stands six feet tall and packs 212 pounds; Deral is a midget at 5-9, though he carried 202 as a player. Here's how Deral recommended his kid brother to the Packers: "He is the strongest and toughest kid we have; real tough; doesn't have a lot of speed; he's quick and has good movements; pretty agile." Deral thus displays plenty of family pride - plus a good stack of honesty. Teteak should know the requirements of pro football; he played five seasons, all as a linebacker. Dick was drafted on the 15th round; Deral was an 8th round pick in 1952. Dick is heavier than "big" brother Deral but apparently the elder brother had a hotter reputation. Former Packer Defensive Coach Ray Richards said he liked him in the East-West game. Billy Howton played against him in the Hula Bowl and found that "he worked hard." Dick will put on 5 to 10 pounds. If he has Deral's zest for combat, the Packers might have something!...Thirty of the 144 players chosen in the first 12 rounds were from the Big Ten. The Packers grabbed two Big Tenners in the draft - Randy Duncan of Iowa and Northwestern's Andy Cvercko. The Browns picked seven from this circuit; the Colts two. Baltimore leans heavily toward the Southeast Conference...Television might cover six non-league games this fall. The "tube" has skyrocketed interest in pro football. TV interests claim 40 million people saw the Colt-Giant championship thriller. Which prompted Bear Owner George Halas to explain why the league didn't change any playing rules: "Wouldn't we look foolish trying to confuse 40 million people about our game next year."...Jim Trimble, the former Eagle who now coaches in Canada and has been mentioned for the Packer job, was asked by some writers in Philly what his chances are at Green Bay. Jim said: "I'm afraid Evashevski (Forest, Iowa head coach) will take it." Evashevski was later tracked down for an explanation of Trimble's comment. Said Forest: "I don't want to coach until I'm an old man. I don't want to tackle a new job, but Green Bay is a good job for somebody."
DAVE SMITH WANTS BERTH WITH PACKERS
JAN 28 (Appleton Post-Crescent) - "The old college try" is scoffed at by most rough-and-tough, battle-sophisticated pro football players. But Dave Smith is going to bring along a big hunk of that commodity when he reports to the Green Bay Packers' training camp next summer. In Smith's case, the expression might be paraphrased to "the old (small) college try." If the 3-year Ripon College star fullback survives all the Packers' cut, he will be one of the very few players in the history of the Midwest Conference to play in the NFL. Competitive spirit is the long suit of the 6-1, 194-pound Smith, a twenty-first round Packer draft choice. (He weighs 203 now but played at 194 last season)...STRONG AND EAGER: He's neither exceptionally big or blindingly fast - he's a :10.2 hundred yard dash man. But, he's strong and eager and in his entire grid career he's never been injured. In three years at Ripon, Smith gained 2,672 yards in 142 carries for an average of nearly seven yards a try. He caught 30 passes for 580 yards. As, as the fullback in the Ripon T formation, Dave led most of the plays as a bone-jarring blocker. He's the top scorer and No. 1 ground gainer in Ripon history. The only Midwest Conference performers in recent vintage who come to mind as having much of a career in the NFL were: Lawrence's Eddie Kotal, a Packer halfback, and Ripon's Tiny Croft, who played several seasons as a lineman for the Bays. Appleton's Al Zupek, who starred at Lawrence, put in a season with the Packers after World War II. And, Ripon's Ted Scalissi performed with the Chicago Rockets of the All-American Conference in the late 1940s. Smith considers being drafted by the Packers "quite an opportunity. I want to teach and coach in Wisconsin and playing with the Packers would make me well known in the state." Smith was contacted by eight pro clubs, and two of them - the 49ers and Giants - wired him the week before the draft to verify that he hadn't changed his mind about playing pro ball...GO ALL OUT: He was a bit surprised that the Packers drafted him since his only correspondence with the Bays had been filling out their preliminary questionnaire. And, he had done that for all of the interested NFL teams. Smith, a good-looking, confident lad with his brown hair clipped short in a crew cut, thinks his chances of making the pro grade are better with the Packers than with an NFL contender. "I intend to go to camp with the attitude that I will make the team and to go all out while I'm there," the 21-year old Ripon senior says. A confident attitude would be a departure from Smith's state of mind at graduation time at Wisconsin's Greendale High school four years ago. "I wanted to major in physical education ad there were just three schools in the state where I cold - Wisconsin, La Crosse and Ripon. I passed up Wisconsin because I knew I couldn't play football there. I chose Ripon over La Crosse because it was closer to home." Smith "knew" he couldn't play football at Wisconsin because he was not an outstanding prep player at small Greendale High. (Greendale is a town of 4,000 people, four miles southwest of Milwaukee.) "I wasn't even an all-conference player in high school and I was pretty sure I couldn't even make the team at Ripon," he remembers. Smith's sophomore year at Ripon "I was the only fullback on the ball club and I learned a lot." He learned fast, too. He made the all-Midwest conference outfit (for the first of three times) and was the loop's scoring champ (the first of two point titles). Making the all-MC team as a soph was his biggest football thrill. The game he considers his best was last fall's Lawrence contest, in Appleton. Dave rolled for 215 yards in 25 carries that afternoon and scored three touchdowns in a 27-8 win over the Vikings...AMECHE FAVORITE: Alan Ameche, the great Baltimore Colts fullback, is the player Smith most likes to watch. He's married to a girl from his hometown who now is a secretary in the athletic department office at Ripon. The Smiths are expecting their first child in early August, soon after Dave reports to the Packers. Dave will stay in shape this spring by competing in track (as a 100 and 220 man) in search of his third letter in that sport. After graduating in June with a physical education degree, he'll spend six weeks in ROTC summer camp. He's already inquired about getting out of camp a bit early to report for pro ball, and told that it can be arranged. He wants to be on hand from the opening whistle.
PACKER COACH-GM DECISION NEAR
JAN 28 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - This could be the day of major decision for the Packers. New general manager, coach or both? Front office policy change? Executive shakeup? What is it? This day was set forth as one of importance yesterday morning when Packer President Dominic Olejniczak called a meeting of the 45-man board of directors of Green Bay Packers, Inc., for this noon at the Northland Hotel for the purpose of considering the overall situation in the hiring of a general manager and/or coach. The Packers are coachless - as they have been since Dec. 16 when Scooter McLean resigned. The Bays have a general manager, Verne Lewellen, but they have decided to create a new GM position with wider powers. The hiring of a new coach and/or GM has been a tough problem because, under the present plan, candidates would have to be booted around and examined by a 45-man board. Thus, it's highly probable the 13-man executive committee may ask today for authorization to conclude a deal. The screening committee, seeking out candidates in person and via application, has run into several prospects who refused to be considered if they had to be "argued over" by the large group. If the executive committee is given the authority, it's possible that group could decide on a prospect almost immediately. The Packers have been working on the selection of a coach and/or general manager for the past four weeks. The club was without a coach at the recent draft but Olejniczak said he felt that "it was no catastrophe." The Packer prexy also said earlier that "we are taking our time in hopes that we will get the right man and we won't be panicked into hurrying." Speculation was running wild here today as to possible successors to the coach and/or general manager jobs. The Associated Press carried a story out of New York this noon revealing that Vince Lombardi, backfield coach of the Giants, had been given permission by the Giants to talk with the Packers. "I know Vince has been speaking to them with our permission," said Ray Walsh, Giants' general manager. "Beyond that, I can't say anything. If it has been decided, any announcement will have to come from the Packers."
PACKERS EYE GIANTS COACH
JAN 28 (New York) - An official of the New York Giants said Wednesday that the club had given its permission to the Green Bay Packers to negotiate with backfield coach Vince Lombardi. "I know Vince has been speaking to them with our permission," said Ray Walsh, Giants' general manager. "Beyond that I can't say anything." Lombardi could not be reached. The Packers Board of Directions was to meet at noon Wednesday to discuss the coaching situation in Green Bay. The Packers' 1958 record was the worst in the 40 year history of the club, showing only one victory and one tie in 12 games. Lombardi, 45, has been backfield coach and first assistant to Jim Lee Howell since 1954. He has had full responsibility for the Giants' offense. The Giants won the league championship in 1956 and lost the playoff to the Baltimore Colts in 1958.
THE QUEST ENDS; LOMBARDI IS THE MAN
JAN 29 (Milwaukee Journal - Oliver Kuechle) - The quest for a coach and general manager at Green Bay is over and there can be only hope today that a calm in which some much needed rebuilding can be done will finally settle over the troubled and faction torn football community. The good wishes that are now flooding over Vince Lombardi as successor to Scooter McLean as coach and Verne Lewellen as general manager are fine. They must warm his heart. The new enthusiasm bursting into flame is good. Spirit and enthusiasm always were two of the chief components of Green Bay teams in their golden years under Curly Lambeau. But these things by themselves are far from enough. They were there in the beginning nine years ago, too, when Gene Ronzani succeeded Lambeau. There were there five years ago when Lisle Blackbourn succeeded Ronzani. They were there a year ago when McLean took over for Blackbourn. The heart of the situation still lies with the meddling little men who thus far have found it impossible to divorce themselves into the front row and who themselves unwittingly have contributed to a decade of failure. Won't they please step aside now and give Lombardi a fair chance on the field? Whether Lombardi is the answer to the club's troubles remains to be seen. The fervent hope, of course, is that he will be. Certain basic recommendations he brings. He was one of Fordham's
brightest stars in the middle thirties - a guard. He coached high school ball at St. Cecilia's in Englewood, coached Fordham's freshmen, helped Earl Blaik for five years at the Army. In the last five years, he was assistant to Jim Lee Howell of the New York Giants, collaborating with Ken Kavanaugh in handling the offense while Tom Landry and John Dell Isola handled the defense. Aside from his high school assignment, almost 20 years ago, however, he was never a head coach. And in none of his assignments was he charged with the administrative duties he must now assume in his new position as general manager. That is not to say he cannot fulfill them. He certainly could. But he steps into no ordinary situation. The Packers have floundered around so long that only an exceptionally strong man can straighten things out - unless the meddling little men finally divorce themselves from the operation....GOOD OLD BERT: The fine hand of Bert Bell, commissioner of pro football, could have been the decisive one in the selection. Jim Trimble, coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and a former successful coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, was the first choice as head coach and general manager until Dominic Olejniczak, president of the Packers, spoke to Bell at the draft meeting last week about him. Bell, bluntly, has little use for Trimble. Bell was in the middle of the controversy which preceded Trimble's resignation at Philadelphia. Bell sided with the syndicate of Philadelphia owners when Trimble got into an argument with them over the outside jobs his players held. Trimble spoke his mind and resigned despite a fine record (29-16-3). Bell nodded his head in assent. It was not likely, then, that Olejniczak should win approval from Bell on Trimble as coach. Trimble was not acceptable...BLANK WALL: This is the significant point: Despite Olejniczak's utterances that all was proceeding well in the screening, despite speculation that Forest Evashevski was the No. 1 choice, Bud Wilkinson No. 2, Biggie Munn No. 3, Earl Blaik No. 4 and so forth ad infinitum, Olejniczak had nobody after Trimble until Bell probably suggested Lombardi. No wonder such compete secrecy shrouded the search for so long. There was nobody else. This is the word from Lombardi himself over the telephone Wednesday night: "I was approached for the first time at the draft meeting in Philadelphia last weekend. I was utterly surprised. I went to Green Bay by invitation Monday. I met the executive committee. I told them I would accept if they wanted me. They said they did. That's all there was to it." Won't some of the Fox River oldsters who have bungled so successfully now step aside and give Lombardi the chance he deserves to put the Packers back where they belong? He can do the job but he doesn't need executive committee help - whether from 13 men or six. He needs only Lombardi and the assistants he picks.
LOMBARDI GETS 5-YEAR PACT AS PACKER GM, COACH
JAN 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Brooklyn-born Vince Lombardi held the sports wonder of the world in the palm of his hand today. He is the new general manager and head coach of the Packers. He was given a "completely free hand" by Green Bay Packers Inc., at a momentous meeting Wednesday afternoon. Lombardi, 45, will come to our town Monday to sign a five-year contract. Under Packer policy, no financial figures were told. Offensive backfield coach of the New York Giants for the past five years, Lombardi succeeds General Manager Verne Lewellen and Coach Scooter McLean. Lewellen is still on duty. His status undoubtedly will be clarified after Lombardi works into his dual role. McLean resigned after one season as head coach Dec. 16. The selection of Lombardi as the Packers' fifth head coach in their 40-year history - the fourth in the last 10 seasons, was announced by Packer President Dominic Olejniczak at 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon in the presence of members of the Packer executive committee and the press, radio and television. The announcement officially ended five frustrating weeks in which Packerland broiled under the heat of rumors, crabbing and discomfort resulting mostly from a lack of leadership following the worst season in Packer history - not to mention 10 years of losing. The matter was settled quickly Wednesday. The executive committee asked the board of directors authorization to conclude a deal for a new head coach and/or general manager. The board members, called in from cities throughout the state, voted 26-1 to give the committee that authority. The purpose was to spare prospects from being worked over by the larger group. Lombardi steps into the sports phenomena known as Green Bay at an opportune time. The Packers recently voted to streamline themselves and, among other things, hire a general manager and give him broad powers. The new Packer chief will be in charge. The major ruling body, the executive committee, will reduce its membership from 13 to 6 at the next stockholders'
meeting and hold monthly meetings instead of weekly as in the past. Vince is ready to go. "Right now I'm in the process of talking with seven or eight men as possible assistants," he said via telephone from New York today, adding: "I'll be there Monday to sign the contract and stay a few days. I'll have to get back here (New York) to close out some odds and ends. I expect to start in about the second week in February." The length of Lombardi's contract was not announced at yesterday's press parley but the new coach revealed in New York that it was for five years. Lombardi said he's "anxious to review the game pictures. I know a few things about the club and I know that there is a fine nucleus of veterans but I'll get a better idea of the personnel from the pictures. It will help me know what we can do on offense and defense. I plan to use the T-formation with some flanking variations." Lombardi said he had "enough football background generally and in particularly with the Giants to handle the general manager position. Of course, I'll have someone to take care of the details." A veteran of 20 years of coaching, Lombardi said "I'm extremely happy to get this opportunity in Green Bay but I'm unhappy about leaving the Giants and their entire organization. The Maras are wonderful people and I'll miss them all." Lombardi has put in 20 years of coaching but his only head coaching assignments have been in high school and now in the pros. He never played pro football. "At 180 and a guard, I was a little light," Lombardi laughed. Lombardi broke into coaching as a means of working himself through law school at his alma mater, Fordham, taking a position as head football coach at St. Cecilia High in Englewood, N.J., in 1939. Success with the T-formation there gave him national recognition - not to mention six state tiles and a string of 36 straight wins, and spelled the end of his law plans. He installed the T for the freshmen at Fordham under Ed Danowski in 1947 and the following year coached the varsity offense. Lombardi started a five-year career at Army in 1949, working on Army's T-attack. "I had never met Coach Blaik before he hired me," Vince recalled, adding: "I had an enjoyable time at the Point and I loved every minute of it." Army had an unbeaten season in Lombardi's first year...'STYLE I LIKE - DARING': Lombardi went to the Giants in 1954 - the year Jim Lee Howell took over as head coach from Steve Owen. Howell commented this: "Vince is on the style I like - daring." Lombardi was Jim Lee's No. 1 aide and the new Packers' basic formation is the T with split-T line spacing. In passing situations he can throw
BROWN, HALAS HAIL LOMBARDI SELECTION AS 'EXCELLENT CHOICE'
JAN 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Fabled Paul Brown, a longtime opponent, feels the Packers "made a very wise decision" in naming Vince Lombardi as general manager and head coach. NFL pioneer George Halas, owner-coach of the Chicago Bears, is in complete agreement. "I think that it was an excellent choice," he declared. Brown contacted by telephone, said, "I think the Packer committee has made a very wise decision. They have taken a man who is right currently in the swim from a successful operation and should give him a running go at it."...'HE'S A GOOD ONE': Paul, who has formed his opinion of the new Packer coach the hard way in annual and not always successful combat with the New York Giants, added, "I think he's a good one. We've competed against him for some period of years. He's tough to lick but a sport." "I think he's been a vital cog in the Giants' success," Brown continued. "My feeling would be that he would do a good job. It's also an opportunity which I would say he has earned." "I certainly wish this fellow well," Brown concluded. "He's a good one." From Chicago, Halas characterized Lombardi as "sharp, smart, alert, and a fine football man. What's more, he's an excellent student of football. He applies himself to the game and the game alone." "It's a feather in the hat of Green Bay to get a man who was being considered for the West Point job," Halas pointed out. Lombardi, assistant to Col. Earl (Red) Blaik before joining the Giants in 1954, had been prominently mentioned for the Army post following Blaik's recent resignation. "He was quite a factor in having the Giants become known as a Cinderella team last fall when they won the Eastern Division championship," George also noted. "They did quite a job in beating the Browns twice in a row to win the title."...'A COACH'S COACH': Declaring "I have a high regard" for Lombardi, Halas said, "He's a coach's coach. It's the greatest tribute you can pay to say a man is a fine man as well as a fine coach." "I wish Green Bay a lot of luck. I am sure they've got the right man to guide the Packers' destinies. That should clarify the entire situation up there." Jim Lee Howell, head coach of the Giants, was on a player signing trip and unavailable for comment but John V. Mara, club president, said the Giants were "sorry to lose" Lombardi. "He's always been well liked here and always done a good job for us," Mara said. "I don't see how he can keep from doing a good job for the Packers."
LOMBARDI 'A TERRIFIC SELECTION,' BELL SAYS
JAN 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Commissioner Bert Bell was highly enthusiastic and excited over the Packers' hiring of Vince Lombardi as head coach and general manager. "Two or three other clubs wanted him as head coach in the last four years. Why, he's a terrific selection," Bell boomed over the telephone from league headquarters in Philadelphia today. "And then they wanted him at West Point, you know," Bert said, adding: "I don't think you could have made a better selection." Referring to hiring a coach new to pro football, Ball said "Lombardi knows he ropes; he knows administration; he knows the pro business; he knows your opposition; he's a student of the game. Another type guy would need two or three years to learn about pro football and something about the other teams' players." Bell added: "Lombardi worked with Howell (Jim Lee, head coach of the Giants) at the Pro Bowl and I heard so many good comments about Lombardi from the players. And another thing. Lombardi's a real disciplinarian and a gentleman. He's a great believer in desire and proper conduct. You'll like him." We just got the feeling that he was extra happy because in his own mind he feels that Lombardi is the answer in Green Bay. Bert always has a special spot in his heart for the Packers...Two Green Bayites had a first hand experience with Lombardi. They are John Martinkovic and Joe Skibinski, former Packers who did a stint with the Giants. John was traded to New York a year ago and played the full 1957 season. Skibinski was traded to the Giants early in the 1958 campaign and retired from the sport after two weeks due to injuries. "Vince liked the looks of Green Bay when we were out here in 1957 and I'm sure he was interested then," big John recalled, adding: "He's a good selection and he's real smart. Vince won't take any nonsense. If anybody's late for a scheduled meeting or practice he'll crack down. he's very methodical and a good organizer. You'll know he's around. And he's all business." Skibinski, who missed the 1957 season here with a broken ankle, put it this way: "I think they got a good man. I wasn't there very long but he sure handled us fellas on offense. He ran the show. He'd get on us pretty good and holler a little but he always had a smile on his face. When he gives it that 'let's go' on the field that's exactly what he means. He's a go-getter himself and that's the way he wants his ball players to be."...Lombardi said he plans to bring his wife, Marie, with him for the contract signing here Monday. "I'll sell my house in Fair Haven (N.J.) first before moving out with the whole family," Vince said, "so maybe it won't be until after school is out." The Lombardis have a son, Vince, 16, and daughter, Susan, 11...The morning Sentinel was the only Milwaukee newspaper represented at the big press, radio and TV conference at the Hotel Northland yesterday. Sports editor Lloyd Larson and pro football writer Bud Lea did that newspaper's honors...Lombardi said the Packers first approached him at the league meeting in Philadelphia last week, although he had been under consideration. "We reached an agreement Monday and Wednesday I was told that I had been unanimously approved by the club." Vince said he was making "a complete break and I'm moving to Green Bay - lock, stock and barrel."...Newspaper, radio and TV are taking special note of the secrecy practiced by the Packer officials during the hiring period. It was revealed yesterday, for instance, that Forest Evashevski, Iowa coach, actually came to Green Bay on a Sunday afternoon, drove around town with Packer President Dominic Olejniczak and then left by plane. And what's more, Lombardi was here Monday unbeknown for a hard-nosed interview. We hear that Vince got the "third degree" and was fully warned about our hot-bed. And he passed with flying colors...Nobody will comment but there's a story around that Lombardi turned down the Army coaching job.
LOMBARDI TO BE SUCCESS, GIANTS INSIST
JAN 29 (New York) - The football Giants said Wednesday they "hated to lose a fine coach" like Vince Lombardi but believe he will make a success of his new job as head coach and general manager for the Packers. "Vince had another year to go on his contract with us but we didn't feel we could stand in his way when Green Bay officials approached him during the NFL meeting in Philadelphia last week," said Ray Walsh, New York's general manager. "We hate to lose Vince but we feel he will do a terrific job for the Packers," Walsh added. In New York, Lombardi said he considered the job "a terrific challenge." He previously had indicated interest in Army's vacant head coaching job after Earl (Red) Blaik resigned recently. "But this is even more of a challenge." Lombardi said. "After all, you can't top the brand of football they play in the NFL." Lombardi roared with laughter when reminded that he also was moving into the pass-conscious Western Division, where the emphasis is on his specialty - offense. "Don't try to scare me so soon," he said with a chuckle. "I've taken only a quick look at the Packer roster," Lombardi said. "I'll get into that when I get to Green Bay on Monday. I understand all the assistant coaches who worked with Scooter McLean are gone. That suits me fine because I'd like pick my own assistants and the Packers have give me the right to do that. The Packers first approached me at the league meeting last week. We reached a tentative agreement last Monday and they notified me Wednesday that I had been approved unanimously by the club's Board of Directors." Lombardi indicated he was going "all out" to make a success of his first head coaching job. He said he was making a complete break with New York to shift to Green Bay, probably the most football-conscious city in the nation. He said he planned to sell his house in Fair Lawn, N.J, and move to Green Bay with his wife and two children. "I certainly appreciate the Giants turning me loose," Lombardi said. "I'm making a complete break and moving to Green Bay - lock, stock and barrel."
FOOTBALL 'ART' TO IDEA-MAN LOMBARDI
JAN 29 (New York) - Green Bay is getting a man after its own heart in Vince Lombardi. Green Bay believes football is the world's best game, and, for its size, is the game's biggest booster. Lombardi agrees. He eats, sleeps and dreams football. And one of his dreams came true Wednesday when the Packers gave him a five-year contract as head coach and general manager. Lombardi, offensive coach for the Giants for the past five years, scribbles plays on envelopes, matchbox covers or anything else he can find when a play is taking shape in his mind. He considers football an art and, for some time, he has been ready and anxious to put his ideas into action as the head artist. The Packers position is his first head coaching job above the high school level, but his position with the Giants gave him an ample opportunity to test his ability to handle NFL players and tactics. Jim Lee Howell, New York's head coach, gave Lombardi complete charge of the team's offense. Vince designed the plays, explained them on the blackboard and the practice field, handled the offense during games, including player changes, and sometimes called plays. Lombardi also had charge of running off New York's game films and it was his booming voice that distributed praise or scorn, depending upon what showed up on the screen. The Packers, who enjoyed some of their great years when they had Don Hutson to thrill their fans with his pass catching, also are getting an alert imaginative coach in Lombardi. "Vince is the kind of coach I like - daring," Howell once said. The Giants opened their 24-21 upset over the Colts last November 9 by surprising their opponents with a 65-yard pass from Frank Gifford to end Bob Schnelker in the opening seconds. It was a typical Lombardi maneuver. Lombardi joins Paul Brown of the Browns as the only men in the NFL holding both the head coach's and general manager's jobs. Like Brown, who has won more games in the last decade than any other NFL coach, Lombardi switched to football after starting to study law. Lombardi specialized in offense during his years as assistant coach with the Giants, Army and Fordham. But - again like Brown - he knows that defense is the key to football success. "I don't know much about the Packer personnel yet," he said while discussing his new job. "But I'll put the best players on defense. That's the best way to build a team."
SHAW WANTS TO BE TRADED; PACKERS, GIANTS INTERESTED
JAN 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - George Shaw, the Baltimore Colts No. 2 quarterback behind John Unitas, wants to be traded. That's the surprise story in Baltimore today. Shaw has asked Coach Weeb Ewbank to be traded so that he can play as a regular. Reportedly, the Packers and Giants - involved in the switch of Vince Lombardi from the Giants to the Packers as head coach - are interested in the hard-riding red-headed QB. Lombardi, reached in New York today said "I know about Shaw but I am going to give our boys a look before doing any trading." Vince was referring to the Packers' present quarterbacks - Bart Starr, Babe Parilli and Joe Francis. The new coach expects to "get an idea of their play - plus what I've seen myself, from the pictures." All three played in an exhibition against the Giants in Boston last
August. Shaw is considered the league's top benched first-team quarterback. When Unitas was injured in the Packer game at Baltimore last fall, he continued the rout and then led the Colts to two key victories in the next three games. The Giants reportedly offered the Colts their first draft choice in 1960 and 1961 or their first and second choice in 1960 for Shaw. Ewbank discussed trade - and admitted that Shaw's name was mentioned - with Packer President Dominic Olejniczak at last week's league meeting in Philadelphia. Olejniczak said at the time that "we discussed trade but any trading will be done by the head coach."
WHO'S THAT? LOMBARDI BEING INTRODUCED IN PACKERLAND
JAN 30 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Who's that? The folks in the pro football trade know all about Vince Lombardi. Mary over at the coffee house or Joe over at the garage aren't quite sure who is this Mr. Vince Lombardi, the new head coach and general manager of the Packers. And maybe that's good. Packerland's lack of knowledge about Vince (as compared to some widely known figures like Forest Evashevski, Eddie Erdelatz and others) kept this town from blowing an emotional gasket. When people get emotional over a new coach in this town, they mean just one thing - championship next season. We haven't heard the words yet, and that's just wonderful because Lombardi is no miracle man. Vince will come in Monday to sign a five-year contract. Did you say five years? Lombardi laughed about that yesterday and then explained that "we'll have something good going before that." He indicated that he definitely expects to make a winner out of Green Bay in less time. The general attitude around town - after some folks were told the who and what about him - is a mixture of "I hope he makes good; he sounds like he knows his stuff; let's give him time; we can't expect him to set the league on fire right away," etc. Actually, Lombardi is still in the process of being introduced in Green Bay. We in the Press-Gazette sports department hope reader-fans got a "look" at Lombardi in yesterday's stories. There's more tonight - and especially good reading is the piece by Joe King, who was asked by the P-G to give you a personal picture of Lombardi. King is a widely known New York writer who covers the Giants and Yankees. The comment on Lombardi around the county has been exceptionally good. Naturally, nobody will say anything bad about an individual in the public prints but the fact that things are being said is the tipoff that the new Packer chief is a "good man." Dave Condon, columnist for the Chicago Tribune devoted his entire column today to Lombardi and included quotes from Andy Gustafson, Miami coach; Frank Leahy, ex-Notre Dame coach; George Halas of the Bears; several Giants players;' and eve Mrs. Lombardi. Here they are: GUSTAFSON - "Lombardi knows football. At Army he coached the line, later the backfield. I was impressed by a lecture on quarterbacking that Vince gave at a clinic. Lombardi was simple and concise in explaining football's most complex subject." LEAHY - "Recently I had dinner with Frank Gifford, the Giant halfback. He continually praised Lombardi. Gifford said Lombardi concentrated on his work so intently that the players noticed Vince became a greater coach day by
day." HALAS - "It looks as if Green Bay beat Army to an outstanding coach." ANDY ROBUSTELLI, Giant defensive end - "Lombardi very definitely can handle people. He's firm, but a good organizer." MRS. (MARIE) LOMBARDI - "Vince is still very loyal to Fordham; he attended an alumni dinner Tuesday. He likes golf and occasionally plays bridge and gin rummy when traveling with the team - but it's difficult to get him to relax during football season. Now he'll have to leave an offseason banking job he had in New York. I was in New York with him when we got the word. I came out to Fair Haven (N.J.) to be with our children. I'm still numb with excitement. Fair Haven is my family home, so it isn't easy to break way. The best thing would be to pack up the kids and get to Green Bay right away." Anybody in the house still in the dark about Lombardi?
LOMBARDI SET TO CALL OWN SHOTS AS BOSS
JAN 30 (New York) - Vince Lombardi, the new head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, eats, sleeps and dreams football. The former offensive coach for the New York Giants the past five seasons scribbled plays on envelopes, matchbook covers or anything else he can find when a play is taking shape in his mid. He considers football as an art and, for some time, he has been ready and anxious to put his ideas into action as head artist. The Packer position is his first head coaching job above the high school level but his position with the Giants gave him ample opportunity to test his ability to handle NFL players and tactics...OFFENSE HIS JOB: Jim Lee Howell, New York head coach, gave Lombardi complete charge of the team's offense. Vince designed the team's plays, explained them on the backboard and the practice field, handled the offense during games, including player changes, and sometimes called plays. Lombardi also had charge of running off New York's game film and it was his booming voice that distributed praise or scorn depending upon what showed up on the screen. Vince also installed dozens of successful mechanical devices to facilitate intensive study of game films, aids he undoubtedly will use in his new job. The Packers, who enjoyed some of their great years when they had Don Hutson to thrill their fans with his pass catching, also are getting an alert, imaginative coach in Lombardi. "Vince is the kind of a coach I like - daring," Howell once said. The Giants opened their 24-21 upset triumph over the Baltimore Colts last Nov. 9 by surprising their opponents with a 65-yard pass from halfback Frank Gifford to end Bob Schnelker in the opening seconds. It was a typical Lombardi maneuver. Lombardi joins Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns as the only men in the NFL holding both the head coach's and general manager's jobs. Like Brown, who has won more games in the last decade than any other NFL coach, Lombardi switched to football after starting to study law. Lombardi specialized in offense during his years as an assistant coach with the Giants, Army and Fordham. But - again like Brown - he knows that the defense is the key in football success. "I don't know much about the Packer personnel yet," he said while discussing his new job. "But I'll put the best players on defense. That's the best way to build a team."
FROM JOE KING: A NEW PICTURE OF LOMBARDI...
JAN 30 (New York) - If Vince Lombardi entered Green Bay unheralded, the average Packer stockholder might mistake the new coach for a teacher of romance languages who was about ready to earn his full professorship at an eminent college. The book under Lombardi's arm doubtless would heighten the impression. So would his sober dress, hid kindly, almost benign smile, his self-effacing manners. The horn-rimmed specs would not dispel snap judgment, and if Vince were in one of his introspective fogs, the courteous stockholder no doubt would see the absent-minded "professor" safely across the street. That's one picture. It's the same one Lombardi presented to a group of friends as he said farewell today. But when he had left, a guy remarked "I'd love to be around if Vince doesn't get what he wants after a week or so in camp. That team will feel as if a buzz-saw ripped up the field." That's another picture. Lombardi is an educated man - Cum Laude Fordham - but the book he carries is a football playbook. The fog he sometimes carried with him hides a Machiavellian plot for the next game, or the next hundred games. He is a professor, but only of football. There is no fund of funny stories, cute anecdotes, prankish shenanigans about Lombardi. He is straight football, dead on the level. Those of us who have followed him through the years out of here marvel at his profundity, clarity and imagination in his game. We have seen his ingenuity displayed on the field. To understand Lombardi, you must appreciate that he as been dedicated to football since 1939, when he attended law school while teaching physics and coaching the team at a New Jersey high school. He recalled at the table today: "I just reached the point where I had to find out what I could do in football. Nothing else mattered. Even at college I would figure out what I would do as a coach in certain circumstances. Football got me, and I gave up the law." There is a remarkable parallel there with the career of Paul Brown of the Browns. In Cleveland last November. Brown confided, "I was studying law in my early years as coach at Massillon H.S., but I had to think that my life was in football. I pleaded with my father to give up law, and he said: 'Son, if football is so much in your hear, you have my blessing.'" Lombardi is moody, Latinish, depressed, explosive from time to time. He can throw that playbook into a bottomless abyss in one frustrating moment and in the next seize with the enthusiasm, tenacity and perseverance of a terrier the roots of an idea which will become a touchdown. Against the Browns in the season finale, Alex Webster took a handoff running left, handed off to Frank Gifford running right. It was a reverse, of course, but you can't keep running all day long against the Browns defense. Abruptly, Gifford threw a TD to Bob Schnelker, all along down field. In the 10-0 playoff, the TD play was apparently a quick-witted lateral from Gifford to Chuck Conerly, who hadn't scored a TD all season. It was not impromptu; it was a play Lombardi had rehearsed all week. So was the fake run on the reverse. Lombardi is fundamental. Has to be after serving under Red Blaik at Army. As he says, under Blaik he learned the entire master-plan of organizing a football season, a game therein, and the tiniest details of the most trivial-seeming play...WILD WEST MIRACLES: He was offense coach with the Giants, but as he says, he will concentrate on defense with the Packers. Has to. Without defense, you're dead. But when he has erected a bulwark against touchdowns, do not worry about offense. Around here, we think Lombardi achieved Wild West miracles with the Giants without boasting the high-voltage scoring ingredients of the Western clubs. Nice guy. Sure, call him professor. But look out for that buzz-saw ripping though the academic front when marks are not up to passing.
PACKERS SIGN CVERCKO
JAN 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Andy Cvercko, the ironman tackle from Northwestern who was the Packers' first choice in the draft last week, has signed a Green Bay pact for the 1959 season. That was announced today by Publicity Chief Tom Miller, with a telephone smile from Vince Lombardi, the Bays' new general manager and head coach, who is due here Monday to sign a five-year Packer contract. The Packers' drafting was done chiefly by Jack Vainisi, the club's talent scout who made Cvercko his No. 1 signing objective in a signature search over the weekend. Chasing down Cvercko was no picnic, Vainisi called it a 16-hour ordeal and it included a tug-o-war with Hamp Pool, the Canadian coach, in Evanston and Chicago. Actually, Cvercko was the Packers' fifth round choice obtained from Pittsburgh for Dick Christy. The Packers' own fifth round pick went to Washington for J.D. Kimmel. The first four rounds were selected last Dec. 1. Cvercko stands six feet tall and weighs close to 240 pounds. That's a bit small for tackle so he'll be an offensive guard. Big Andy has some brains to go with his brawn. He maintains a "B" average as an electrical engineering major in the university's technological institute. The Campbell, O., veteran played a total of 470 minutes in the Wildcats' nine-game schedule last fall, averaging 52.2 per. Cvercko was at his best when the going was toughest, playing 57 1/2 minutes in the 29-28 win over Washington and the same length of time in Northwestern's 21-0 upset victory over Ohio State. Cvercko threw a key block that enabled Ron Burton to score Northwestern's first touchdown vs. Ohio State. He was instrumental in stopping Bob White, the Buckeyes' All-American fullback on two fourth down tries with less than a yard to go. Cvercko is the second rookie signed thus far. Earlier, halfback Alex Hawkins of South Carolina, the No. 2 choice, signed for 1959...Lombardi likely will be introduced to members of the press, radio and television
here sometime Monday. He'll also sit down with Packer officials to sign his contract...One of Lombardi's first problems will be signing Randy Duncan, the Packers' first draft choice. The Iowa quarterback also is being wooed by Vancouver of the Canadian League. Lombardi will talk with Duncan as soon as he finishes with his final exam...In Detroit, Scooter McLean, former Packer head coach who is now backfield coach of the Lions, had this to say on the Bays' new selection: "Lombardi's got his work cut out. He's a fine fellow and Green Bay was lucky to get him." Incidentally, Scooter's wife, Alice, is recovering rapidly from an emergency appendectomy. The operation was performed Jan. 22 in Detroit.
LOMBARDI DUE TODAY
FEB 2 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Vince Lombardi was due in Green Bay via North Central at 2:22 this afternoon. And if you're superstitious and ever turned a pasteboard, you'll know that deuces never "looses." Lombardi's first order of business will be to sign a five-year contract with Green Bay Packers Inc., as general manager and head coach. Then a reception for the press, radio and television. Lombardi was to be accompanied by his wife, Marie. The new Packer figure will return to his home in Fair Haven. N.J., after spending a few days here. He'll return and dig in for heavy duty next week.
4 AIDES, BUSINESS MANAGER FIRST DAY NEEDS: LOMBARDI
FEB 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers' immediate personnel needs are four assistant coaches and a business manager. That was the word today from Vince Lombardi, the club's new head coach and general manager who arrived from his home in Fair Haven, N.J., Monday afternoon. "I hope to have three of the four assistants by next week," Lombardi said, "and one of them might be Nick Skorich. I have been in touch with him." Skorich served as line coach under Scooter McLean here last year. The Eagles and Redskins are also interested in Skorich, Lombardi said. Nick would coach the offensive line. Jack Vainisi, the Packers' talent scout, will remain and carry on with his present duties, Lombardi announced. The new GM, accompanied by wife, Marie, said he may "make a decision on a business manager in a few days." Vince said he wanted to look over the Packer setup before acting. Verne Lewellen, who is replaced by Lombardi as general manager, stated earlier that he will be a candidate for the position of business manager. Lewellen and Lombardi met for the first time at the Packer office this morning. Lombardi was officially introduced to the Packer board of directors and the press, radio and television representatives at a luncheon at the Hotel Northland this noon. Lombardi was expected to sign a five-year contract sometime today. The Lombardis will stay here until Thursday or Friday before winging east for the weekend. He'll return early next week to start full-time work. Vince said "we'll rent for a month or two before we buy a home; we'll have to sell our home in Fair Haven." Lombardi was flooded with questions from news hawks practically as soon as he stepped off a North Central Airlines plane Monday. He was greeted by Packer President Dominic Olejniczak. The questions continued even after they checked in at the Northland. Here are some of the answers: "I expect to take a more active part in coaching than Jim (Jim Lee Howell, head coach of the Giant). I'll have a coach in charge of offense and one in charge of defense but I'll work more with my assistants than Jim did with us." (With the Giants, Lombardi handled offense and Tom Landry defense.) Yes, I said I'd put my best players on defense but I certainly don't intend to have Billy Howton, for instance, playing defense. It mean that I'll emphasize defense a little more. A good defense is a great morale factor. It hurts the bench and the offense when a team is getting run over and scored on. Two-way players? There are some players that just can't be considered as two-way players but the offensive and defensive linemen will become familiar with each other's plays. I have given considerable thought to my adjustment in coaching (players in large city as compared to players in small city.) I realize it will be different here where most everybody knows the players personally. The coaches and players have an entirely different problem compared to large-city players who can easily get lost. I hope to hold workouts down to an hour and a half; an hour and 15 minutes if possible. The players will know exactly what they'll do in every minute of practice. We won't be using the slot system as you have been using here. Our emphasis will be on power plays. The end will be required to do some blocking - just as the slot back. I
want to get the assistants lined up quickly because of the monumental job ahead. We've got to look over the films and grade all the offensive players - everyone of them. We'll also grade the defensive players. The grading will be of especial value in judging our offensive material. I know George Shaw (Baltimore quarterback who has asked to be traded), but I won't do any trading until I look over our present quarterbacks in the films. That may take a couple of weeks and I don't know if Baltimore will wait that long. There's a good nucleus of veteran players - boys like Ringo, Currie, a tough linebacker in Nitschke. I understand Forester didn't have a good year in '58, but he might have a great one next season. Duncan? We're going after 'em quite soon, and I may go out to see him (Randy Duncan, Iowa QB, and the Packers' first draft choice.) I understand he's going into the Army for six months but he should be out in time. I understand the training setup here and at St. Norbert is fine. I've already got a telegram from Stevens Point." (The Packers trained at Stevens Point for four seasons before returning home last year.)
COACH'S SON, COP FIGURE IN WELCOME
FEB 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Arrival Day - There were two unusual unusuals connected with the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Lombardi in our town Monday afternoon. No. 1: The Packers' new general manager was surrounded by a flock of news gatherers in the lobby of the terminal at Austin Straubel Field. There came that moment for the first question. Everybody wanted to ask a question. Everybody hesitated for that split second waiting for the next guy. There was a split second of silence. Then it came - the ice breaking question: "What high school will your son enroll in?" Everybody laughed, including Vince. It was an unexpected question in view of the problems of this man - chief of which is to lift the Packers out of a 10-year doldrum. Lombardi's son, Vincent Jr., 16, is a 190-pound fullback and a junior. Vince shot a quick glance at wife Marie and allowed that "we'll let him decided himself where he wants to go to school. Sounds like somebody around here has been building him up." Unusual No. 2 occurred on the way into the city. The Lombardis were riding with Packer President Dominic Olejniczak. Several cars carrying the newsfolks followed Ole's auto. The four or five-car parade followed Ridge Road into town and then turned right on Highway 41 (Highland Avenue). Each car "stopped" ever so briefly at the corner and proceeded down the highway when out of nowhere (that's where they usually come from) appeared the state trooper's car. The procession was flagged down to an abrupt halt just opposite the stadium and the firm but polite trooper lectured each driver on the necessity of coming to a complete stop - "not just hesitating" - at all stop signs. So, Lombardi had a sort of first hand experience with our state's highway patrolmen and this particular trooper was among the first to get a first hand look at the new Packers' chief...Olejniczak took the Lombardis on a brief tour of De Pere and Green Bay, driving past several prospective homes. They plan to rent before buying a home...Asked how she'd like living in a smaller city (both are from the New York area), Mrs. Lombardi said "where we live now is about like Green Bay." They have a home in Fair Haven, N.J...Lombardi had a stack of mail waiting for him. He glanced through some of the letters in his hotel room and commented: "They're well wishing, I'm happy to see, but anonymous."
NFL BRUSHING OFF RIVAL LOOP RUMORS
FEB 4 (Sporting News) - Increasingly, cities and investors are becoming interested in pro football because of the sport's recent boom at the gate and on TV, but as in a third baseball league, newcomers would be forced at this time to operate outside the existing organization. The NFL "expansion" committee, headed by George Halas of the Chicago Bears, reported at the annual meeting in Philadelphia that there was no prospect of additional franchises in the immediate future. Bert Bell, commissioner, emphasized that there would be no thought of enlargement until weaker current members got well. Bell did not that Houston, Dallas, Miami, Buffalo, Louisville, Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston and Denver had approached him with varying offers for franchises, and a number of them, he said, would "pay pretty good money". Whether any independent promoter could assemble these cities and others in a rival league on the NFL level is a matter that would have to be proved. There have been mysterious projected new leagues from time to time. Most recently a New York attorney, Lewis Randall, stated that he aimed to launch the International Football League by 1960. Randall, however, did not specify membership or ownership, and seemed most interested in blasting the NFL draft and contract procedure. Although the vital problems of amassing huge assets and providing proper places to play would be similar to those of a third baseball league, rookie football magnates would have an advantage, because there would be a pool of competent players immediately available to them. That is, they would be entitled to bid against the NFL for the many college heroes who are developed on the campus and hope to play pro. In baseball, the major league outfits must train their prospects, and that entails a financial gamble at the high school level. How many of those who are signed will click in the Big Show?....HIGHER TALENT BIDS NEEDED: Even if money and parks were procured for the new football league, the latter would remain at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the NFL for some time. The history of the powerfully-backed All-America Conference (1946-49) demonstrated that the newcomer would be forced to bid higher for talent, because the average collegian is impressed by the "old, established house" when it comes time for a job. Then there would be the colossal promotion and publicity task of convincing the public that the budding league truly was on a major scale compared to the NFL. That undoubtedly would mean opposing the senior circuit in the same cities, because the NFL is established in nine of the ten largest population centers in the country. Obviously, a good number of them would be needed for a "major" label. The NFL skips Boston, after two failures there, but embraces New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Washington and Cleveland. Most of the aspirants for new NFL franchises, and presumably many of those who might be interested in another circuit, are among the second ten in population...SEEN AS REMOTE POSSIBILITY: A most menacing threat to a projected league would be the ability of the NFL at any time to offer new or switched franchises to the top members of the rival setup. The selling point would be: Why gamble when you can be sure of the best? Whatever the prospect of a new circuit, NFL magnates generally view it as a remote possibility at this time. They certainly are not interested in discussing what they would do to fight a contender, until a group puts on the line a formidable sum of money such as the AAC amassed. That four-year "war" was the most costly in sports. Even with its lush resources, the AAC failed after having taken the NFL by surprise. Today, the old league is in much better shape, geographically and financially, than in 1946, and would take a lot more beating. Anyway, NFL moguls simply brush off the rival-league idea with the remark that the other fellows can go ahead - the field is wide open. The NFL will compete. It has what the new league would lack - experience. The present NFL is directed in the main by men who have devoted many years to football, with Art Rooney, George Halas, Paul Brown, the Maras, George Marshall and Dan Reeves most prominent. Even so, as Bell stresses, the entire circuit is not prosperous, although the commissioner would not deny that the top clubs are handsomely profitable. He points to two clubs in red ink and one on the borderline the past season, when the NFL hit its peak at the gate. A fourth club was saved only through huge windfalls on the road. In comparison, there was only one losing front office in the three seasons prior to '58....TOUGH SLEDDING FOR SEVERAL: The Chicago Cards, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers had a hard wrestle with the ledgers. The Green Bay Packers were saved by season ticket loyalty, for four games in their home town, plus big payoffs in California, even though they were not a drawing card. The Eagles actually gained in attendance last season after moving from Connie Mack Stadium to Franklin Field and might have been a financial winner with more success than a 2-9-1 record on the field. They may be on the way up, if Buck Shaw gets results in rebuilding line power. Rooney at Pittsburgh saw his Steelers go unbeaten through their last seven games, yet take a terrific buffeting at the gate through rain and the move to roofless Pitt Stadium from Forbes Field. The Steelers' owner has denied rumors of a shift, and will operate again in Pitt Stadium. However, he simply must receive more encouraging word at the gate if his club continues to show great improvement. The Packers are reorganizing their unwieldy executive committee and grabbed Vince Lombardi from the Giants as general manager and coach for the next five years. They have not been over .500 since 1947, although they have had a long list of prizes in the player draft. The Cards drew fewer than 100,000 to Comiskey Park last season, and were turned down by Bell in their efforts to move to a new location at Northwestern U's Dyche Stadium at Evanston, Ill. Bell upheld a long-established agreement between the Bears and the Cards limited the Bears to the north side and the Cards to the south side of the city, with both holding rights to play in Soldier Field. Dyche Stadium was considered within the Halas domain, since it is north of his Wrigley Field base. Now the Cards are fretful and unhappy. They do not wish to leave Chicago, but it is possible they will heed the call from Houston. Before that happens, they are waiting on a legal interpretation of the old pact with the Bears. The NFL seems to have settled on the status quo, aside from a possible shift of a franchise or two, and if a second league would like to enter the business, fine and dandy. The history of the AAC will be lesson enough to any challenging outfit to come into the battle of the behemoths well prepared with American money.
BENGTSON, COCHRAN NAMED PACKER ASSISTANTS
FEB 4 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - John Thurman (Red) Cochran, Jr., and John Phillip (Phil) Bengtson are the first two Packer assistant coaches hired by Vince Lombardi, the Bays' new head coach and general manager! Each newcomer will give the Packers a special peek at two noted Western Division foes, Cochran being fresh from the Detroit Lions and Bengtson likewise from the San Francisco 49ers. Lombardi announced Cochran's signing as backfield coach during a press luncheon at the Northland Hotel Tuesday afternoon. He named Bengtson as defense coach today...DOWN TO THREE: Lombardi also announced Tuesday that Tom Miller, the Packers' sales promotion and publicity director, has been retained. Earlier, he named Scout Jack Vainisi as a remainee. Thus, Lombardi is down to three empty positions - two assistant coaches and a business manager. A prospect for one of the coaching jobs is Nick Skorich, the Bays' offensive line coach a year ago. "I'd like to get him," Lombardi said yesterday...LINKED WITH MCLEAN: Cochran's availability is linked with Scooter McLean, the Packers' coach in '58. Scooter and George Wilson, head coach of the Lions, were roomies during their days with the Bears and they made a promise that each would see that the other would always have a job. When McLean resigned here Dec. 16, Wilson snapped him up and dropped Cochran who was aware of the friends' long-time pact. Wilson had attempted to get Scooter when he was an assistant here. Cochran played halfback with the Chicago Cardinals for four years, including service under then Cardinal Coach Curly Lambeau, after starring at Wake Forest. He closed his pro career in 1950 and then coached at Wake Forest for five years. He joined the Lions in February, 1956...PLAYED WITH BRUHN: A native of Fairfield, Ala., Cochran is 37. He is married and has a daughter, Tracy, 2. Bengtson is 45 - the same age as Lombardi. Phil was an All-American tackle at Minnesota in 1933-34 and played next to Milt Bruhn, Wisconsin coach. Other teammates included Green Bay's Ray Antil and former Packers Bud and George Svendsen. Phil started coaching in 1935 under Don Faurot at the University of Minnesota. He went west with Clark Shaughnessy in 1940 and had an important role in the development of the famed Stanford Cinderella team that trounced Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. He took four years out of his 11-year Stanford career to serve in the Navy during World War II. Bengtson joined the pros as an assistant under Buck Shaw at San Francisco in 1951. He was highly recommended as the 49ers' new head coach when Frankie Albert was under fire last fall. In fact, Bengtson spoke for the club's field operations later in the season. Thus, when Red Hickey was named head coach after the season, Phil left the club...RECOMMENDED BY MORABITO: Bengtson, a native of Rosseau, Minn., was highly recommended by Vic Morabito, owner of the 49ers. Phil is here now looking for a home. And it will have to be good sized. Besides Phil, there are wife Katherine and four children - Jay 15, Bob 12, Betty 10 and Brian 8. Bengtson said he felt the Packers had a "good nucleus of defensive players - Dillon, the linebackers, Hanner, Gremminger and a year before last we thought a lot of Symank. We'll need a good leader back there (defense) - somebody who can appreciate the overall problems of everybody on defense. I suspect Dillon is that type." The new aides, talking about defensive plans in general, pointed out: "We figure to emphasize a good pass defense and that includes rushing the passers. The amount of red dogging we do will depend on our own defensive personnel and the susceptibility of other teams to it."...Lombardi was officially introduced to the press, radio and TV - plus the Packer board of directors, at the luncheon. The former New York Giant spoke briefly but said a mouthful: "I want it understood that I'm in compete control. I expect full cooperation from you people and you will get full cooperation from me in return. You have my confidence and I want yours." Lombardi's straight-to-the-point talk was warmly accepted. He minced no words and explained his position and/or stand on all questions. Under the corporation's new streamlined policy, the GM has been given broad powers. And Lombardi has a five-year contract. The Brooklynite said he's "not against anything that will help the Packers. I've never been associated with a loser and I don't expect to be now." He added: "The Packers are steeped in tradition, I expect, with plenty of hard work to bring them back to the position they were once at. I have held many letter wishing me well and I received one of them from a former coach here, Gene Ronzani. He told me what a wonderful place Green Bay is and how wonderful the people are here."
LOMBARDI WILL 'PICTURE' ENEMY NFL DEFENSES
FEB 5 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Leftover Vince Lombardi notes, news and views: The Packers new general manager and head coach isn't planning to drop an old sock in the Bays' bag of tricks but...Well, story goes this way: Lombardi started this business of
snapping "still" pictures of enemy defenses with a quick-developing camera; he was the first to use it with the Giants. The pictures were taken from the scouts' box which was directly above the Giants bench in Yankee Stadium. Each picture was dropped down from above in an "old sock," Vince smiled, adding: "We had quite a problem when we played out here (in 1957) because the press box is on the opposite side of the field from our bench. The old sock method wasn't any good." What did you do? "We used runners and it worked out pretty well." Lombardi says he'll use the quick-picture system here and "maybe we'll have to use runners." (Please note you high school track coaches!) The pictures are taken just after the ball is snapped to show the defense's movements. "We then show the pictures to the quarterbacks; it gives them a different view and a good idea of how the defense is reacting. Visual 'education' is much better than telling the quarterbacks the defenses." Lombardi said he'll put two coaches in the press box during the games - "one for defense and the other for offense." Also, he said, "our next opponent will be scouted in person."...Vince was asked about quarterbacks since the Packers could go to camp with five - Bart Starr, Babe Parilli, Joe Francis, Randy Duncan and Bob Webb. "That's not too many for training camp. The ideal setup for the season is three, with one of them as a defensive back or even a fifth man on defense. We're not overstocked at QB for training."...Trading! "I believe in trading future draft choices for proven pro players," Lombardi said, "but I have no trade plans right now. I can't think of trading until I see our pictures and the results of grading the players." He was referring to the talked-about trade involved George Shaw, the Baltimore QB...On the news front, Lombardi said he has rented the late Dr. Walter Tippet resident (222 W. Mission) in Allouez for now. He plans to purchase a home later. Lombardi and his wife Marie left for their home in Fair Haven, N.J., today. He has a few details to clean up there, including putting their home up for sale, before returning Monday to start work on a permanent basis. Lombardi expects to make an addition to his coaching staff next week. He already has named two aides - Red Cochran, who will handle the offensive backfield, and Phil Bengtson, the defense. Cochran is fresh from the Detroit Lions; Bengtson the San Francisco 49ers. The Packer chief hopes to hire Nick Skorich, the Bays' offensive line mentor last season, but he has a medical problem in his family that makes it difficult for him to go too far away from his home in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia and Washington are also interested in his services. However, Skorich may come up to Green Bay to help with the early viewing of the Packers' films of 1958.
BAYS MAKE BIGGER EFFORT TO LAND SMALL-COLLEGE PLAYERS
FEB 5 (Appleton Post-Crescent) - Jack Vainisi's escaping the "broom" in the Packer house-cleaning was no great surprise - particularly after Vince Lombardi dispenses some kind words about Jack in an interview the day of his appointment as head man. Vainisi is accepted in football circles as a pretty keen judge of talent. He has come up with a representative list of draftees in recent years, but too often the coaching staff failed to capitalize on promising newcomers - either keeping them pigeon-holed until the tag-end of the season or else trading them away. A recent comment by this corner that the Bays' scouting needed beefing-up was not aimed at Vainisi but rather at the club for keeping this vital function on a too-low budget. Up to now, the Bays have not invested much manpower or money as most of their NFL rivals. One of our particular gripes was the Packers' failure to exploit the small-college field, which has provided some of the league's biggest stars. In their latest draft, the Bays went into the small-school market with a vengeance, making at 12 of their choices from relatively obscure institutions as Bridgeport, Williamette, Albion, Ball State, West Chester State, etc.
QBS SHAW, DUNCAN OCCUPY PACK
FEB 6 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - It is noteworthy that the Packers have two top-flight quarterbacks on their mind today. There would be Baltimore's George Shaw, the NFL's champion bench signalist, and Randy Duncan, the country's top collegiate QB who happens to be the Packers' No. 1 draftee. It is probably more noteworthy that Jack Vainisi, the Packers' talent scout, is presently in Iowa City for the purpose of talking with the University of Iowa state. These might be the pre-signing chars - likely leading up to a discussion with Vince Lombardi, the Packers' new general manager and head coach. Lombardi, himself, is out in Fair Haven, N.J., where he's cleaning up many personal affairs - such as selling a house. And you are probably thinking how close New Jersey is to Baltimore? Vince isn't likely to act since he stated in his first visit that "I am in no position to trade for him until I've checked our present quarterbacks from the films. I don't know if Baltimore will wait that long." The Colts probably aren't in any hurry. Last week, Shaw told the Colts that he wanted to be traded. Reason: "So I can play," he said. George understudies John Unitas. Four or five clubs are interested in Shaw, so the Colts can wait. The packers, Giants, Eagles and Browns are believed to be Shaw-fired. Colt Coach Weeb Ewbank understandably would rather trade Shaw out of the Western Division. But Green Bay might be an exception, since there is some of that "if we can't win we hope you can" feeling between the two teams. Shaw could conceivably become a sixth Packer quarterback. Green Bay has three holdover signal callers - Bart Starr, Babe Parilli and Joe Francis. Rookies are Duncan and Bob Webb, the St. Ambrose star. Shaw could make it a half dozen. Lombardi should learn some interesting things about the three Bay signal callers in the 1958 movies. Parilli was at the controls for the Packers' only victory, that 38-35 business with the Eagles, in which he hurled four touchdown passes and completed 14 out of 25 throws for 199 yards. Starr was to blossom as the Bays' big gunner this year, but his major difficulty was crossing the goal line. He set two Packers records, for instance, in a narrow loss to Baltimore but scored only 17 points. He attempted 46 throws (a record) and completed a record 26 for 320 yards. But there were four interceptions, the last of which was turned into the Colts' winning TD...Francis was given a starting assignment in the windup at Los Angeles and squeezed out 20 points - six on field goals in the last half. Joe completed seven out of 13 for 84 yards, one interceptions and one touchdown. In addition, he ran 11 times for 87 yards.
SID GILLMAN PRAISES LOMBARDI: DUNCAN WAITS
FEB 7 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Sports folks around the county have been extremely kind in praising the Packers and Vince Lombardi for joining forces. It's certainly wonderful and gratifying. Latest to Back the Pack's Pick is Sid Gillman, coach of the Los Angeles Rams. Sid, who knows Lombardi well, commented thusly for Braven Dyer in the LA Times: "Vince is an absolutely top coach and will do a really fine job for Green Bay. When I was line coach at West Point, we tried to hire Vince. But he got away. That was about 10 years ago. (Lombardi later joined Army as offensive backfield coach and stayed five years.) Don't worry about the material at Green Bay. A lot of people think it's thin but it isn't. Their draft the past few years has been the best. Their ends are as good as any in the league and their quarterbacks are quite adequate. I know Lombardi will make good as head coach." Dyer recalled getting a call from an old Fordham booster, Tim Cohane, sports editor of Look magazine some years ago. "There's a young chap named Vince Lombardi who could do the Trojans (Southern Cal) a big job as their coach," said Cohane. "Plug him." Dyer said he pushed for Lombardi but SC went elsewhere...Randy Duncan, the Packers' first draft choice, will make up his mind on pro football in about a week. Packer Scout Jack Vainisi was in Des Moines this week talking with the University of Iowa quarterback. Duncan was due to enter the Army for six months at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., today, which would get him out in time to play...NFL Commissioner Bert Bell hopes to get the Packers' usual last two games on the west coast televised back to Packerland. That would give fandom a chance to see the club's entire 12-game schedule. What a treat compared to the pre-TV days!
BEARS, PACKERS IN 5TH 'EXHIBITION' TILT
FEB 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Vince Lombardi, the Packers' new general manager-coach, was at work bright and early today. And one of his first chores was nailing down final details on something of a history-making event - a Packer-Bear non-championship game. The exhibition between pro football's oldest and bitterest
rivals is scheduled in Milwaukee County Stadium Saturday night, Aug. 15. It will be the annual Shrine charity game. This will be a rare-bird game because pro football's version of Army and Navy have played only four non-leaguers in their 40 years of jabbing and the last two of those were in the nature of pick-up games. The first "exhibit" battle was played in Chicago in the mid-1920s and in 1934 the Packers and Bears played that type of contest in Milwaukee under the lights. Later in the 1930s, the two clubs played a couple of postseason games on the west coast. Until a few years ago, the NFL objected to exhibitions between teams of the same division. The league even put in a rule making same-division exhibitions possible only if each participant played one exhibition with each member of the opposite division. In other words, the Packers would have had to play all six Eastern Division clubs in order to get one same-division games. This rule apparently has been relaxed because the Western Division Rams and 49ers have been playing each other in a six-game exhibition card for the past four or five years. The Bears thus will meet both of their traditional rivals long the exhibition trail. They started playing the Chicago Cardinals several years ago in the south and likely will continue in '59...Red Cochran, the Packers' new offensive backfield coach, reported for work this morning. He drove in from Detroit. Also expected today was Phil Bengtson, the defensive coach. Cochran was backfield coach with the Lions last year. Bengtson handled the defense for the 49ers...Nick Skorich, the Bays' offensive line coach last year, has signed as line coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, replacing Bruno Banducci, who was released at the end of the '58 season...On the Randy Duncan front, Forest Evashevski, who was Duncan's coach at Iowa, suggested during a talk in Grand Rapids, Mich., that Duncan should forget about a pro career and stick to his law books. The Big Ten's top quarterback, who was the Pack's No. 1 draft choice, left Saturday for six months of duty with the Army at Fort Leonard Wood. He expects to make a football-law decision in a week. Packer Scout Jack Vainisi conferred with Duncan in Des Moines last week.
NAME BILL AUSTIN PACKER LINE AIDE
FEB 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - William Lee (Bill) Austin, 29, former New York Giant guard, has been named offensive line coach of the Packers. That was the announcement today from Vince Lombardi, the Packers' GM-coach, who now has selected three of his planned-on four assistants. Austin joins Red Cochran, offensive line coach, and Phil Bengtson, defensive coach. Still to be chosen under Lombardi'[s desire to have tow offensive and two defensive aides is a defensive line coach. Austin easily ranks as one of the youngest assistants in the league. He ended a seven-year career with the Giants after the '57 season and decided to retire because of a knee injury. Austin was one of Lombardi's prize pupils during his five years as offensive coach of the Giants. The 225-pound guard was line coach at Wichita University (Kansas) last fall and was still with the school when Lombardi provided the Packer opportunity. A native of Woodburn, Ore., Austin played college ball at Oregon State. He starred in the East-West Shrine game in '49, then played in the Hula Bowl, and joined the Giants as their 13th draft choice that fall. With time out for service in 1951-52, Austin put in seven pro seasons. Austin was the Giants' regular offensive tackle as a rookie in '49 despite the fact that he was only 20. He was shifted to guard the following year and played the position throughout his pro career. Austin made all-pro in 1954 and played in the Pro Bowl game in '55. He was a key part in the Giants' big championship '56 season. The new Packer aide gained some coaching experience in service. He was head coach of the Far East champions of the Camp Drake League in Tokyo. Austin, who is married, will report for work this weekend...All three of the Packers' assistant coaches are looking for living accommodations. Bengtson needs an unfurnished four bedroom house. Cochran and Austin need two or three bedroom houses or apartments. Cochran reported Monday...Bob Webb, the Packers' draft pick quarterback
from St. Ambrose, wants to take a drive to relax from schoolwork this week. So he decided to motor from Davenport, Ia., this week to look over Green Bay and maybe sign a contract. He'll probably see plenty of snow - if he gets through.
PACKER ALUMNI 'VERY HAPPY' WITH LOMBARDI
FEB 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packer Alumni Assn. is "very happy" with the selection of Vince Lombardi as head coach and general manager of he Packers. The Association, at its last meeting, voted unanimous approval to the new chief and presented the following tribute on the selection today via Secretary John Biolo: "The Green Bay Packers Alumni Association is very happy with the selection of Vince Lombardi as head coach and general manager. The executive committee is to be commended for its wise selection of Mr. Lombardi. We want it understood that we are 100 percent for the Green Bay Packers and Coach Lombardi and wish him best of luck in returning the Packers to prominence. We feel confident he can do the job and offer him any cooperation he requests. We sincerely hope all the Packer fans join us in "backing the Pack" with renewed vigor and hope; confident that the Lombardi plan for resurgence will pay dividends; and that the thrill of good, sound, and representative football will again be a part of the everyday life of the citizen of Green Bay and Wisconsin."
PACKERS ADD DRAKE PAIR TO DEFENSIVE UNIT
FEB 12 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Defense by Drake? It's a little early yet to create slogans for ;1959 but the Packers' latest signees are ticketed for defense and they're both from Drake University of Des Moines, Iowa. The newcomers are Charlie Anderson, the 22nd draft choice last month, and halfback Tom Newell, who was drafted on the 15th round as a junior eligible a year ago. GM-Coach Vince Lombardi, who announced the signing of the players last night, has slated Newell as a candidate for a defensive cornerbacker position; Anderson will be tried at defensive end. The Packers now have announced the signing of four rookies. Newell and Anderson join halfback Alex Hawkins, the South Carolina halfback who was the No. 2 choice, and guard Andy Cvercko of Northwestern, No. 5. Anderson was the biggest man on the Drake team at 6-5 and 235 pounds. He expects to report at 245 pounds. "Anderson is a big boy with good speed who likes to hit. We will give him a good try at defensive end." Anderson, 25, played two years at Fort Dodge Junior College before enrolling at Drake. The big tackle sat out most of his junior year with a broken ankle but returned to his senior season to be an outstanding lineman. Anderson was in service for two years and played on several Army teams. Newell's vicious tackling and slick pass coverage attracted Packer scouts. Newell knows his way around on offense, too. He played fullback and quarterback during his sophomore and junior seasons and was moved to left halfback for his senior year. His blocking was one of the chief reasons for Drake's passing success last year. Newell is the right size for cornerbacker - 6-2 and 195...Lombardi met press, radio and television folks from Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Athletic Club this afternoon. The publicity gathering followed a meeting with officials of the Wisconsin Shrine which is sponsoring the Packer-Bear exhibition in County Stadium Aug. 15...Weeb Ewbank, the Colts' head coach, told a convention in Chicago yesterday that he wouldn't trade quarterback George Shaw to a team in the Western Division. That's a switch because Weeb already has discussed trade, involving Shaw, with the Packers. Shaw recently asked to be traded...The Ripon Chamber of Commerce has invited the Packers to train on the Ripon College campus next summer. The CC invite offered an "ideal climate and adequate facilities." Stevens Point wants the Packers to return to Central State in '59. The Bays trained at Stevens Point from 1954 through 1957 and then trained in Green Bay in '58, with headquarters at St. Norbert
College...John Sandusky, former Brown and Packer tackle who coached the line the last two years at Villanova, has replaced John Bridgers as line coach of the Colts. Sandusky was scheduled to join Otis Douglas at Calgary but Douglas permitted him to withdraw when the Colt job opened. Bridgers recently became head coach at Baylor.
PACKERS PLAY FIRST FOUR LEAGUE GAMES AT 'HOME'
FEB 13 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers will play their first four league games at home on consecutive Sundays starting Sept. 27 and then play their final two home tests Nov. 15 and 22. This was announced by GM-Coach Vince Lombardi upon receipts of schedule information today from NFL Commissioner Bert Bell. Here are the dates, all Sundays, and opponents for the Bays' six home league battles: Sept. 27 - Chicago Bears; Oct. 4 - Detroit Lions; Oct. 11 - San Francisco 49ers; Oct. 18 - Los Angeles Rams; Nov. 15 - Baltimore Colts; Nov. 22 - Washington. The division of games between Milwaukee and Green Bay probably will be decided shortly. It's expected that four games will be played here and two in Milwaukee - a division that was started for the 1958 season. The major change in the 1959 card as against last year's involves the world champion Colts. Baltimore was Green Bay's third game during the last four seasons. This means that the Packers will test the champion Colts for the first time in Baltimore and the Colts won't invade Wisconsin until the eighth game...ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS: Washington will be making its first league appearance in Badgerland since 1952 and the Bays will be especially cautious. Green Bay invaded Washington for league purposes last fall for the first time since 1949 and came out with a deep scalp wound, 37-21. Assuming that the Packers will play in Detroit Thanksgiving Day and on the west coast for the final pair, the Packers' card is complete except for three road holes - Oct. 25, Nov. 1 and Nov. 8. Two of those dates will be with Western Division clubs - the Chicago Bears and Baltimore, and the third will be an Eastern Division club. The schedule calls for home and home with teams in the same division and two games with teams of the opposite division. The most interesting Eastern foe would be the New York Giants, since Lombardi is fresh from that club. And the Packers haven't played in New York since 1952. Each team announces its own home schedule. Thus, makeup of the Packers' complete 12-game card will have to wait until the other clubs reveal their cards. Lombardi feels the schedule is extremely tough all the way but he got one wish. He pointed out earlier that "it would be better if we didn't have to play those four tough ones right in a row." He was referring to the Bears, Lions, Colts and Rams. The 49ers replaced the Colts in the first four but right today the Golden Gaters look as rough as any of them...The schedule settlement was quite an eye-opener this morning for Lombardi after an interesting day in Milwaukee Thursday by a long night on the way home. The 8:35 North Western never left the Milwaukee launching pad until close to 11. On the way home, the train hit a car near Bellevue. It was 2 o'clock this morning when the Packer party (Lombardi, Dominic Olejniczak, Verne Lewellen and Tom Miller - plus your correspondent) skidded into dear old Green Bay. Lombardi received an especially warm welcome at a press, radio, and television party at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, which followed a luncheon with officials of the Milwaukee Shrine. Herbert L. Mount, Packer director and Shrine game chairman, announced that contracts had been signed for the Packer-Bear non-league game in Milwaukee Aug. 15. It will be the 10th annual Shrine game and Mount expects it to be the biggest. Two seat prices have been established - $4 and $2. Sunday afternoon, Aug. 16, has been set as a rain date. The previous nine Shrine games produced $150,000 for Shrine hospitals, Mount said. Lombardi addressed the press group, which included Milwaukee and downstate directors, and went under the lights and tapes of every radio and TV station in Beer Town. Vince answered the proverbial million question and, among other things, revealed: "We are looking at game films right now, starting at the end of last season because the team that finished the season is the one that we'll start with. Joe Francis showed some possibilities. He's a little awkward at ball handling and moving out from under the center, but as you know he was a single wingback. I haven't formed an opinion yet on the other two quarterbacks. We only went through the last three games thus far. We're also grading each player on technique, speed and hustle. The only thing we can't tell from pictures is the heart the boys have." Lombardi was asked about Duncan and the coach said he expected word on him "almost any time now. He said last week he wanted a week to think it over. We gave him a good offer - probably better than other clubs. We will not go any higher and now it's up to him." Lombardi said he felt that Duncan's father "would rather he didn't play pro ball but the father would want him in Green Bay if he decides to play." The coach said Duncan would need at least a year of seasoning "before he would be of any help to us." He indicated that he's still interested in George Shaw, the Baltimore QB who asked to be traded, but that he won't decide on Shaw until he gets a good look at Francis, Babe Parilli and Bart Starr in the films...MILWAUKEE BRIEFS: Don Hutson, the Packers' immortal end, came up from Racine to meet Lombardi. Incidentally, Hutson is not (repeat not) ill. Buckets Goldenberg was among the Milwaukee directors who wished Vince well...The Bays are scheduled to play the Giants in an exhibition in Bangor, Maine...It was like old home week for Chuck Capaldo of the AP. He and Vince hail from the same New Jersey neighborhood...Milwaukee Director David B. Kuenzli was host to the Packer contingent for dinner at the Wisconsin club after the press affair.
PACKER STANDARDS SET FOR BLOCKING
FEB 14 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Packer quarterbacks should be happy to hear this quote from GM-Coach Vince Lombardi: "A quarterback should never get knocked down by a lineman. A red-dogging linebacker will nail a quarterback on a rare occasion but a lineman shouldn't get a quarterback." Those statements made at the Milwaukee press party this week represent good news for Packer Quarterbacks Babe Parilli, Bart Starr, Joe Francis, Randy (if) Duncan, Bob (if) Webb ad George (if) Shaw. Those words also represent a warning for Packer linemen, including the ends. Lombardi and his on-duty aides, Phil Bengston and Red Cochran, are grading the Packers in their 1958 games and one of the biggest and most important jobs is investigating the offensive blocking. Special note is given to blocking for the passer and blocking for the runner. Certain standards have been set forth on grading the offensive blocking. All linemen, including the tackles, guards and centers, should have 85 percent success on pass blocking, Lombardi said. On running plays, the centers should be 70 percent successful, the guard 60 percent, the tackles 65 percent and the ends 55 percent. The guards' percentage is so low because many of their blocks have to be made while pulling out and in open field. Offensive ends block? "They will have to if our running game is going to work. Rote (Kyle, Giants' flanker end) is successful on 65 to 70 percent of his blocks. That helped the Giants," the coach said. The team's average on blocking for running plays should be around 60 percent. The number of minutes played by each athlete will be determined in the picture. "This and the blocking and other factors will help determine a player's salary," he said...It's too early to fret and fume, but Lombardi is a bit concerned over how the Bays will look in the first game next summer. That battle happens to be against the always-hungry Bears in the Shrine game in Milwaukee Aug. 15. "Ugh," Lombardi stated, "I remember when we first put in a new system with the Giants in 1954 and we got the Los Angeles Rams in the first game. It was terrible. Everybody was mixed up." Lombardi will be installing his own slot-less formation in camp next summer...The new Packer chief was amazed to notice the "good condition" look about Don Hutson at the Milwaukee affair. Said Vince: "You look like you're ready to play right now." Don quipped back, "I'm ready to eat right now," as he surveyed a load of shrimp. Hutson said he was flooded with telephone calls and letters from people all over the country inquiring about his health. "They got me dying," Don said, "and my mother even called me from down home and wanted to know." Asked if he had been at Mayo's for a checkup, Don laughed: "No, but maybe I ought to go if everybody seems to think I'm sick. I've never felt better in my life." Hutson developed a back condition two or three years ago but the trouble was found and he received a clean bill of health. Don went through 11 years of pro football without any serious injuries. His biggest trouble on occasion were his dogs - "they really bark at times," he used to say. Which is why he walked sometimes as if he was on eggs.
BEARS, LIONS, 49ERS, REDSKINS AT STADIUM
FEB 17 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers will play the Bears, Lions, 49ers and the Redskins at City Stadium. And the Rams and Colts in Milwaukee County Stadium. The division of Packer league opponents between Milwaukee and Green Bay, announced today by GM-Coach Vince Lombardi, means that the Packers will continue their 4-2 split between the cities for the second straight year. The Packers brought a fourth game in Green Bay in 1958 after attendance in Beer Town faltered under the 3-3 setup. The third game, usually played in Milwaukee, was shifted to Green Bay to avoid conflict with a possible World Series, Lombardi said. This gives Green Bay three consecutive games at City Stadium and the fourth game seven weeks later. The Packers ran into a tough situation a year ago when the seventh World Series game was played in Milwaukee on a Thursday before the Packers' game against the Colts. With little buildup in Milwaukee paper, due to the emphasis on the Series, the game drew 24,553. The Rams, who played here in 1958, went back to Milwaukee in an alternating move with the other West Coast club. The 49ers played here the last time in 1956, winning a 17-16 decision...ROAD GAMES INDEFINITE: The Redskins' appearance here is history-making because George Marshall's Washingtons never played a league game in Green Bay. The club has been here for non-leaguers but any Wisconsin league games involving the Packers and Redskins were always played in Milwaukee. Baltimore will be making its sixth straight appearance in Milwaukee. The Colts last played in Green Bay in 1953 and started showing up in Milwaukee in 1954. The Packers' six road league games are still indefinite, although reportedly they are scheduled to play in Detroit Thanksgiving Day and on the West Coast for the two-game league-season windup. All of this leaved three holes for engagements at the Chicago Bears, Baltimore and one Eastern Division club. The open dates are the consecutive Sundays of Oct. 25, Nov. 1 and Nov. 8...One of the Milwaukee games might be played on Saturday night. Two reasons could be involved - television and the fact that Milwaukee has been a better draw at night for the Pack...Lombardi was informed of Tim Mara's death at 2 o'clock this morning by long distance telephone. He will leave Thursday to attend the funeral of the Giants' owner and founder. Lombardi, who had been with the Giants for five years, paid tribute to his former employer today as "a great old man, a hard nosed guy and one of the real men in pro football. The league lost one of its founders." The Packer chief, who had intended to leave Friday, will be gone for about a week to complete the process of moving his family from his home in Fair Haven, N.J., to Green Bay. He has rented the Tippet resident in Allouez. The family will live there until a home is purchased...Dan Currie, the Packers' big linebacker who did so well as a rookie last year, was expected in Green Bay for a visit with Packer coaches today. He's coming over from his home in Detroit...Packer draftee Dave Smith, the fullback from Ripon, was presented with an Associated Press Little All-America certificate in ceremonies at Ripon College Monday. The presentation was made by Packer Publicist Tom Miller.
COCHRAN, BENGTSON CAUTIOUS IN FORECASTING BAYS' FUTURE
FEB 17 (Appleton Post-Crescent) - Very cautious optimism and hesitance to criticize their Packer coaching predecessors marked the maiden Fox Cities public speaking venture of new Green Bay Packer assistant coaches Red Cochran and Phil Bengtson. Bengtson, new defensive coach, Coachran, offensive backfield tutor, and Packer Publicitor Tom Miller addressed a joint dinner meeting of the Fox Valley and Brown County Adjusters' Association at Stroebe's Island haven Monday night. Because they've been on their new jobs only about two weeks, Cochran and Bengtson couched their ideas in terms of their previous positions. Through last season, Cochran was backfield coach of the Detroit Lions, Bengtson was in charge of defensive operations of the San Francisco 49ers...PREVIEW FILMS: Bengtson said that after reviewing a number of the Packer films he felt that the 1958 coaching staff "did well with the material on hand." The assistants and Head Coach Vince Lombardi do not feel that the Packer personnel is at, or near, championship caliber. Bengtson, Cochran and Miller all asserted that building a winner is a painstaking process and one that takes more than a season or two. The new assistants revealed a knowledge of noteworthy Packers' tradition and expressed hope that they can help bring back long-gone glory. Both said they're happy to be in Green Bay. Coachran said that he thought the selections of Randy Duncan as the Packers' No. 1 draft choice was a good one. The Lions intended to pick the Iowa quarterback if he hadn't been chosen before Detroit's turn. Will Duncan sign with the Packers? "If he really wants to play pro football and has enough confidence in himself, he'll sign with us," Cochran opined. "As Coach Lombardi said, from now on it's up to Duncan." The new coaches have not given up on Bart Starr and Babe Parilli as possible Packer quarterbacks in 1959. "Who our quarterbacks will be next fall depends on how they, and the others, adapt to the new offensive formations which we will install."...'TERRIFIC ATHLETE': The Bays' Paul Hornung was called a "terrific athlete who can do anything you ask," by Cochran. Hornung, who has been a fullback during most of his 2-year Packer career, may be given a shot at the quarterback spot, and at a Frank Gifford-type runner-passer role, Cochran asserted. Miller defended Hornung against criticism he's received during his two seasons in Green Bay. "Paul is a very fine individual and one of the hardest working players on the team. He has taken a lot of criticism he shouldn't have gotten." Cochran doesn't think that the Packers' chances of getting Baltimore quarterback George Shaw are too good...MAY WANT MORE: "Weeb Ewbank (Baltimore coach) doesn't want to trade Shaw to another Western division club. To deal him within the division, Ewbank may want more than we are able to give him," Cochran, a red head with a crew cut, asserted. Coachran, former Wake Forest and Chicago Cardinal player, said he has answered the "which is best" question on Tobin Rote and Bobby Layne many times, "Physically, I don't know how you could find a better quarterback than Tobin Rote. But, Bobby Layne had a much better grasp of our plays and had the ability to break a game wide open. An ideal situation would be for Layne to call the plays and Tobin to execute them."...FINE OPPORTUNITY: The balding Bengtson, an All-American at the University of Minnesota who later coached at Missouri and Stanford, called his Green Bay post "the finest opportunity in the league since we have nowhere to go but up." "There is no reason why the Packers can't be built back up," he remarked. "We have a fine scouting setup and take no shortcuts, salarywise. We are very impressed with Lombardi." Bengtson said that he realizes that defensive end is a Green Bay weak point. But, rather than converting a player like linebacker Ray Nitschke to end, the Packers should try and strengthen the position by other means. "Linebackers are harder to develop than ends," Bengtson said. "It's very tough to strengthen a weak position in this league," he opined. "With the 49ers, our weakness was in the defensive secondary. You try to draft or two trade to strengthen a weakness but it's a tough job."...SPIRIT GREATER: Cochran asserted that "the spirit around her is greater than anywhere else in the NFL. Detroit is considered a good sports town, But, with 3,000,000 people, you should be able to find 50,000 to attend a pro football game." Miller told the adjusters that no decision has been made on either the Packers' 1959 training site or which of the six home games will be played in Green Bay and which in Milwaukee. "We'll probably have four games in Green Bay again," he said. "Lombardi will be one of the most popular men we've ever had in Green Bay," Miller predicted. "He's gotten a great deal of congratulatory mail and the club has received lots of it too, telling us what a good choice we've made. Vince has been terribly busy. He's trying to answer all those letters."
STATISTICS DON'T INTEREST LOMBARDI
FEB 18 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Official team and individual statistics on the 1958 NFL season are hot off the Philadelphia press. But Packer coach-GM Vince Lombardi isn't particularly interested in them. "They give us the total yardage but our real information on the past season comes from the pictures," Lombardi explained, adding: "Statistics of that type don't figure in our planning." Vince and staffmen Phil Bengtson, Red Cochran and Bill Austin are dealing right now in the "grades" of each Packer as taken off the films of last year's games. The Philly philberts reflect the Packers' 1-10-1 season. Lookee: Green Bay's leading ground gainer in 1958, Paul Hornung, finished 26th in that department in the league with 310 yards. By comparison, the Giants, who were coached offensively by the aforementioned Lombardi, had four backs who gained more than that - Frank Gifford 468 yards, Mel Triplett 466, Alex Webster 398 and Phil King 316. What balance! The Packers have had different ground gaining leaders in each of the last five seasons and seven in the last 10 years, starting with Tony Canadeo's 1,052. A quarterback, Tobin Rote, led the Packers in three of those 10 campaigns...The Packers weren't the worst rushing team in the league last year. Two clubs, Detroit and Philadelphia, finished behind the Packers who rushed for 1,421 yards. Compare that with Detroit's 1,360 and Philadelphia's 1,093 - not to mention the 2,526 yards stacked up by leader Cleveland! The Packers averaged 4.1 yards per rush, which is just off the league average of 4.2. Cleveland averaged 5.3 and Los Angeles 5.0...BRIEFS: Lombardi is interviewing a prospect for an assistant coaching position today. Three aides, Phil Bengtson, Red Cochran and Bill Austin, already are at work. Lombardi is looking for a defensive partner for Bengtson. The Packer GM-Coach will leave for the East Thursday, instead of Friday, as he originally planned, so that he can attend the funeral of Tim Mara, the Giants' owner and founder who died early Tuesday. Lombardi will move to Green Bay from Fair Haven, N.J., lock, stock and barrel next week...Linebacker Dan Currie is visiting in Green Bay, arriving from his home in Detroit Tuesday.
MUST 'PROVE MYSELF' ALL OVER AGAIN, GARY
FEB 19 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Packers Gary Knafelc and Tom Bettis have purchased home in our town and area, and Jim Temp is looking. Knafelc is on the West side and Bettis is in Alloeuz. Let Gary do the talking 'cause he's the public speaker, anyway: "We have a jinx to break, the mortgage jinx. Breezy (Reid) bought a home and got cut (when he was a player) and Big John (Martinvovic) brought one and got traded. That's what we face - a jinx." Never at a loss for words, long Gary continued: "You ought to see my mortgage. It's got a clause in it that says, 'Gary, you have to block.'" Knafelc long has been kidded about his blocking and the matter came up the other day when Coach Vince Lombardi said he planned to play both ends tight "and they'll both have to block." All is not hilarious with Knafelc, who was leveled midway in both the 1957 and 1958 seasons with knee (opposite) injuries that required surgery. "I've got to prove myself all over again," Knafelc explains, "because I haven't played a full season since 1956." Gary, the Cardinals' No. 2 pick in 1954, was obtained on waivers when Joe Stydahar went on a player purge. He caught five passes in '54, playing under Max McGee; nailed 40 (for eight touchdowns) in '55; and 30 (for 6 teedees) in 1956, with McGee in service. Max returned in 1957. This is it for Knafelc, who now is moving around on two patched but extremely sound legs. The three Packers mentioned in Paragraph 1 all are interested in Green Bay their home. Knafelc and Temp are both selling insurance, Gary with Northwestern National and Jim with Murphy Insurance Co. Bettis is in his third season with Interstate Steel. Temp hails from La Cross; Bettis from Chicago; and Knafelc from Pueblo, Colo. All three pick Green Bay as a good place to work and raise a family.
LOMBARDI NOW HAS 2 PACKER HOLES TO FILL
FEB 20 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Coach Vince Lombardi faced the task of filling two Packer gaps today following a double loss Thursday. The Packers lost their No. 1 draft choice, quarterback Randy Duncan of Iowa, to Canada and veteran guard Hank Bullough to the Michigan State (his alma mater) coaching ranks. Those developments robbed the Packers of (1) a regular starting offensive guard and (2) their No. 2 quarterback prospect behind veterans Bart Starr, Babe Parilli and Joe Francis. Bullough's loss will be tempered by the expected return of Bob Skoronski, the big offensive tackle whose presence could mean the shifting of Forest Gregg from tackle to offensive guard. The loss of Duncan may be offset by Francis who looked so well in spots last year and by maybe even the talented Bob Webb, the St. Ambrose ace. But the loss of the first choice can't be tempered. Lombardi, is his comment on the loss of Duncan Thursday, thought immediately of that first choice in his remarks: "Naturally, we feel badly on losing our first choice. He was given the best offer we possibly could have given - even a little more. Our offer was as good as any first draft choice could get. Evidently, Duncan did not have the confidence to play in our league." Lombardi was first informed of Duncan's decision when he landed in Newark, N.J., airport during a stopover. He was on his way to New York to attend the funeral of Tim Mara, former Giants' owner and Vince's former employer, before moving his family out to Green Bay from their home in Fair Haven, N.J. Duncan apparently has adopted a "get-rich-quickly-and-get-back-to-law" policy toward pro football in turning down a United States major league club in favor of $35,000 offer for two years from the British Columbia Lions. The young athlete, now serving a six-months tour of duty in the Army at Fort Leonard Wood, was quoted thusly yesterday: "I talked with scouts for the Packers and they told me it would take two or three years to become a good quarterback in the NFL. I don't have that much time. I only want to play two or three years and then go back to school and get my law degree." Thus, there is every indication that Duncan wants to get "set up" without putting much into the game. This might be possible in any other position but quarterbacks where the price in work and experience is high. The rewards also are high, though, judging by the $30,000 tag on Bobby Layne and a few others. Duncan told this writer shortly after he was drafted that "playing with the Packers and in the National League would be a great challenge to me." He said then that he was interested in attending law school but that "I wouldn't necessarily have to be a lawyer." Duncan will not attend law school in Canada. Duncan's decision was made known through his father, Hearst R. Duncan of Des Moines, an attorney, yesterday. Duncan said in Des Moines that he had never met or talked with Lombardi and added: "I don't know where he got that idea that I can't play in his league." Negotiations with Duncan were handled by Jack Vainisi, Packer scout, who acted during the period before and after Lombardi joined the Packers Jan. 29. Duncan is the fourth first draft choice lost by the Packers. Marquette halfback John Strzykalski of Marquette, in 1946, and quarterback Ernie Case of UCLA, in 1946, went to teams in the old All-America Conference, and Bob Gain, the tackle out of Kentucky, went to Canada in 1951. Later, draft rights for Gain were traded to Cleveland...Packer President Dominic Olejniczak announced today that the annual meeting of stockholders of Green Bay Packers, Inc., will be held in the Circuit Court room at the courthouse Monday night, March 2. Stockholders were urged by the Packer president to turn in their proxies so that pans to streamline the operation of the club can be completed. Directors will be elected and reports from officers will be received.
LOSS OF BULLOUGH GREATER THAN DUNCAN?
FEB 20 (Milwaukee Journal-Oliver Kuechle) - The Green Bay Packers lost two men Thursday, much publicized quarterback Randy Duncan, their No. 1 draft choice, and relatively little publicized veteran guard, Hank Bullough, and strange as it may seem, the greater loss perhaps was Bullough. Duncan cast his lot with the Vancouver club of the Canadian league. Bullough accepted a job as an assistant with Duff Daugherty at Michigan State. The facts are these: For all of Duncan's contributions to Iowa's cause in a Big Ten championship year, for all of the headlines he made as Herkimer Hawkeye No. 1, he had still to prove he could cut it with the pros. More than one Big Ten coach, when asked at season's end what he thought, shook his head. "A better than average passer, sure, but slow." "Not nimble enough." "What quarterback couldn't look great with a backfield like Iowa's?" Such were comments by the men who know college football players best. Bullough was a proven pro - the best offensive blocker in Green Bay's line...THE BIG MAN: It is never good to lose the No. 1 draft choice, of course. And there was always the chance, whatever some of the observations about Duncan, that he might have cut it in time. But Bullough? He was the big man in the offensive line and Green Bay needs offensive linemen today as much as any quarterback. He was 240 pounds of muscle and agility. He played last season despite injuries which not infrequently keep men out of the lineup. Bullough will not be easily replaced, Duncan might be. Vince Lombardi, in fact, indicated even before Duncan made his choice that he did not think the Hawkeye would get to play a great deal his first year. He touched on the same things when he learned in New York what Duncan had done. "Evidently he didn't have the confidence to play in our league," Lombardi said. It's quite a jump from college rank to the pros...BASS FOR BAIT: What might have been, if the Packers had drafted differently at the December meeting at which they took Duncan, provides some food for thought - and this isn't exactly second guessing. The point was made before the draft. Suppose in what was a lean draft year generally, they had taken with their first choice the man they knew the player rich Los Angeles Rams wanted badly and got themselves on their first choice - Dick Bass of College of Pacific. Bass was a junior eligible. Suppose, then, they had gone to the Rams, the player rich Rams again, and had said, "Here's Bass if you want him so badly, what'll you give me?" The Rams could and would have given plenty. They can't get out of their own way for the ballplayers they have and they run a preseason camp to cut down their roster from 80 or 85 to the maximum 60 permitted in regular camp. Green Bay could have got five or six men if not more. Ordinarily it isn't wise to trade your No. 1 draft choice. But the Packers presented no ordinary case after 10 lean years and the year 1958 was no ordinary draft year. What might have been, indeed? Where has that been uttered before?
STREAMLINING VOTE SET FOR PACKER MEET
FEB 21 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - A major item on the agenda at the annual meeting of the stockholders of Green Bay Packers, Inc., will be a request for approval of the administrative streamlining of the club. The meeting will be held in the Circuit Court room of the courthouse at 8 o'clock Monday night, March 2. Besides electing 15 directors and receiving reports of officers, the stockholders will, according to notice of the meeting sent out by Packer President Dominic Olejniczak, "consider the amendment of the Articles of Incorporation by eliminating the office of Chairman of the Board, one Vice President and changing the designation and duties of the officers from the Articles to the By-Laws. Further, to consider modifying the provision as to the directors in the Articles to read as follows: The number of directors constituting the initial board of directors to the corporation is three (3) and thereafter the number of directors shall be such number not less than three (3) as is fixed from time to time by the by-laws. Said directors may be classified as authorized from time to time by the by-laws." The group also will amend the by-laws in certain respects and act on any other matters that may come before the meeting. A two-third majority of the 4,732 stockholder shares outstanding is needed to approve the changes in articles and by-laws. Proxies were mailed to stockholders this week, and their immediate return is requested. The shares are held by 1,650 stockholders. The Packers will reduce their executive committee from 13 to six members under one streamlining plan. Hiring of a general manager (Vince Lombardi) and giving him complete authority was also part of the program.
HECKER COMPLETES PACKER STAFF
FEB 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers' coaching staff is now intact. And the group averages out to a youthful and energetic age of 37! Vince Lombardi, the Packers' new general manager and head coach, completed the unit Monday with the appointment of Norb Hecker, former Los Angeles and Washington defensive back, as the Bays' defensive backfield and offensive end coach. The Packer coaching setup follows with age and pro experience: Lombardi, 45, head coach, five years with New York Giants as assistant coach; Bill Austin, 29, offensive line coach (tackle to tackle), seven year as player with Giants; Phil Bengtson, 45, defensive line and linebacker coach, assistant with San Francisco past eight seasons; Red Cochran, 36, four years as player with Chicago Cardinals, three years as assistant with Detroit. Hecker, 31, three years as player with Los Angeles, three as player with Washington, two (one as player-coach) in Canada. Collegewise, Lombardi coached at Fordham and Army for five years; Austin one year at Wichita; Bengtson five years at Missouri and nine at Stanford; and Cochran five years at Wake Forest. Lombardi, who is now in the process of moving his family from Fair Haven, N.J., to Green Bay, said earlier he will work closely with his assistant coaches. With the Giants, Lombardi had what amounted to complete charge of the offense. Jim Lee Howell, the head coach, acted more in a supervisory capacity. This is the second all-new coaching staff in Packer history. The first was in 1950, when Gene Ronzani became head coach and made a complete break from the old regime. He hired Clark Shaughnessy (for a brief period), Tarz Taylor, Dick Plasman and Ray Nolting. When Liz Blackbourn took over in 1954, he retained Scooter McLean, who has been hired by Ronzani in '51. McLean, himself, stayed on in '58 - as head coach. Hecker, the Bobby Dillon type at 6-2 and 195, played in 86 straight games before injuries caught up to him last season as player-coach of
the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was trying a comeback after a knee operation late in the 1957 season with Washington. Hecker, a prep star in Olmstead Falls, O., won honors as a Little Al-American at Baldwin-Wallace in 1950 and was the Rams' sixth draft choice in 1951. He was traded to Washington with Ed Barker for Hall Haynes in 1954 but decided to play in Toronto. He joined the Redskins in 1955 and played three seasons. Hecker intercepted 28 passes in six NFL seasons and caught nine passes in brief offensive end duty along the way. The new Packer aide is presently living in Berea, O., and will report for work Monday. He is married and has two children.
NOTE AND NOTIONS
FEB 26 (Appleton Post-Crescent) - Have you noticed the surprisingly little crying that's been done over the football milk Randy Duncan spilled by forsaking the Packers for Canada? Perhaps this is because Coach Vince Lombardi had never gone overboard in his praise for Duncan (or in his personal efforts to wrap Randy up) and because several other football men expressed serious doubts about Duncan's stardom potential in the demanding NFL. Though Duncan was the best of a generally sub-par "draftable" collegiate QB crop, perhaps he lacked the tools to become a pro standout. Then again, maybe he does have what it takes. But that kind of academic speculation gets us nowhere. What's more serious than the loss of Duncan as an individual is the dissipation of the No. 1 draft choice. The last-place Packers, of all people, can't afford to lose a chance to beef up with one (anyone) of 1958's most eligible collegians. To invert an old saw, "Them that hasn't, don't git." The Dec. 1 Packer drafting team (Ray McLean, Jack Vainisi, et al) probably had no way of knowing that the Canadian lure would prove so strong and was sincere in its effort to get the Bays a big-name draftee. That's all very well, but this much is sure: if there is any kind of a serious doubt (even 25 or 30 percent) about Duncan's interest in playing for Green Bay (before the draft, pro clubs, of course, poll college stars on their intention) he should have been passed over. With their personnel needs as big as they were (and are), the Packers were in no position to gamble. They could have gone for such other equally-good first-round prospects as quarterback Lee Grosscup, halfback Don Clark, fullback Nick Pietrosante or even a "future" such as Rich Petitbon or Dick Bass. There is some reason to believe that Duncan wasn't against playing in the NFL, per se - only against playing with the Packers. Right after he was drafted, Duncan was quoted as hoping the Packers would trade him to the Bears or Cardinals. Maybe this trade avenue wasn't explored by the Packers - or maybe the fickle Randy didn't give them a chance. After all, he is a bit hard to figure. In a Milwaukee interview some time ago, Duncan said he wasn't sure whether he would play pro football, but that if he did, it would be with the Packers. Anyway, the Packers are left holding the bag (unless Duncan wants to "come back" and play in the NFL after a 2-year Canadian hitch).
LEWELLEN LEAVES ON SCOUTING TREK
FEB 25 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Verne Lewellen, the former Packer general manager, left today on a three-week scouting tour of the south and southwest. Lewellen will spend most of his time in Texas viewing spring football practices and contacting players already drafted by the Packers. He will meet with Packer veterans along the way. He also will tour Alabama and South Carolina. This is Lewellen's first official outside assignment from General Manager-Coach Vince Lombardi since Lombardi replaced him as GM last Jan. 28. Lombardi is undecided on Lewellen's future status- plus the position of business manager. Vince said recently that he'll decided later on the BM position. Lombardi feels he needs additional time to get acquainted with the Packer operation plus the personnel. He didn't know anyone in the Packer organization, except Jack Vainisi, before he came here...The Packer coaching staff will start work together for the first time Monday when Assistant Norb Hecker reports. Already on duty here besides Lombardi are Phil Bengtson, Bill Austin and Red Cochran. Lombardi is presently moving his family to Green Bay from Fair Haven, N.J...Sullivan-Wallen Post No. 11, American Legion, which asked Packer officials to resign at a meeting Jan. 13, indirectly warned Lombardi about the board of directors in a congratulatory letter to the Packer general manager. The letter, signed and revealed by Post Commander John N. Patton, follows: "The Sullivan-Wallen Post 11 of the American Legion congratulates you on being chosen coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers. We know that your ability as a talented coach and successful leader of championship teams will again place the Green Bay Packers in a position to challenge the best and to compete with honor in the NFL. The recent history of the Packers, however, paints a dismal picture. The American Legion shall continues its efforts to modernize the corporate facility of the Packer organization and to help place on the board of directors men with new energy who can, under your leadership, direct the Packers to future championships. In addition to these specific goals, the American Legion will cooperate and assist you in any way possible to insure your success in Green Bay."...United Airlines captain Ray Nicklas, a Green Bayite who was visiting here the other day, was getting the good word about Lombardi from Harold Goodchild, Press-Gazette classified ad manager, in a recent telephone chat. To which Nicklas answered: "You don't have to tell me a thing. I flew the Giants on their charter flights and I even sat in on some of their squad meetings. You've got a good coach. I know."...It's official. The Packers will play in Detroit Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26. Green Bay showed up in the announcement of the Lions' home games.
SECOND TETEAK IN PACKER FOLD
MAR 2 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Dick Teteak, one of three Wisconsin-born athletes selected in the 1959 draft, has signed a Packer contract for next season, it was announced today by Coach-GM Vince Lombardi. Teteak, younger brother of former Packer linebacker, Deral, will be a candidate for center and/or linebacker. He handled the two positions capably in the one-platoon system at Wisconsin. Young Dick is taller than Deral at six feet and 215 pounds. Deral, a Packer linebacker for five seasons, stood 5-10 and packed around 215 pounds. The Packers are not strange to Dick. A onetime star in the Fox Valley Conference at Oshkosh High, he never missed a Packer home game when brother Deral played in Green Bay, Milwaukee or Chicago. The first game Dick missed was when he made Wisconsin's varsity squad. Deral, now an assistant football coach at Wisconsin. recommended his younger brother to the Packers. He was chosen on the 15th round. Deral, incidentally, was a ninth round pick in 1952. Dick has been rated a tough, hard-nosed player - which was also typical of Deral. The other two Badger-born draftees are Dave Smith of Greendale, a halfback-fullback at Ripon College; and Bill Butler of Berlin, a halfback at the University of Chattanooga. On another front, the Packers' annual stockholder meeting will be held in the Circuit Courtroom of the courthouse tonight at 8 o'clock. The meeting will be open only to stockholders. Lombardi will report on his operations thus far plus plans for the future and John B. Torinus, Packer secretary-treasurer, will give the financial picture for the past season.
PACK NETS 70GS; VINCE 'HOPEFUL'
MAR 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - A profit of $70,106 on 1958 operations. A "very hopeful" talk from new general manager-coach Vince Lombardi. Election of 16 directors. And a lively discussion on changes in the by-laws! Those were the four highlights of a three-hour meeting of stockholders of Green Bay Packers, Inc., at the courthouse Monday night. More than 150 stockholders almost filled the circuit court room. Before the major action, Stan Wasiak, new manager of the Bluejays, spoke briefly and Lombardi introduced his new assistants - Phil Bengtson, Red Cochran, Bill Austin and Norb Hecker. John B. Torinus, Packer secretary-treasurer, read the rosy report on finances and pointed out that profit in '58 was nearly $20,000 above 1957 when the profit was $50,130. One of the major factors was that income for the games in Green Bay was up $135,000 over 1957. This was due largely to a fourth league game here - plus an exhibition. Player salaries were up $40,000 in 1958 over 1957 and the visitors' share of Packer home games was $24,000 higher than a
year ago. Higher salaries resulted from training camp injuries to Jerry Helluin, Norm Jarock and Earl Miller, who were paid for the entire season; plus additional salaries to replacements for Gary Knafelc, Hank Bullough, Carlton Massey, and Howie Ferguson, who were knocked out of commission by injuries during the league season. Lombardi, introduced by Packer President Dominic Olejniczak, who presided, gave a straight-from-the-shoulder talk and finished off with this firecracker: "I have been hired to do a job without interference and I don't expect to have any. If you don't like me - well, I don't believe that will happen." The new GM was given a rousing cheer at the finish. Vince led off: "A good football team is my No. 1 job and I am keeping that in mid at all times. I cannot make any predictions on the team because I don't know what kind of team I'll have. But I know this much: You will be proud of the team because I will be proud of the team." Just warming up, Lombardi added: "The Packers have many weak points but they also have lots of good points and it's around these good points that we will build our nucleus. We have finished grading every player in each of the 12 league games played last year and we discovered that some players who saw little action had high marks while some other players who we expected would get high marks got low ratings. I am now holding a clinic with my coaches and we are discussing every phase, step by step, of our offense and the kinds of defenses we can use. Hopes? I am very hopeful we'll win some games next fall - somehow, and someway." One new director was elected - Haydn R. Evans, who was named to fill the unexpired term of the late Louis Levitas. The 45-man board of directors is scheduled to meet in the near future and carry out plans to streamline the corporation by cutting the executive committee of 13 to six members as recommended by a special committee. A total of 3,525 shares of the corporation's 4,732 shares of stock was represented in person or by proxy at the meeting. Olejniczak called this "the largest ever to attend a Packer stockholders' meeting." The total shares are held by 1,650 stockholders. Fred N. Trowbridge, counsel for the Packers, explained in detail the proposed changes in bylaws and considerable discussion preceded the voting. When the smoke had cleared about 11 o'clock, the stockholders okayed: (1) changes in the articles of incorporation to place several sections in the bylaws including the designation of officers and the size of the board of directors and (2) changes in the bylaws providing for the continuation of the present 45-man board but eliminating the present offices of chairman of the board and second vice president. A provision was also inserted stating members of the board of directors who miss three consecutive meetings will be considered an automatic resignation.
PACK INKS BOB WEBB, LITTLE ALL-AMERICA QB
MAR 7 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bob Webb, the Little All-America quarterback from St. Ambrose College, has signed a Packer contract for 1959. And he'll get a "good" test during the non-league season. Packer GM-Coach Vince Lombardi made those announcements today and added another touch of news: "I have asked Billy Howton to come in for a talk on his future football plans." Howton was due in last night or today from his home in Houston, but may be delayed by the snowstorm. Billy had been considering retiring, and Lombardi wants to discuss the matter with him. Webb was the Packers' 11th draft choice in the pickin' party last January. He stands six feet tall and weighs 205 pounds. The Blond Bomber compiled a record a mile long with his passing at St. Ambrose. And "with a record like that he should show some promise," Lombardi said, adding: "We'll work him in during the non-league season. We also want to get a good look at Starr, Parilli and Francis then. Starr and Parilli will each handle a couple of non-league games and Francis and Webb will get plenty of chances." Webb set 10 new records in a brilliant career at the Iowa school and two of them were national intercollegiate marks - Most yards gained passing in four years with 5,114 and most yards gained in a single game with 326 on 17 completions out of 28 attempts. He set that mark in less than three quarters of the game. The 4-year total broke the record of 4,278 set by Bob Heinderdinger of Northern Illinois in 1948-51. Rated the No. 1 passer in small college football, Webb set these school records: Most passes completed in one game,
small college football, Webb set these school records: Most passes completed in one game, 19, vs. Western Illinois; most passes completed in season, 100 in 1958; most yards gained passing one season, 1,494 in 1958. One of his highest honors came in the All-American Bowl at Tucson last January when he was named the outstanding player of the game involving small college against big college stars...MILITARY BRIEFS: Linebacker Ray Nitschke goes into service this weekend for six months training. He figures to report to the Pack about Sept. 1. Halfback Jack Losch should be out in time to play next fall; he's been in the Air Force for three years.
PACKERS FACE GIANTS IN NEW YORK NOV. 1
MAR 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Another hole in the Packers' 1959 NFL schedule has been filled. The Giants announced Sunday that the Green Bays will invade New York Sunday, Nov. 1. That's an especially interesting development for Packer Coach-GM Vince Lombardi for two reasons: (1) Vince backfield coached the Giants for the last five years and (2) that's home territory to Lombardi, who was born in Brooklyn. The Packers played their last league game in New York in 1952, winning a 17-3 verdict. The next leaguer between the two clubs was in 1957 in Green Bay, with the Giants copping 31-17. With the Giant game, the Packers' card still has two game-less Sundays - Oct. 25 and Nov. 8. Each club is given first crack at announcing its home schedule, and the Packer foes for those two Sundays haven't announced their cards yet. Four clubs haven't put their games out yet - the Bears, Colts, Rams (who are too busy announcing trades) and 49ers. Since the Packers undoubtedly will play the last two games on the west coast, the missing dates probably will be filled by the Colts and Bears. The Packers normally play the Bears early in November. The two games on the West Coast have been reversed from last year when the Packers opened at Frisco and ended at LA...Bob Skoronski, the giant offensive tackle who showed promise as a rookie in 1956 before going into service for two seasons, is in Green Bay - as a civilian. "We plan to move here. We've got an addition to the family now and we're expecting in May. I'm looking for a place to live," Skoronski said here today. Bob officially departed from the military at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., last Tuesday. He played two seasons of football with Bolling and his team lost only one game during that period...Lombardi chatted with Billy Howton Saturday and Howton then left for Houston. Vince, who asked Howton to come in for the talk, had no comment on their discussion. Billy had been thinking about retiring. The Packer end, who is president of the NFL Players Assn., will be in Chicago in April when the player group meets with league clubs...Lombardi, Jack Vainisi and Tom Miller will take in the Journal Games in Milwaukee tonight.
PACKERS TO PLAY WITH 'EVERY FIBRE,' LOMBARDI SAYS
MAR 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "We as coaches, an organization and a team shall play every game to the hilt with every ounce of fiber we have in our bodies." Those were the last words spoken by Vince Lombardi, new GM-coach of the Packers in an address before nearly 400 persons attending the Traffic Club's annual Truckers' night dinner at Riverside Tuesday night. The big audience jumped to its feet and gave the Packers' new chief a rousing ovation. Those words spelled new hope and encouragement for the Packers' future and Judge Donald W. Gleason, responding as toastmaster, echoed the feeling of the audience with: "There can be no doubt in any of our minds that the Packers will go a different way (from losing ways). Mr. Lombardi breeds confidence that we will not follow the pattern of the past." This was Lombardi's first public appearance since taking over the club in January. Earlier, he addressed Packer stockholders and repeated some of him remarks last night. Lombardi said he has coached at all three levels and "professional is certainly much more enjoyable and interesting. And this Packer job offers a great challenge to me. I am looking forward with great anticipation to the coming seasons." The coach said he hopes to "give you an interesting offense. It will be different from your slot back offense of the past. We will have a split end and a flanking back. Much will depend on the personnel we have available. Whatever the personnel, we realize football is a violent game and that's the way we'll play it. I have always followed the words of General MacArthur who once told us at West Point, 'Gentlemen, there is no substitute for victory.' That will be applied here." Judge Gleason introduced Lombardi.
LOMBARDI REBUILDS PACK FROM 'GROUND'
MAR 13 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Vince Lombardi is really rebuilding the Packers from the ground floor. A few walls are coming out and some new ones are being built on the first floor of the Packer office at 349 S. Washington. "It will make for more efficiency," Lombardi, the Packers' new general manager and head coach, pointed out today. Two new rooms are being built with space salvaged from the ticket office and office rooms formerly occupied by Publicity Chief Tom Miller and Scout Jack Vainisi and a secretary, making three officers in all plus a waiting room lounge. Two of the officers will be occupied by Vainisi and Verne Lewellen and the other by the secretaries. Miller has moved to the second floor of the building and will have his office in a room adjacent to the coaches' office room. Off the coaches' room is a room for showing movies and conducting meetings. Lombardi commutes between two offices, as it were. His headquarters is an office room in the first floor (east end) of the building and a hall connects it with the other offices. His other work room is upstairs with his assistant coaches - Phil Bengtson, Red Cochran, Bill Austin and Norb Hecker. This kind of rebuilding presents no problem for Lombardi. He has started rebuilding in another way - wide coverage of spring football practice in the major schools in the south and southwest. Lewellen is in the midst of a tour through the southwest looking over spring drills, talking with draftees and veterans, and, in general, adding to the Packer "book." Also on the road is Breezy Reid, former Packer back and coaching aide, who is now scouting in the south. Reid knows the Southeast Conference area, having played at the University of Georgia...Lombardi looked over training facilities at St. Norbert College the other day and reported that "they're the finest you could possibly want." The Packers headquartered at St. Norbert College last fall for the first time and trained at their practice field east of the stadium...Defensive Aide Norb Hecker is looking for a three or four-bedroom unfurnished home to rent. The Heckers have four children. Persons with rentals can call the Packer office...Getting fed up with the weather? Defense coach Phil Bengtson, who lived in California the last 18 years, has competed the big job of moving to Green Bay. His family arrived just the other day and one of the first things he had to do was buy boots, coasts, mittens, etc. And spring is so close - yet!
PACKERS TO HEADQUARTER AT ST. NORBERT
MAR 18 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers will headquarter at St. Norbert College for the 1959 training season, it was announced today by Vince Lombardi, Packer general manager and coach. Arrangements have been made with the Rev. D.M. Burke, president of St. Norbert, for the use of Sensenbrenner Hall as the players' living quarters and other facilities. The Packers will move in about July 25 and leave early in September. Lombardi said "the facilities at St. Norbert College are excellent and are close to our training." The Packers will train at their practice fields on Oneida St., just east of the stadium. The Packers headquartered at St. Norbert for the first time last year - the first time the facilities were made available. Lombardi had received training camp invitations from several cities, including Ripon and Stevens Point, for the '59 period.
VAINISI NAMES BUSINESS MGR. OF PACKERS
MAR 19 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Jack Vainisi has been named business manager and Verne Lewellen administrative assistant of the Packers, General Manager-Coach Vince Lombardi announced today. Vainisi has been a Packer talent scout for the past nine years. He will continue those duties, Lombardi said, in addition to his new ones which will be similar to those for a baseball team's traveling secretary. Lewellen, former general manager, will handle special assignments, such as helping write radio and TV contracts, game programs and assisting Vainisi in scouting. In a letter prepared for season ticket holders, Lombardi urged Packer fans not to expect miracles in his first season, but he promised them "an interesting offense." Lombardi said he is "no miracle maker" and has "no rabbits in my hat" but he is confidence that with "hard work, intelligent organization and good assistant coaches I can bring back the Packers along that path of glory that they knew so well." He declined to predict how the Packers will finish in the coming season. "I would be out of my mind," he said. Lombardi admitted the club has "many weaknesses" but he added that Green Bay has "some real fine men" around which he hopes to build a squad.
LOMBARDI WOOS FANS IN LETTER
MAR 24 (Green Bay) - The Green Bay Packers are sending out form letters to season ticket holders with a personal message from Coach Vince Lombardi, saying, "I hope and believe I can bring back the Packers along the path of glory that they knew so well." The letter mentions the Packers' red-letter days in the NFL - days which have been few and far between since their last world championship in 1944. "It was here that the greatest pro player of all time was fostered and developed," writes Lombadi, who doubles as general manager. "I speak, of course, of Don Hutson. I want to you to understand I am no miracle maker;I have no rabbits in my hat; I have no illusions of grandeur, but with hard work, intelligent organization and good assistant coaches," his letter continues, "success will not avoid the Packers for long." Lombardi promises "an interesting offense. We shall feature a split end to one side and a flanking back to the other, with generous use of the option pass or run, providing, of course, we have the necessary personnel," the letter says, adding: "I would be out of my mind to make any predictions about this coming season. I wouldn't if I could. There are many weaknesses which I shall not enumerate. But I am far from disheartened....We have a nucleus around which we shall try to build."
PACKERS LEADING LIONS 5 TO 3 IN VETERAN LBERS; ANY TRADES?
MAR 26 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Detroit Lion Roger Zatkoff, the Mad Russian who made his pro football debut and reputation with the Packers, has announced his retirement as a gridder through his head coach, George Wilson. Also contained in the announcement was this: "The loss of Zatkoff will cut our linebacking corps tremendously and he will be a tough man to replace." Zatkoff's retirement leaves the Lions with three veteran linebackers - Joe Schmidt, Bob Long and Wayne
Walker. That points up the point of today's gospel, which might be entitled: "Green Bay Takes Wider Lead Over Detroit in Department of Linebackers." The Packers have five veteran linebackers, you and Coach Vince Lombardi know. They are in, alphabetical order, Tom Bettis, Dan Currie, Bill Forester, Carlton Massey and Marv Matuszak. The Packers are leading the Motors, 5 linebackers to 3. So you're wondering about a trade, too? Lombardi has some very definite thoughts on the matter of trades and he's quite aware of our five-link linebacking crew - as he pronounced today: "Linebacker is our strongest position. If we do make any trade, it would mean trading away linebackers. However, we're not trading good football players like our linebackers unless we can get good football players in return to help in other positions. Any trade would be made for the sole purpose of adding good football players. We aren't interested in draft choices now. There's no reason why they (some of the linebackers) can't be moved to other positions on our club, offensive guard or defensive end as an example. The idea is to get the 22 best football players, if it means shifting some of those linebackers to other positions. We'll want to see them ourselves before we feel they can be shifted successfully to another spot. We're shifting Paul Hornung to halfback, as you know. That's fine now but we'll want to see him at that position before we keep him there." Lombardi also mentioned that Dick Teteak, the University of Wisconsin rookie, will join in with the veteran linebacking crew. Teteak is a brother of former Packer Linebacker Deral. Three of the Packers' five veteran linebackers are home grown as it were - Forester, Bettis and Currie. Bettis and Currie were first draft picks in 1955 and 1958, respectively. Forester was the Packers' third choice in 1953. Matuszak, onetime all-pro with Pittsburgh, was obtained from San Francisco late last season after he helped the 49ers gain a divisional playoff berth in 1957. Massey came from Cleveland in a trade in '56 as a defensive end. He was shifted to linebacker last year and looked good until he injured his leg early in the fourth league game.
PACKERS SELL 7,000 SEASON TICKETS AT START; TWO HALFBACKS SIGNED
Mar 28 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Tickets and players! Packer Coach-GM Vince Lombardi parlayed this combination into some Easter joy, with these announcements today: (1) Approximately 7,000 season tickets have been sold already for the Packers' four league games at City Stadium and (2) two rookie backs have been signed. The season ticket total is fantastic because it represents more than one-fourth of the 26,000 record set in 1958. Less than two weeks ago, Lombardi sent out two letters - one telling about the season ticket campaign (with the renewal cards) and the other containing a heart-to-heart football talk with season ticket holders. Ticket Director Earl Falck and his staff have been extremely busy since. A fourth game was moved to Green Bay (from Milwaukee) a year ago and the Packers astounded everybody by selling more than 26,000 season ducats. The Packers have four games here again this year - plus a brand new program headed by Lombardi. With the exceptional early interest, it's possible the season ticket record could be broken. The new players are Bobby Jackson, the Alabama quarterback who was the seventh draft selection last January, and Bill Butler, Chattanooga halfback who hails from Berlin, Wis. Butler was the 19th pick. Both are ticketed for defensive safety duty but "we'll see what they can do on offense, too," Lombardi said. Jackson, rangy at 6-1 and 185, was a standout as a defensive safety in the Blue-Gray and Senior Bowl games last winter. Jackson worked out of the split-T formation and passed 58 times for 29 completions and 408 yards - not to mention seven touchdowns. He set an Alabama record by having only two passes intercepted all season. The old record was three, set by Harry Gilmer. He rushed 143 times for 472 yards. Jackson was a prep All-America quarterback at Murphy High in Mobile his senior year. One of his coaches there was Ray Pelfrey, former Packer end. Butler is a little feller at 5-10 and 180 but Packer scouts discovered that he has a great amount of desire and ability to make up for his size. He was a regular left halfback at Chattanooga for four seasons and led the club in rushing in 1956-57-58 and in scoring as a junior and senior. Last season, he ran from scrimmage 95 times for 413 yards and caught 15 passes for 313 yards. Butler, rated the best all-around halfback in Chattanooga history by his coach, Scrappy Moore, scored six touchdowns last year. The Badger product is a possibility for kick returns; he lugged 10 kickoffs back for 331 yards and a handsome 33.1 average and 13 punts back for 91 yards.
RIGHT TO SIGN DUNCAN COSTS LIONS $12,000
APR 2 (Ottawa) - The Ottawa Rough Riders have received about $12,000 from the British Columbia Lions for giving the western club the negotiation rights to All-American quarterback Randy Duncan of Iowa, first draft choice of the Green Bay Packers, it was learned
Wednesday. When the Riders handed over the negotiation rights to the Iowa standout, they were given the Lions' first Canadian college draft choice - Ottawa selected Queen's University punter Jocko Thompson - and the choice of either cash or Jerry Janes, a U.S. end. Ottawa General Manager Jim McCaffrey said the club had taken a cash settlement. Janes, a two-year veteran with the Lions, had bought a home in Vancouver and did not want to come east, McCaffrey said. In all, the deal cost the Lions about $47,000 as well as a Canadian player. Duncan's two-year contract was worth a reported $35,000.
BETTER YEAR FORESEEN BY BAY LINEMAN
APR 2 (Neenah) - The promise of better things in the world of the Green Bay Packers was discussed by Bob Skoronski, offensive lineman, at the Wednesday noon meeting of the Neenah Kiwanis club at the Valley Inn. Skoronski, who has been in the service the last two years, touched on the modernization of the Packer organization and described new Coach-General Manager Vince Lombardi as "the supreme commander", one who is concise and "what he tells you, you'll remember." The former Indiana tackles said that the letter sent out by Lombardi to the season ticket holders typifies his character - he doesn't promise 12 wins but good football. Skoronski, who played with the Bays in 1956 and then spent 25 months in the Air Force, played with the championship service team in 1957 and 1958. He said he hopes to be a part of the Bay team and will be competing against three veterans and three new linemen for his position. In service, Skoronski played against Jack Losch, the Packers' No. 1 draft choice in 1956. The Miami halfback is expected to be out of service in three or four weeks. As for Ron Kramer, called by the speaker the finest competitor he ever met, his situation is indefinite. Kramer still is in service but his case is being reviewed because of an injury. The offensive tackle declared all the veterans will be back and that the team will use a new system minus a slotback, the offense used so successfully by the New York Giants and in which Lombardi had a big hand. He told that Paul Hornung probably will be used at a halfback to take advantage of his passing ability. Packer officials hope he may become a Gifford-like player. The speaker said that defensive ends were considered the Bays' weakest positions last year and he has his fingers crossed that some of the linemen may be shifted to those spots. Skoronski said he thinks a lot of Green Bay and th people in it. He pointed out he was born in Connecticut, went to school in Indiana and five days after he was out of service was back in the Packer city. He has been out of service about four weeks.
HORNUNG KEY TO '59 PACK HOPES: VINCE
APR 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Paul Hornung makes quite a story - in triplicate. The versatile Packer is in the news this week chiefly because he told Coach Vince Lombardi that he's looking forward to playing in '59, which is the final year of his three-year contract. Hornung was unhappy last year - along with everybody else, because of the losing season (1-10-1) and he made no bones about his dislike with losing. "Let's face it," Lombardi said yesterday, "Hornung is the guy who can make us go. He's a key player and much of our success will depend on him." So there you have an official opinion on the Notre Dame bonus plum. There's an old yardstick that claims it takes five years to make a good pro quarterback and three years to make a good pro at any other position. Paul is stitched in threes. He's coming up to his third pro season and his third pro coach. He'll play his third different position in three years - quarterback mostly under Liz Blackbourn in 1957, fullback under Scooter McLean in 1958, and now halfback under Lombardi. And he's becoming an expert in kicking three pointers. The 200-pound back from Louisville, Ky., can do three things - run, pass and kick. He's being shifted to left halfback because he can run and pass. Lombardi explained it this way: "He's a good possibiltiy as a pass-run option halfback, and we'd see what he can do. We know he can run and pass but much will depend on how quick he is. Quickness in decision on when to pass or run and where to run. Gifford isn't fast, you know, but he can decide when (and where) to cut the field in a big hurry." Vince was referring to Frank Gifford, the Giants' versatile back, who is the man who makes the New York offense go." Lombardi feels that Hornung has the earmarks of another Gifford. Watching the Packer highlight films the other day, Lombardi commented as Hornung stepped off a long run against the 49ers: "He has movements like Gifford." Hornung led the Packers in two departments last year - yards rushing and scoring. He counted 310 stripes on 69 carries for a 4.5-yard average, while sharing fullback with Howie Ferguson. He scored 67 points on 11 field goals, 22 extra points and two touchdowns, taking up where Fred Cone left off as the club's top kicker...SHIFTED AT NOTRE DAME: As a rookie in '57, Paul was out of the last three battles with an ankle sprain but still managed to finish second in rushing with 319 yards in 60 trips and produced the best average, 5.3. He played only three games at fullback and spots of six at quarterback. Shifting from position to position is nothing new for Hornung, At Notre dame, Hornung moved from quarterback to fullback on special occasions and as a senior played several games at FB when a broken thumb kept him from ball handling or passing at QB. Lombardi hopes to find the right spot for Hornung next year and keep him there.
PACK SEASON TICKET SALE NEAR 11,000
APR 4 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Ticket business is booming at the Packer office. The season ticket total for the Packers' four home league games is now approaching 11,000. Ticket director Earl Falck reported to General Manager-Coach Vince Lombardi today. The figure was at 10,050 Friday, and this morning's mail was to make the difference. Lombardi is particularly impressed by the figure because no campaign has been conducted yet. He plans separate ticket pushes in Greater Green Bay and in surrounding communities. The object will be to break the all-time record of nearly 27,000 season tickets set a year ago. Most of the orders now are fans making renewals of their previous locations. The deadline on renewals is April 15.
PACKER COAST-TO-COAST TOUR COMPLETE, TWO HALFBACKS SET
APR 8 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers' six state, six-game, coast-to-coast exhibition schedule is complete. And to add an international touch to this yard, Coach-GM Vince Lombardi today announced the signing of a halfback who played in Canada for two years - plus one from the other "country", Texas. The signees are Jim Morse of Notre Dame, the 13th draft choice in 1957, and Ken Wineburg of Texas Christian, the ninth pick that year. The Packer non-league card is a travel agent's dream. The Bays debut under Lombardi against the Chicago Bears in Milwaukee Saturday night, Aug. 15. That's no problem, but the following weekend, on Sunday, Aug. 23, they battle the 49ers in San Francisco. Then it's up to Portland, Ore., for a week of practice and a show against the Eagles Saturday night, Aug. 29. The gang returns to the St. Norbert College training base for about a week of concentrated cutting, home cooking and studying before going East. The first game in East United States is scheduled in Bangor, Maine, against the Giants Saturday night, Sept. 5. The team will stay out East to get ready for the fifth annual tussle with the Redskins in Winston-Salem, N.C., Saturday night, Sept. 12. Now it's back home again to prepare the sixth state - Minnesota. The Bays play Pittsburgh in Minneapolis Sunday, Sept. 20. Those games are just for fun - unless you happen to be playing in them yourself. Lombardi hopes to stoke up some hot competition along the non-wheel (they'll fly) trail so he can get a good luck at the veterans and provide a better test for the newcomers. After Minneapolis, the Packers step on the fast track. First respected and honorable foe will be the Bears in Green Bay Sept. 27. Getting back to the players, Morse and
Paul Hornung were teammates at Notre Dame. Paul was the Packers' bonus pick in '57 and the two players were guests at a reception here in the spring of that year. Morse decided on Canada, however, and stuck for two campaigns of defensive halfbacking. He asked for his release after the past season for the purpose of trying American pro football - and received it. Lombardi says he plans to try Morse on defense - wing or safety. Morse is a rugged tackler and fast. He stands close to 5-11 and packs about 190 pounds. Wineburg decided to let nothing interfere with his education so he put off pro football for two years while he completed his studies. A 6-3, 200-pounder, Wineburg will get a whirl at both offense and defense...BRIEFS: Halfback Jack Losch, the Packs' top draft pick in '56, will be separated from the Air Force shortly. Stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base near San Rafael, Calif., Losch is raring to go. So is tackle Jerry Helluin, who has recovered completely from the shoulder separation that floored him for the season during the non-league game against the Eagles here last year...Vince Lombardi addressed a Packer Alumni meeting the other night and the Alumni responded with a promise of cooperation. Lombardi and Publicity Agent Tom Miller will be in Milwaukee today and Thursday. Vince will address officials and coaches at the Miller Inn tonight and he'll be on a Press Club Gridiron program Thursday night...The Packers came out with a tentative training camp roster today. Included among the 60-plus players is Volney Peters, former Ram, Cardinal and Redskin tackle.
MASSEY QUITS GRID; PACKERS SIGN PAIR
APR 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Coach-GM Vince Lombardi's first training camp roster is off the Packers press. And already there's a change. Delete the name of Carlton Massey, says Carlton Massey, who announced his retirement from pro football in San Antonio, Texas, Friday night. Lombardi commented today: "That's a definite loss. We were counting on him as a linebacker." Massey, 29, is at his peak. A five-year veteran (three with Cleveland), Massey was switched from defensive end to linebacker last year and was an immediate hit. But he broke his leg in the third game and was out for the season. Massey has decided to go into the ranching business with his father-in-law in Dilly, Texas...The Packer roster now contains the names of 67 athletes, including 28 rookies and 39 veterans. Two of the veterans have a fresh "check" in front of their names. They indicate that they are new signers - end Gary Knafelc, the long-geared pass-catching end, and Bob Skoronski, a 250-pound offensive tackle. Their signings were announced Friday...Knafelc is a key figure in Lombardi's plans. This lanky pass catcher will play the tight end position, with possibly both Billy Howton and Max McGee flanking. Gary is coming back with two new knees. He injured one during the '57 season and th other last season, each requiring surgery. He played in three games in '57 and five in '58. Knafelc, who played in eight games as a rookie in '54, and 12 each the next two years, hopes to make a strong comeback next fall. In 40 out of a possible 60 league games in his five Packer seasons, Knafelc caught 92 passes for 1,361 yards and 17 touchdowns. His best years were 40 catches, including eight for TDs, in 1955, and 30 snatches, including six TDers, in 1956...Skoronski is fresh out of service and raring to go. This 250-pound Indiana ace displayed exceptional possibility as a rookie offensive tackle in 1956. He spent the last two years working for Uncle Sam...Two players on the roster are listed on both offensive and defensive prospects - linebacker Dan Currie, who also will back up center Jim Ringo, and Alex Hawkins, the Bays' No. 2 draft pick from South Carolina. Halfback Alex is highly rated on both offense and defense. Now it's up to Lombardi and his staffmen to decide where Hawkins fits best. he's a swift runner, a tough tackler, and a pass defender, which means that he'll probably play defense once the thorough testing is finished...The roster shows four free agents and three of those are veterans - Howie Ferguson, Al Romine and Jim Shanley. The other non-draftee is Jim Yeats, a 235-pound defensive end who hails from Corpus Christi. Thirty-two are listed as defensive players, the other 55 on offense. The list includes nine Big Ten players - Nate Borden of Indiana, Jim Temp of Wisconsin, Norm Masters of Michigan State, Bob Skoronski of Indiana, Tom Bettis of Purdue, Dan Currie of Michigan, Ray Nitschke of Illinois, Dick Teteak of Wisconsin, Andy Cvercko of Northwestern. Twenty-four halfbacks are listed, but not one is from the Big Ten...The Packers have six first choices - plus the bonus pick of Paul Hornung. The top draft choices are Steve Meilinger, who was picked by Washington, Dan Currie, Tom Bettis, Babe Parilli, Al Carmichael and Jack Losch.
LOMBARDI SAYS HE'S READY FOR PRACTICE
APR 14 (Neenah) - Vince Lombardi, the new general manager-coach of the Green Bay Packers, has his preparations for the 1959 season so weel made that "we could go to camp tomorrow," he said here Monday. Interviewed after a luncheon talk to a group of Neenah-Menasha Packer backers at the Valley Inn, the hard-working Lombardi asserted that his two major preseason coaching jobs have been completed. One is the mimeographing of materials for each prospective Packer concerning the things that Lombardi expects from the man next fall. The coach calls this "a carryover from my West Point career." (Vince was an assistant six years at the military academy and the mimeographing of preseason instructions was an annual event there.) It was not done last year at Green Bay...SECOND TASK: The second major task is the grading of films of the Bays' 1958 games. Lombardi and his assistants have reviewed over 15,000 feet of movies. A "bonus" guest at Monday's affair was National League President Warren Giles. Giles was visiting his sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Miedke. Mr. Miedke manages the Valley Inn. Giles left for Milwaukee shortly after Monday's luncheon so as to arrive for a Monday night Braves' season "kickoff" banquet. The NL president, who attended the home inaugurals in both Cincinnati and Chicago, was to be on hand in Milwaukee today when the Braves opened their 1959 home campaign...OTHER OFFICIALS: Other Packer officials on hand were President Dominic Olejniczak, Publicitor Tom Miller and Assistant Coaches Red Cochran and Phil Bengtson. Asked for a prediction on the outcome of the NFL flag race, Giles said "you could pick the name of the pennant winner out of a hat this year." He called the Dodgers the most improved club. "The move to Los Angeles was a big one," he said, "and they've had a year to get used to it." He told the luncheon group that he felt right at home before a football audience because "our season opened in football weather." However, privately, he defended 1959's earlier opening day which he was "my idea."...MASTER OF CEREMONIES: Packer Director Hugh Strange, who organized the affair, acted as master of ceremonies. Strange, a sharp critic of the Packer executive committee off-and-on in the past, said this in introducing Olejniczak: "President Olejniczak has sort of asked me to be a special adviser to the club. He put it this way, 'Strange, if I want your advice, I'll ask for it.'" The group of 100 men laughed heartily. Lombardi, who made a good impression here, judging by after-luncheon comments, told his audience that in the two weeks that Packers season tickets have been on sale, 15,700 have been purchased. "The New York Giants (Lombardi's former club) would do well to sell 15,000 in an entire season," he said. "We hope to reach 28,000." he asserted in calling the Packerland area "absolutely amazing." The bespectacled former offensive coach of the Giants said that "Green Bay may look like Grand Central station" next fall, there will be so many players coming and going. "Every time another club releases a man we want to have a look at him," he said. "Our No. 1 job in Green Bay is doing away with the defeatist attitude I know is there," Lombardi observed. "Defeatists won't be with the club very long." Asked, during the question-and-answer period, what the Baltimore Colts would want in a trade for quarterback George Shaw, the graying Lombardi replied, "My arm, your leg, and half of the Packer franchise."...WANTED SHAW: "I wanted to get Shaw when I took the Green Bay job," the GM-coach said. "But now I'm not so sure that our quarterbacks were entirely at fault for our offensive woes." Lombardi said that Green Bay has discontinued negotiations for Shaw. "Any man that can deal (with the Colts) is a better man than I am," he concluded. Where a successful pro team has to be about 85 percent perfect in its blocking to protect a passer. Lombardi observed, films showed that Packer protectors hit just 30-40 percent last season. "Sammy Baugh couldn't have thrown behind last year's line," was the way he put it. Pride is a big quality he wants his club to acquire. "It's the difference between a top player and an average player," he said...NEEDS BOLSTERING: The club's sagging defense needs a lot of bolstering, the coach observed. "The offensive team shouldn't have to go 80 or 90 yards for a touchdown every time it gets the ball. We have some real fine players, but we lack depth," he went on. He repeated an earlier statement that Paul Hornung is the club's "key man" and also cited 1958 rookie Jim Taylor for special mention among last year's backs. Other offensive players who he says he hopes to build around included interior linemen Forrest Gregg, Jerry Kramer and Jim Ringo and end Max McGee. "Ringo is as good as there is," he observed. "Howie Ferguson is one our best men but he's prone to injury," Lombardi went on. Defensive end Jim Temp is "a real strong boy," the coach remarked. Top prospects among the clubs' rookies, Lombardi feels, are Boyd Dowler, as an offensive end; Alex Hawkins, as a defensive or offensive halfback; and Andy Cvercko, as an offensive guard. Concerning possible trades, Vince would say only (with a smile), "we won't stand still." He called the completion of the film-grading and mimeographing of instructions "a load off of our minds." He and his assistants are now in the process of studying opponents. The first combination general manager-coach in Packer history is very busy these days, too, in the GM role. He is doing the arranging for exhibition games, including travel and hotel arrangements. And, he has to sign all payroll checks.
PACKER TICKET SALE OVER 19,000
APR 17 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packer season ticket sale has passed the 19,000 mark, Ticket Director Earl Falck announced today. And, better yet, Falck reported that the total includes "many new requests for season tickets." In view of the new buyers, Falck urged regular ticket holders to get their renewals back as soon as possible. Vince Lombardi, the Packers' new general manager and coach, is highly pleased with the ticket results - especially since no drive has been conducted yet. The start of the season ticket sale was announced with a straight-from-the-shoulder letter from Lombardi several weeks ago. Renewal cards were included in the letters. The Packers are well ahead of the pace set a year ago, when a record 27,0000-plus seasons were sold for the four games in City Stadium. A fourth game was moved from Milwaukee a year ago and four will be played here this year. As of now, the Packers are only 13,150 season tickets short of selling the entire stadium out for the four games!
STARR, DAN CURRIE SIGN; VINCE, BROWN TALK TRADE
APR 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bart Starr and Dan Currie, two of Vince Lombardi's "reasons why," have returned their signed contract, it was announced today by the Packer coach. Starr, the darkhorse candidate from the University of Alabama, is starting his fourth season. Currie, the Michigan State All-American who proved himself as a pro last season, is back for No. 2. Shortly after he took over Packer fortunes, Lombardi received an opportunity to deal for George (Trade Me) Shaw from Baltimore. A look at the pictures of past Packer games prompted Vince to pass up negotiations. The reason why? Starr, because he displayed plenty of promise despite poor protection. In fact, Lombardi explained that "there's nothing wrong with our quarterbacks but what a little protection won't cure." Fresh from the New York Giants, Lombardi has seen Starr operate in the flesh only three times and in each case Bart displayed some quality. In 1957, Starr completed 9 out of 12 for 96 yards and one touchdown in an exhibition victory at Boston and in a league game in Green Bay Bart completed 11 out of 27 for 151 yards and one TD in a Bay defeat. In Boston last September, Bart completed 8 out of 14 for 104 yards and one touchdown in a Packer victory. "He did an outstanding job each time he played against the Giants," Lombardi said. Bart started last season as the Bays' No. 1 quarterback but shared the job with veteran Babe Parilli. Rookie Joe Francis stepped in for the last two games. These three plus rookie Bob Webb of St. Ambrose comprise the QB'ing for '59. Though he set two Packer passing records, Starr slipped with the rest of the team (to 1-10-1) last year. He finished below 50 percent (49.7) on completions for the first time as a pro. As a rookie under Tobin Rote in '56, he had 54.5 and the following year he hit 54.4 on 117 completions in 215 attempts. Starr set both his marks against the champion Colts in Milwaukee - 26 completions and 46 attempts. His attempts broke Rote's 42 set against the Bears in 1954 and the completion figure bettered Bobby Thomason's 24 against Detroit in 1951. Currie is one veteran Babe Parilli. Rookie Joe Francis stepped in for the last two games. These three plus rookie Bob Webb of St. Ambrose comprise the QB'ing for '59. Though he
set two Packer passing records, Starr slipped with the rest of the team (to 1-10-1) last year. He finished below 50 percent (49.7) on completions for the first time as a pro. As a rookie under Tobin Rote in '56, he had 54.5 and the following year he hit 54.4 on 117 completions in 215 attempts. Starr set both his marks against the champion Colts in Milwaukee - 26 completions and 46 attempts. His attempts broke Rote's 42 set against the Bears in 1954 and the completion figure bettered Bobby Thomason's 24 against Detroit in 1951. Currie is one of the reasons why Lombardi feels he has a strong corps of linebackers. The new coach felt that Currie came along fast last year, according to the pictures. He probably will work in the middle spot next fall through Carlton Massey's retirement request could force Currie to an outside position. Dan also will understudy Jim Ringo at center. Dan is one of five (not counting Massey) veteran linebackers to return. The others are Tom Bettis, Bill Forester, Marv Matuszak and Ray Nitschke. Rookies expected to try out for LB'ing are Dick Teteak of Wisconsin and Joe Hergert of Florida...Lombardi, always in the market for a trade that will help the Pack, has been talking trade with Coach Paul Brown of Cleveland at the league meeting in Philadelphia. "We got to the point where we mentioned names," Lombardi told a newsman. Lombardi declined to add to that comment. Vince had said earlier that he has discussed trade with a number of clubs. The Packers and Browns have done considerable trading in the past nine years, all between Brown and past Packer coaches Gene Ronzani, Liz Blackbourn and Scooter McLean.
'MAGNANIMOUS,' VINCE
APR 24 (Philadelphia) - Vince Lombardi, coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, described the NFL's granting of fringe benefits to players as "magnanimous," Lombardi, who attended a special two-day NFL meeting here with Green Bay President Dominic Olejniczak, commented yesterday after Commissioner Bert Bell announced the players would receive a league paid hospitalization, medical, life insurance and retirement benefit program. "I'd say the league was magnanimous," Lombardi said. Olejniczak asserted that he thought the fringe benefit plan would be of mutual advantage. "It is good public relations for the league and gives the players what they wanted," the Packer president said. Olejniczak cautioned that there were many details of the plan which still had to be worked out. "We were given a very generalized description of the thing. We'll have to work out the details."
PACKERS TRADE HOWTON FOR QUINLAN, CARPENTER
APR 25 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Billy Howton Era in Packer football is ended! The Rice Redhead, who ranked as the No. 2 pass receiver in Packer history - next to the immortal Don Hutson, was traded Friday to the Cleveland Browns for the following two proven veterans: Bill Quinlan, a 245-pound defensive end, and Lew Carpenter, a 205-pound bread-and-butter halfback. The deal was worked out and announced in Philadelphia where the three key trade figures are attending a special league meeting - Vince Lombardi, general manager and coach of the Packers; Paul E. Brown, ditto of the Browns; and Howton. Howton is in Philly as president of the NFL Players' Assn. The trade puts Howton at the doorstep of Creighton Miller, attorney for the player group, who has his offices in Cleveland. Quinlan, 26, was the Browns' regular left defensive end in 1957-58 after a year in Canada and two in service football. Drafted fourth in '56, Quinlan played college ball at Michigan State. Carpenter, 26, was obtained for ex-Packer Roger Zatkoff in a trade with Detroit in 1957. Lew joined the Lions in 1953, played three years, spent '56 in the Army and then played two seasons with the Browns. Lombardi says Quinlan fills a "big need at defensive end." He had said earlier that the club needs strengthening at that position. Vince said he feels Carpenter is the type of fullback-halfback that will keep the Packer offense going. Carpenter is a steady type, averaging an even four years in approximately 400 carries. "Both clubs will be helped by this trade - we have definitely strengthened our ball club," Vince added. "Howton is an experienced and fast end, a quality football player who should give us the kind of help we need on offense," Brown said. He will replace Darrel Brewster, who is retiring. The departure of Howton isn't leaving the Packers high and dry for offensive ends. Blessed with three good pass catching ends before the trade, the Bays probably now will split the other wings - Max McGee and Gary Knafelc, who both played the left wing, while Billy was at right. McGee likely will go to Howton's spot, with Gary staying on the left side. These two will be pushed by Steve Meilinger, the veteran slotback, and three highly-rated rookie catchers - Colorado's Boy Dowler, the No. 3 draft choice; Ken Higginbotham of Texas Trinity; and Buddy Mayfield of South Carolina. Howton played seven seasons with the Packers and caught 303 passes - second only to Hutson's 489 in 11 campaigns. Billy broke two of Hutson's records, piling up 1,231 yards on catches in 1952 (Hutson's top was 1,188) and adding 257 against Los Angeles in 1956 (Hutson's single game top was 237 vs. Brooklyn). Howton caught over 50 passes in three different seasons - 1952, 1954 and 1956, but his production dropped off in 1957. That was Billy's first year without Tobin Rote, who had been traded to Detroit. Howton caught 38 in '57 and 36 last fall. Howton, 28, failed to lead the Packers in pass catching last year for the first time in his career here. McGee beat him out by one catch. Billy was handicapped some last year by his many duties as player prexy. Carpenter, former Arkansas star, was a sort of stopper back for the Browns. He joined the club late in '57 and averaged 3.8 yards on 83 carries, ranking second behind Jimmy Brown. Last year he lugged 73 times and averaged 4.2. He played defense with Detroit as a rookie in '53, but carried 241 times the next two seasons and averaged 4.4 yards per try. His best pass catching year was '55 when he caught 44 for 313 yards. Carpenter figures to toughen a backfield composed of Paul Hornung, Howie Ferguson, Jim Taylor, Jack Losch and Don McIlhenny. Lew hails from Earle, Ark., where he works for an air conditioning firm. He's married and has one child. Quinlan operated a sporting goods store in North Andover, Mass. He's also married and has one child.
QUINLAN WILL REPORT TO PACK AFTER ALL
APR 27 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bill Quinlan, one of two players obtained from Cleveland in the Billy Howton deal Friday, is coming to Green Bay after all. Quinlan was quoted Sunday night at his home in Lawrence, Mass., as saying that he had been considering and negotiating with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to spend a year as a coach. Reached by telephone this morning by Jack Vainisi, Packer business manager, Quinlan changed his mind and agreed to come to Green Bay. Quinlan, according to Vainisi who called in the absence of Coach-GM Vince Lombardi who is in New York, said he was bitter because he first heard about the trade when he read about it in a newspaper. Quinlan was traded along with halfback Lew Carpenter for Howton in a deal worked out by Lombardi and Cleveland Coach Paul Brown last Friday. Quinlan said he expects to report at 250 pounds. Quinlan, obviously upset by the trade, asked a Lawrence scribe: "Would you want to go from the Yankees to the Athletics?" Quinlan said concerning the trade. "It's the same going from Cleveland to Green Bay. That's a big factor in my thinking. The entire matter at the moment is pending on whatever contract Green Bay forwards to me." Quinlan added that he has a wife and 15-month-old son to consider in weighing the decision. Quinlan said he wasn't surprised at the trade because he received injured ligaments in his left knee in the fifth game with the Chicago Cardinals last fall, then suffered a broken leg two weeks later which finished him for the season. He took the cast off the leg in mid-January and still is using physical therapy and weights to strengthen both legs, but adds he expects to be in top shape by the fall. Quinlan said further that when offensive end Pete Brewster retired at the close of the 1958 season it was obvious the Browns had to find a replacement. Highly rated at his position, Quinlan played for Hamilton in 1954 after leaving Michigan State, then followed with two years of service ball at Fort Carson, Colo.
QUINLAN HASN'T SAID NO TO PACKER COACH
APR 28 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bill Quinlan "hasn't said he isn't going to play for us." That's how Packer Coach Vince Lombardi reacted today to the latest "word" from Lawrence, Mass., which is Quinlan's home. Browns Quinlan and Lew Carpenter were obtained in the Billy Howton trade with Cleveland last Friday during the league meeting in Philadelphia. Sunday, Quinlan said he was considering a coaching offer from Hamilton (Canada) and probably wouldn't go to Green Bay. Monday, Quinlan indicated that he would play in Green Bay and today said player, a defensive end, explained that "I haven't agreed to play with any club." Lombardi didn't sound like a coach about to lose a highly-touted 250-pound defensive end, as you will note in Paragraph 1. Vince added: "I had a good talk with him, asked him about himself, his family, his work, his physical condition and other things. We didn't talk contract because I haven't received his contract and papers from the Browns yet. We'll talk contract later." Conclusion: It's a good bet Quinlan will wear the Packer silks next season...This is the day Green Bay Packers, Inc., completes the process of streamlining itself, as recommended by a special committee last winter. One of the proposals was selection of a general manage. That task was carried out with the hiring of Lombardi. Next comes reducing the executive committee from 13 to a seven-man policy-making group. This job was to be done today at a meeting of the corporation's board of directors at the Beaumont Hotel. Directors will elect officers - a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. These officers, plus three additional directors, are expected to make up with the new executive committee. Under recommendation of the special committee, the secretary and treasurer positions would be two separate jobs. The new group would be more of a policy-making unit than an executive committee. It no longer would have any administrative functions. These are now being handled by Lombardi...Two more Packer veterans have returned their signed contracts - Bobby Dillon and Nate Borden, Lombardi announced last night. A week ago, Bart Starr and Dan Currie turned in their signatures. Dillon, a skilled defensive back and one of the top stars in the league, is returning for his eighth season. The one-eyed Texan made various all-pro teams in six of his seven completed campaigns. Dillon, who has an athletic equipment repair business going in his native Temple, Tex., returns with 51 interceptions under his belt for seven seasons. Bobby, the Pack's No. 3 pick in 1952, turned 29 last Feb. 23. Borden, the former University of Indiana tackle-end, is returning for season No. 5. Nate grew and worked himself into pro football. The Pack's 25th pick in '55, Borden has always been a tireless worker in practice and added 20 pounds to his usual 220 to better "accommodate" himself as an outside man on a four-man line.
PACKERS ENTER NEW ERA IN FRONT OFFICE
APR 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packer now have entered a new era, which really isn't so new! The administrative operation of the club was officially shifted Tuesday from the Packer executive committee to General Manager and Coach Vince Lombardi at a meeting of the board of directors of Green Bay Packers, Inc., at the Beaumont Hotel Tuesday. The board (30 of the 45 members were present) reduced the committee from 13 to seven members by secret ballot and then elected the following officers: Dominic Olejniczak, president; Dick Bourguignon, vice-president; John Torinus, secretary; Fred Trowbridge, treasurer; and Jerry Atkinson, Tony Canadeo and Les Kelly as additional executive committee members. The new committee will limit itself to policy making. The new program, recommended by a special committee last December, is designed for efficiency in operation that the corporation hopes will some day brin a winning team to Green Bay. The key figure is Lombardi, who with his staff, is thus empowered to make his own decisions and moves that he deems necessary to help the club. While the change seems revolutionary, the Packer headed in that direction when Curly Lambeau was leading the club in the late 1930's and up to the mid-40's. The club shifted back to an all-out democracy in 1950 after Lambeau resigned. While the club prospered financially, the Packers failed to come up with a winning team since 1950. The worst record in history (1-10-1 in 1958) prompted a definite need for streamlining. A committee was appointed by the board of directors to come up with a reorganization plan. That plan, approved last Dec. 16, was completed with the action yesterday. And it's significant that all five members of that committee are on the new executive committee - Atkinson, Bourguignon, Canadeo, Kelly and Trowbridge. As a result of its vote yesterday, directors dropped three long-time Packer officials from the executive committee - plus three others who were placed on the committee in recent years. The three figures are Lee Joannes, president of the Packers for 17 years; H.J. Bero, a member of the first Packer team, and Fred Leicht, an active Packer worker since the mid-20's. The other three are W. Heraly MacDonald, who was placed on the committee in 1954; Bernard Darling, 1955; and Carl Mraz, 1956.
HOWTON-LESS PACKERS PAD AIR ARM: INK MCGEE, HIGGINBOTHAM
APR 30 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - A veteran and a rookie - both key figures in the Packers' Howton-less pass catching plans - have signed contracts for the 1959 season, Coach Vince Lombardi announced today. They are William Max Mcgee, who has three Packer seasons under his belt, and Ken Higginbotham, the sticky-fingered Trinity University phenom who has decided to give up his senior year of college competition in favor of pro football. McGee led the Packers in pass catching last year, beating out the traded Billy Howton (to Cleveland for Bill Quinlan and Lew Carpenter) by one catch, 37-36. Max, who enjoys blocking and making hard catches, will shift over to Howton's old spot at right end while Gary Knafelc stays at left end. McGee will be returning with a new challenge, since he has always played in the shadow of the colorful Redhead from Rice, although last year Max beat out Howton in catches, 37 to 36; yards, 655 to 507; in touchdowns, 7 to 2. That was the first time anyone had edged out Billy in catches since he joined the Pack in '52. Maxie has always been a touchdown threat. He nailed 17 for TDs in his three years - nine as a rookie in 1954, one in nine games in '57 after coming out of service, and seven last year. In those same years, Howton caught nine - two in '54, five in '57, and two in '58. Howton caught 43 touchdown passes in his seven Packer years - an average of 6-plus per season. McGee averaged just under 6 in three seasons...FIFTH DRAFT CHOICE: McGee, who turned 27 next July 16, was the Packers' fifth draft choice in '54. He was a fullback and halfback at Tulane and was selected for the purpose of playing end. He was caught 36 passes for 64 yards and nine TDs as a rookie, more than justifying the selection and switch in positions. Texan McGee, affectionately known as Magoo to his teammates, also happens to be the Packers' punter. Max always figured that "Dick Deschaine gives me a complex about punting," but last season Deschaine was traded to the Cleveland Browns and McGee beat out Dick in the final averages. Max ranked fourth in the league with 42.3 on 62 boots while specialist Deschine was sixth with 41.3 on 50 kicks. Higginbotham (the name, that is) sounds like a start on a British cricket team but this resident of Texas City, Tex., nailed 17 passes for 347 yards and four touchdowns as a junior in 1958, indicating that his game is football. Ken is tall and randy at 6-3 and 205. The 22-year old is exceptionally fast and has specialized in making the tough catch.
PACK END OFFENSIVE ON; SIGN ROOKIE PAIR
MAY 2 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Two 235-pound defensive ends - one a free agent and the other the 25th draft choice last winter - have signed 1959 Packer contracts, Coach-GM Vince Lombardi announced today. They are Jim Yeats, a 6-4 non-draftee from Corpus Christi, and Bob Clark, a 6-4 draftee from Louisiana College. The two rookies are among a dozen ends being rounded up by Lombardi for the start of practice late in July, with six going on offense and the others on defense. Still unsigned on the defensive wings are Bill Quinlan, the Cleveland Brown obtained with Lew Carpenter in the Billy Howton trade, and Jim Temp, Packer veteran. Signed besides Clark and Yeats are Nate Borden and Charley Anderson of Drake, the 22nd draft choice. On the offensive side, wing signed are Max McGee a, Gary Knafelc and Ken Higginbotham. Still to come are Steve Meilinger, Boyd Dowler, and Buddy Mayfield. Dowler, the third draft choice from Colorado,
Packers’ coach Vince Lombardi’s second (and most famous) home in Green Bay has been featured widely in the media and can be found easily by doing a Google search. But the first home the Lombardi’s lived in upon their 1959 arrival in Green Bay is much lesser known. Pictured above are Vince Lombardi, Sr. (left), Marie Lombardi (next to Vince, Sr.), Vince Lombardi, Jr., and Susan Lombardi (on lower step). According to “When Pride Still Mattered” by David Maraniss, the coach “impulsively” purchased the home while in Green Bay to interview (and ultimately be offered) the Packers’ head coach and general manager position. This was with no input from his wife or family. One can only imagine the grief he received later. It wasn’t very long before they moved into the second home. (SOURCE: Packerville, USA)
Appleton Post-Crescent - April 15th 1959
and Mayfield, No. 8 from South Carolina, are in spring sports. Meilinger is being shifted to end from slot back in Lombardi's new offensive system. Overlooked in the draft, Yeats had been called "big, rough and willing" by Packer scouts. He played at the University of Florida before going to Corpus Christi. Clark is 26 and served in the Air Force for four years in the Pacific theater. An all-around athlete, Clark played service football and participated in four sports in Louisiana. He also competed in basketball, baseball and track...Len Ford, the giant Cleveland defensive end obtained in a trade year ago, probably won't figure in the Packers' plan for '59. The 33-year old onetime Michigan star was suspended by former coach Scooter McLean shortly before the Bays' last game in Los Angeles last December...Two present Packers and one immediate-ex will play with the Michigan State Alumni against the MSU varsity in Spartan Stadium May 16. The presents are Dan Currie and Norm Masters. The Alumni may call on Hank Bullough, who retired from football recently to join Michigan State as an assistant coach...TWO TACKLES: Packer Tackle and Mrs. Jerry Helluin are sporting another set of twins by the name of Jay and Jon. The youngsters packed 8 pounds and 7 ounces and 8-6 and were born April 6 - at 6:47 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. The Helluins also have twin daughters.
HORNUNG NEEDS TO WORK TO STAR, BRENNAN SAYS
MAY 5 (Milwaukee) - Terry Brennan, businessman from Chicago, has a couple of definite ideas about Paul Hornung, a football player from Louisville. "Give him plenty of work; he thrives on work - all Vinnie can give him. He'll be better for it. Halfback is his best spot with the pros. He's not a great passer as pro quarterbacks go, but he's a good passer - plenty good enough to throw at times from halfback." Brennan, of course, is the ex-Notre Dame coach and the aforementioned Master Hornung was his prize pupil. Packer Coach Vince Lombardi announced the shift of Hornung to halfback several months ago. Hornung, starting his third year with the Pack, will be going to his third different position. He was a quarterback mostly as a rookie; a fullback last year; and now a halfback. "That's the spot for him. We could have used him there but our need was at quarterback. We had him at halfback for the last few games and he was a wonder. He can do anything on that football field," Brennan said in a bull session following a sports banquet at which he gave the main address. Lombardi was one of the "changes" on the Wisconsin sports scene recognized at the banquet attended by over 300 sports fans in the Pfister Hotel Monday afternoon. Others honored were Liz Blackbourn, former Packer coach who now coaches Marquette; Johnny Erickson, new basketball coach at Wisconsin; Bud Foster, former Badger cage coach; Ed Hickey, new Marquette coach; Birdie Tebbets, new Braves executive vice-president; and John McHale, new Braves general manager. Lombardi accepted certificates honoring Packers Bobby Dillon and Jim Ringo as member of the United Press International all-pro first and second teams, respectively...Representatives of the state's four top teams - Braves, Badgers, Packers and Warriors - were each presented gold horseshoes as tokens of good luck...Blackbourn is moving around well on a hip injured "teaching those guards how to pull. You know, none of them know how to do it anymore. Now I'm the fastest man on the field." Liz was referring to a motor scooter he uses in practice...Packer President Dominic Olejniczak was among the guests introduced. Lombardi, in a brief speech, recognized the excellent sports picture in Wisconsin and promised that "we are determined to give the state a good Packer team."...The Packers will employ a cash bonus system, Lombardi told press and radio folks after the banquet. Special $$ awards will be given for blocking punts, intercepting passes, recovering fumbles and for other deeds. He said he also plans to adjust the salaries according to the length of time each man is on the field because "these are the men who must be taken care of."...Brennan, now in the investment business, told scribes that "I am no longer interested in college coaching." He added he would only be receptive to an offer from a professional team. "It would have to be on a part-time basis," he said.
QUINLAN, KEY IN TRADE, SIGNS PACKER PACT
MAY 6 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bill Quinlan, the key figure in the Billy Howton trade, has signed a Packer contract for '59, it was verified today by Packer Coach-GM Vince Lombardi. Quinlan announced himself at his home in Lawrence, Mass., yesterday, that he had agreed to join Green Bay. He made his decision after a conference with Phil Bengtson, Packer defensive line coach, in Massachusetts. "He likes the idea of playing in Green Bay and he's anxious to go," Phil said here today. Quinlan and Lew Carpenter were obtained by the Packers in the trade for Howton with the Cleveland Browns. Earlier, Quinlan said he was considering a standing offer to join the Hamilton Tiger Cats as an assistant coach. The 245-pound defensive end said he had been offered more money than he received with the Browns. The ferocious footballer said he "now considered playing with the Packers a challenge since they have a new regime out there." Quinlan is the second veteran defensive end set to go. Nate Borden joined up officially last week. Still unsigned is Jim Temp.
PACKERS INK HBS HARDEE, LARABA
MAY 7 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Two halfbacks, one for offense and the other for defense, have been signed by the Packers, it was announced today by Coach-GM Vince Lombardi. The newcomers are LeRoy Hardee of Florida A and M, the Packers' 25th draft choice who will be used on offense, and defensive star Bob Laraba of Texas Western, the Bays' eighth draft pick. Hardee stands 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. He's exceptionally fast and last year gained 704 yards in 87 carries - an average of 8.1. He scored eight touchdowns and caught six passes for 99 yards. Hardee, a junior, averaged 9 yards per try on 59 attempts and scored five touchdowns - three on runs of 95, 69 and 35 yards. Laraba has been rated the best defensive back ever turned out at Texas Western, and the school's backfield honor roll includes Jess Whittenton, Packer defensive veteran. Big at 6-2 and 1995, Laraba played quarterback on offense for the first time as a sophomore and led the team to its first Border Conference championship with an 8-1 record. As a senior, Laraba played offensive end for the last three games. Laraba never played high school football and played center as a freshman at T.W...The Packers staff will scout four spring college games Saturday. Business Manager Jack Vainisi will turn scout to view the Notre Dame-Old Timers battle. Coach Phil Bengtson will be at the Wisconsin-Alumni game in Madison and Coach Norb Hecker will look in on the Marquette contest. Coach Bill Austin will scout Iowa's windup game.
ROOKIE PAIR COULD GIVE PACKERS LIFT
MAY 8 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - If the Packers get surprise help in the line from a couple of rookies, it could come from Willie Taylor and/or Dick Nearents. Coach-GM Vince Lombardi announced the sighing of the 500-pound package today. Taylor is a guard from Florida A and M, and stands 6 feet tall and packs 235 pounds; he was the Bays' sixth draft choice last winter. Nearents, a tackle from Eastern Washington College, stands 6-2 and packs 265; he was the 18th pick. Lombardi is highly impressed with the pair. "We've had good reports on them and they really want to make it," Vince pointed out. Nearents, 24, is described as a mean player who is hated by his opponents. He won the heavyweight Golden Gloves championship in 1957 while in the Marines. Nearents told his hometown press: "I may not make it with the pros, but if I don't they'll know I've been around when I leave the training camp." This defensive tackle prospect is exceptionally fast for his size. Last spring, he ran the 100-year dash in 10.8. He's also a tennis player and ranked No. 2 on the net squad as a senior. Nearents hails from Pasco, Wash., where he played four years of high school football. He also played football in the Marines. Taylor comes from the "right" school and has the "right" given name. Florida A and M has two line stars in pro football - Willie Lee of the Bears and Willie McClung of the Browns, and hopes to make it three with Taylor. Like Lee and McClung, Taylor was selected on the Negro All-American team. W.T. was a key figure in making Florida A and M's ground game a success. He could always be counted on to open a hole...A San Francisco newspaper ran a sports like poll the other day and one question was this: Would you rather see a Ram-49er league game or a Giant-Yankee World Series game? The vote was 60-40 in favor of football...Four weeks ago, the story goes, a couple of Dallas businessmen opened negotiations with the Chicago Cardinals with the idea of moving that team to Dallas, but balked when met with an asking price of $3,000,000. There's a feeling that the NFL won't move into Texas unless the Lone State State can start two clubs there - probably in Dallas and Houston.
TRADED ROTE, HOWTON PILING UP PACKER MILEAGE
MAY 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - When two different Packer coaches drafted two Rice Institute stars as their second choices, they had no idea the Packer football mileage they were starting. Curly Lambeau selected Tobin Rote, a quarterback, as his second pick three weeks before he resigned as Packer coach in February 1950. Gene Ronzani selected Billy Howton, an end, in the No. 2 slot in 1952. Rote, then a senior, started pitching to Howton, a sophomore, at Rice in 1949. Both finished up as All-Americans. Rote turned 31 last Jan. 19; Howton will be 29 July 9. Both played seven years with the Packers; both threatened retirement; and both were traded for the purpose of rebuilding the Packers. And therein lies some of the mileage. Six players were obtained in those two trades and some of them could be around for another five years - long after Rote and Howton are retired. Rote went to Detroit in the spring of 1957 for halfback Don McIlhenny, tackles Norm Masters and Ollie Spencer and guard Jim Salsbury. Howton went to Cleveland for halfback Lew Carpenter and defensive
end Bill Quinlan. McIlhenny is 24; Masters, 25; Salsbury, Carpenter and Quinlan, each 26; and Spencer, 28. Rote was ready to quit midway during the '56 season - especially after the 24-7 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Milwaukee. His spirits picked up after an upset victory over the Lions in Detroit Thanksgiving Day and the Cardinals in Chicago in the next game. But he was always unhappy with moving the family back and forth to Green Bay, etc. He said many times "this is my last season." Howton had his retirement announcement just about ready for the press shortly after the '58 Bear game in Chicago. The Redhead is doing exceptionally well financially in the contracting business in Houston, and he felt he wanted to stay with it the year-around. He later decided not to make any public announcement. Last January, at the league meetings, Billy, who is president of the Players Assn., said he'd "almost have to play if they elect me president again." Howton took an active part in the last special league meeting over the player pension. The players probably won't elect until fall. The "retirements" had little bearing on the trading of Rote and Howton. Liz Blackbourn felt he needed an offensive line and Detroit was willing to add three players to the cause - plus a halfback, for Rote. The Bays won three games in '57; Rote led the Lions to the title. That didn't make the trade look good. Green Bay won one in '58; the Lions, with Rote, four. Vince Lombardi, the Packers' new coach, wanted two front-line players for Howton and got them. The key was Quinlan, a 245-pound defensive end. "We need help badly at defensive end," Vince explained. Carpenter will lend balance not to mention bread-and-butter - to the Packer backfield. When Rote went to Detroit, Packer quarterbacking was entrusted to a bright, young Alabaman by the name of Bart Starr. Lombardi is impressed with Starr - his throwing and intelligence, and feels that generally, there's nothing wrong with the Packer quarterbacking (Starr, Babe Parilli and Joe Francis) that better protection won't cure. That throws it right back to the offensive line. And fellers like Masters, Salsbury, Spencer - to name a few. If these three - plus McIlhenny, Quinlan and Carpenter - help the Packers produce winning football, the No. 2 draft choices of 1950 and 1952 will continue to roll up mileage...NO. 1 PICKS?: The Packers had two six-six seasons during the Rote-Howton regime - in 1952 and 1955. Rotes ranks as the Packers' all-time passer - 826 completions (7 seasons), 180 completions in one year ('54); 1,854 attempts; 382 attempts in one year ('54); 11,835 yards gained passing; 2,311 yards gained passing one year ('54); 335 yards gained passing one game ('51); 89 touchdown passes. Howton rates second to the immortal Don Huston in Packer pass receiving. He broke two of Don's record - most yards pass receiving one season, 1,231 to 1,311; and most years pass receiving one game, 257 to 237. Do you remember the No. 1 picks ahead of Rote and Howton? Lambeau selected Clayton Tonnemaker first in 1950 and Ronzani picked Babe Parilli No. 1 in 1952. Tonnemaker starred in '50, went into service for two years, and then never regained his old form in '53 and '54. Parilli never has matched his rookie year when he placed third in the league.
IS THIS THE YEAR HELLUIN, HANNER GET COMPETITION?
MAY 12 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Is this the year Jerry Helluin and Hawg Hanner get some competition at defensive tackle? Coach-GM Vince Lombardi announced the signing of veteran Helluin and tackle Ken Kerr, a 275-pounder out of Arizona State at Tempe, Monday night and added special word from Kerry that his should is completely healed. Helluin came to the Packers in a trade with the Browns in 1954. He and Hawg Hanner hardly missed a defensive play for four straight years, although Jerry was shaken up a bit in the third game in '54. Some competition was cooked up for the hard-working pair in '58 for the persons of J.D. Kimmel and Ray Krause, both obtained in trades. They went out the window quick like. Krause was awarded to Baltimore when, due to family problems, he asked that he remain the East. And Helluin suffered a shoulder separation during a non-league game and was out for the season, leaving Hanner and Kimmel. Helluin, a 275-pounder who will turn 30 Aug. 8, says he feels "great." For competition, the Packer old-time defensive tackles will have at least two veterans - plus several first-year men. Besides Kimmel, there will be Volney Peters, an eight-year veteran who saw service with Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago Cardinals. Among the top rookies on tackle defense is Ken Nearents, a 255-pounder. Kerr, the Packers' 14th draft choice last winter, is being figured as an offensive tackle - at the moment. The coaches could shift him in practice. The newcomer stands 6-2 and has what scouts called "real good speed." In sprints, Kerr could stay with the backs for 40 or 50 yards - which isn't easy for a 275-pounder. Kerr also can play offensive guard.
LOMBARDI NOW BETTER ACQUAINTED HEREABOUTS!
MAY 14 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Vince Lombard is a busy banqueteer these days. And the new general manager and head coach is loosening up with his talks. Lombardi is better acquainted. He has met thousands of people since coming here last January. Vince knows now just how folks in Packerland feel about the Packers. Learning that was part of the adjustment for the efficient workman from out East. And it's no easy task switching your way of living. "When the wife and I went out to dinner at home (New York and New Jersey) we'd get lost; here everybody seems to know us and I guess I know everybody. When I'd speak at a banquet (for the Giants), I'd never get home until 2 or 3 in the morning; here sometimes I'm home at 9:30," Lombardi laughed. Vince is enough "at home" here he feels he can get more personal in his approach. He addressed the YMCA's annual sports dinner Monday night and dropped these personal bits: "Our No. 1 problem is defeating the defeatist attitude. I know it's there. You can't lose that much and still not have it. You can do more than anyone else to defeat that attitude. You are close to the players. Let's make mole hills out of mountains and not mountains out of mole hills." Lombardi was referring to reported after-hours stories about a couple of Packers last year. He learned that the stories were blown out of proportion and actually untrue. Vince feels that such talk about the players is "not Christian." Lombardi and his aides, Phil Bengtson, Red Cochran, Bill Austin and Norb Hecker, have studied 20,000 feet of Packer film. "That's all we know about the Packers - what we see in the pictures," Vince tells his audience, "and you people probably know much more about the team than we do." Thus, Lombardi will go into training next fall with an open mind on the team. And this explains his feelings on the quarterback situation and the availability of George Shaw, the Baltimore QB. Like so: "I gave every thought to a trade with the Colts for Shaw, and I also studied our quarterbacks and the offensive line in front of them. I am not so sure that some of our quarterbacks' problems didn't result from the offensive line. Therefore, I
personally - not in good conscience - can't make a trade for a quarterback until I see the quarterbacks and the offensive line in action." Vince started his QB comments with this: "In order to win in this league you've got to have a good quarterback. That's a must. I'm aware of that." The coach's big aim - other than defeating the defeatist attitude - is defense. "We've got to bolster our defense for reasons of morale. When the other team is running over you, it not only hurts your defense, it hurts your offense," he explained. Generally speaking, Lombardi feels that the 1959 season with be a year of trial and error. And, has he stated on an earlier occasion, "We'll win a few games along the way - somehow!"
OVER 400 FANS JOIN BROWN-CO. TOUCHDOWN CLUB
MAY 14 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Brown County Touchdown Club - an organization designed to help the Packers - now has a card-carrying membership of more than 400 fans, it was revealed today by Club President Charley Cole. Honorary memberships have been given to members of the Packer coaching staff - Vince Lombardi, Phil Bengtson, Bill Austin, Red Cochran and Norb Hecker. The club meets on the second Monday of each month at the Hammond Studios, 599 S. Military, and presently is discussing an auction for the purpose of raising funds for various projects, which include taking underprivileged children to Packer and Bluejay games. The club will meet weekly during the football season. Cole said that "some day we hope to buy property somewhere and build a clubhouse. We're a non-profit organization and we're not a critics group." The club is open to any male or female 21 years of age or older. Membership dues are $1 per year. "All of our members are Packer season ticket buyers and we'd like to help the Packers in their drive to sell season tickets." Other officers besides Cole are Jack Ryan, vice president; Mary Heckler, secretary; and Max Lorry, treasurer.
LOMBARDI 'WISHES' FOR BIGGER KNOTHOLE AREA
MAY 19 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Vince Lombardi, the new Packer coach and general manager, made a special hit with the youngsters at the St. Agnes Father and Son Athletic dinner at Red Banks Monday night when he said during the address: "I wish we had 10 or 12,000 extra seats in that knothole section for you kids. We want you all to come out to the Packer games and help us win." The knothole section at City Stadium holds only 800. Youngsters 12 and under can get a season ticket for $3 (four games). Or they could; they're all sold. Lombardi, who addresses the annual Packer Day in Kaukauna tonight, said the season ticket sale has passed 24,000.
KAUKAUNA HOT PACKER TOWN
MAY 20 (Kaukauna-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Putting it pure and simple, this is a hot Packer town. Despite tornado warnings, severe electrical storms and rain, nearly 150 fans shoehorned their way into the banquet room of the Fox Valley Country Club dining room to hear the official football gossip from Green Bay Tuesday evening. It was Packer Day in Kaukauna. That's not all. Art Mongin, a Packer director who operates a drugstore here, said he's figuring on selling an all-time high of 750 season tickets for the Packers' 1959 schedule in Green Bay. That figure is more than 100 over the total a year ago and 500 more than the same here four years ago! The '59 season sale amounts to over $14,000 in ticket business! Mongin sells the tickets over the counter. In addition, he gets out and booms the Packers throughout the year. Packer Day is Mongin's production, the second annual event of its kind, and featured the appearance of 16 Packer family members - Vince Lombardi, Phil Bengtson, Red Cochran and Norb Hecker of the coaching staff; Jack Vainisi, Verne Lewellen, Tom Miller, Earl Falck and Merrill Knowlton of the office staff; Directors Dominic Olejniczak, club president Dick Bourguignon, Tony Canadeo, and "Jake" Stathas; and players Tom Bettis, Gary Knafelc and Jim Temp. They were guests of the Kaukauna Lions Club at dinner following golf. The program after dinner was open to the fans. Mongin served as master of ceremonies, and introduced Lombardi who presented all Packer representatives. The program opened with remarks by Mayor Doty Bayorgeon who gave the Packers a warm welcome. Lombardi stated flatly that "we are determined as an organization to give the people of the state one day a winner. Right now we know we have a weakness in depth but we have a nucleus of good football players. We need more good football players. They are hard to find but we will get them." The new coach referred to good football players as "winners," explaining that the New York Giants had no more than 20 good football players a year ago when they won the division title and missed the world title by inches. This indicated the scarcity of the real football player. Looking at the three players present, Vince reminded the audience that "these boys are those good football players we are looking for." During the question and answer period that followed his talk, Lombardi said he "definitely wants three quarterbacks and I hope to have one of them be the No. 1 man." A fan wanted to know if the ends would block this year and Lombardi looked at Knafelc for an answer. Gary pointed out: "I got a mortgage (on a new home he recently purchased) that says I must." Lombardi revealed, referring to big Temp, that "we had a man spying him at the Wisconsin alumni game; he's not as slow as we thought he was."
PACKERS GET MCHAN IN 'IF' DEAL
MAY 23 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Lamar McHan comes to the Packers on an "if" basis! This was revealed today by Packer Coach-GM Vince Lombardi following the trade that sent the veteran quarterback to Green Bay for an undisclosed draft choice Friday night. If McHan makes the final 35-player squad list, the deal will be closed and the Cardinals will receive the draft pick - probably a high one. If McHan fails to make the "35," he will be returned to the Cards and the deal will be nullified. Lombardi was pleased with the trade because, as he explained, "we have nothing to lose. If McHan makes it, we will gain a veteran quarterback, and if he doesn't make it we will retain our draft selection. It amounts to a free look at a good quarterback prospect." Vince added: "I feel very fortunate in being able to get him. The Cards thought enough of him that they wouldn't trade him to any team in the division. He's the best athlete in the National League. He goes 6-1, 205, and he can run." The addition of McHan swells the Packers' quarterback roster to five. The 6-1, 200-pound Cardinal joins Packer veterans Bart Starr, Babe Parilli and Joe Francis, and the good-looking rookie QB from St. Ambrose, Bob Webb. Cardinal Coach Pop Ivy, unless he has another deal going, plans to go with quarterbacks M.C. Reynolds, King Hill and service-returnee John Roach. McHan is the second top veteran traded by Ivy, who recently traded Ollie Matson to the Rams. Lombardi knows McHan - probably better than he knows the Packer veterans, since his former club, the Giants
battled the Cardinals, and McHan, twice a year in Eastern Division competition. McHan's first year was in 1954, which was Vince's first with the Giants. The former University of Arkansas star pitched 50 touchdown passes in his five Card seasons and completed 433 passes for 6,578 yards. He was just a short "pitch" from breaking three all-time Cardinal passing records set by the great Paul Christman. McHan needed 173 yards, one more touchdown pass and 20 more completions to snap Christman's marks. McHan led the Eastern Division in passing in 1957 and ranked fifth in the league in .58. In his best single game, McHan hurled four TD passes against the Eagles in '56, completing 11 out of 16 attempts. The rugged QB, who turned 26 last Dec. 16, is one of the league's better running quarterbacks. He lugged 190 times in five season for 652 yards - just under 4 yard per, and scored 11 touchdowns. McHan won 18 letters in high school athletics at Lake Village, Ark., and then gained All-American honors at the University of Arkansas - besides winning the Heisman Trophy. The Cards drafted him No. 1 in 1954. He is the third Arkansas grad with the Pack. The other two are Lew Carpenter, the back obtained from the Browns, and Dave Hanner. McHan recently finished a 10-week officer training school course for the National Guard. He will marry Shirley Boydston, sister of Cardinal star Max Boydston, in the near future.
PACKERS INK HB OPPOSITES, LEW CARPENTER, BROWN
MAY 26 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers today announced the signing of two halfbacks opposites - a low-drafted rookie from a small college and a highly-touted pro veteran who played on a couple of championship clubs. They are Tim Brown of Ball State, the Packers' 27th draft choice who stands 5-11 and packs 190 pounds, and Lew Carpenter, the former Detroit Lion and Cleveland Brown who came to the Packers along with Bill Quinlan in the Billy Howton trade. However, opposite the two players seem, they both will have a chance to make the 1959 Packers, it was pointed out by Coach-GM Vince Lombardi. Carpenter has a big edge in play-for-pay experience - 404 carries for 1,666 yards and an average of four per trip, plus 15 touchdowns. He spent his rookie season as a defensive back with Detroit in 1953 and then led the Lions in rushing the next two campaigns, piling up 1,019 yards. He spent 1956 in service and then went to Cleveland in the Roger Zatkoff deal. Lew has a reputation as a bread-and-butter back and that's exactly what Lombardi is looking for. Carpenter will be stationed at a halfback position. He's on the fullbackish side at 6-2 and 210. Though he has five pro seasons under his belt, Carpenter is only 26. He won't be 27 until next Jan. 12. He lives in Earle, Ark., and starred at nearby West Memphis, Ark., High before heroing in football at the University of Arkansas. Brown scored 59 points last year, including 54 on nine touchdowns. He carried 112 times for 551 yards and caught 10 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns...Big Andy Cvercko, the Packers' first draft choice, has been given the Big Ten Conference medal for achievement in athletics and scholarship. Andy, a 235-pound guard, is a B student in electrical engineering at Northwestern.
PACKERS A FOUR-PRO-QB '11' WITH LAMAR MCHAN
MAY 28 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Lamar McHan deal is nearly a week old. And we've been thinking: How the Bears didn't bid or get McHan from the Cards? Is the McHan deal a prelude to a new Packer trade? Did McHan asked to be released? And so forth! The Bears are quarterback worried; they indicated as much when they snagged Rudy Bukich from Washington late last season to augment Zeke Bratkowski and Ed Brown. McHan, being a Chicago favorite, would fit at Wrigley Field. How come then? The two clubs never hashed the deal because George Halas and Walter Wolfner aren't on speaking terms. Walter's mad because Papa George wouldn't allows the Cardinals to play in Dyche Stadium. Putting McHan in Packer silks makes the University of Green Bay a four-pro-quarterback team! So we asked Coach-GM Vince Lombardi if he had a trade in mind when he made the McHan deal. Said Vince: "I did not have a trade in mind, but I most certainly would listen to any trade possibilities other clubs have to make." The Packers have what amounts to a corner on young and experienced quarterbacks, what with Bart Starr, Babe Parilli, Joe Francis and McHan. They have thrown a total of 2,119 pro passes and completed 949 for 13,830 yards and 98 touchdowns in 14 years of experience. We hear that McHan asked to be released and reportedly told Commissioner Bert Bell just that. Lamar never got along with Wolfner, who was probably too "close" to the athletes for the head coaches' comfort. The McHan-
Wolfner feud started when Wolfner fined McHan $1,000 in 1956 for refusing to go back into a game. The likeable Ray Richards, then Cardinal coach who was a Packer aide last year, always sympathized with McHan in the incident. In fact, Richards was in the hospital the day McHan was fined and knew nothing about it. The Cards tried to make a deal with Canada but McHan balked at that for an obvious reason: Lamar figured he's better than Canadian football. The Cards refused to trade him to any club in the Eastern Division, which is a recommendation of McHan's talent in itself; Wolfner would have to face McHan twice. Ach. The Packers and Cards aren't league-scheduled this year. They aren't even carded on the same field in preseasons. The McHan deal is an "if" job. And as Lombardi put it: "There aren't many of those around anymore." Vince insisted on the clause and got it, which gives the Pack a free look. If Lamar makes it, the draft choice will be well worth it. Lombardi now has four veteran QBs on his hands who aren't in the habit of playing with winning teams. The composite record of the four is 44 wins, 118 losses and 6 ties. Individually it goes: Parilli 17-41-2, McHan 18-40-2, Starr 8-27-1 and Francis 1-10-1. In the 14 total years for the four, only one experienced the joy of a plus-.500 team - McHan with the '56 Cardinals who posted 7-5. Parilli was next best, a 6-6 Pack finish in '52. That 7-5 record shows that it can be done; Lombardi is sure of that.
TAYLOR ALL-TIME FULLBACK?
MAY 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Jim Taylor could be an all-time Packer fullback - on the basis of his rookie season! That's a heap of statement but look at it this way: Taylor gained 247 yards in 52 carries for a fantastic Jimmy Brown-type average of 4.8. No other Packer fullback had a rookie season like that, although the figures don't include the great Clarke Hinkle, who galloped before anybody took statistics seriously. Starting with Ted Fritsch in 1942, the Packers had six assorted fullbacks - Fritsch, Jack Cloud, Fred Cone, Bobby Jack Floyd, Bill Reichart and Howie Ferguson. But only three of them stayed around long enough to compile a record - Fritsch (10 seasons), Cone (7) and Ferguson (6 and still going). Fritsch carried 74 times for 223 yards and an average of 3.0 as a rookie - quite a drop from Taylor's 4.8. Cone moved 56 times for 190 yards and an average of 3.4 in his freshman year, 1951, while Ferguson lugged 52 times for 134 and a 2.6 average in 1953. Cloud averaged 2.9 in 1950, Floyd 3.0 in '52 and Reichart 3.1 in '52. Taylor, whose signing for the 1959 season was announced Thursday by Coach-GM Vince Lombardi, isn't expected to set the Packers' all-time fullback records a-flaming just because of his rookie crashing average. But the Louisiana State's hard hitting indicated that the Packers at least have the makings of a top-flight fullback. Taylor gained 236 of his yards in 44 trips in the Packers' final two game on the west coast last year. He cracked 22 times for 137 yards and an average of 6.73 against the 49ers in San Francisco in his first starting role. Then on the following Sunday, with the Rams setting their defenses for him, he carried 22 times for 99 yards and an average of 4.5. A couple of Ram defensive linemen confided to Packer Dave Hanner that "it was like tackling a piano when we tackled him." Taylor carries 210 pounds and he's his own piano mover!
PACKERS GET 49ERS' PALATELLA, SIGN DIXON
JUN 2 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Add Lou Palatella to the Veteran Newcomers' Committee of Green Bay Packers, Inc. Palatella comes to the Packers from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for an undisclosed draft choice. The deal was worked out Monday evening and announced immediately by Coach-GM Vince Lombardi. The VNC is a new group organized by Lombardi for the purpose of pumping new blood and competition into the 1959 Packers. Palatella, 25, a 230-pound offensive guard with four years of pro service under his belt, is the fourth member of the exclusive group. He joins halfback Lew Carpenter and defensive end Bill Quinlan of the Cleveland Browns and quarterback Lamar McHan of the Chicago Cardinals. Those four players cost the Packers one veteran, Billy Howton, and two draft choice. Howton brought the two players from the Browns. The draft choice given up for McHan was undisclosed and will only be payable IF McHan makes the club. Thus, Lombardi has added four highly-touted and experienced veterans at little cost. The Howton deal balanced itself out since it was a switch of top-flight ends - one for offense and one for defense; Carpenter was added gravy. Draft choices are expendable - especially for good veterans. Palatella is noted for his desire - a qualification that was double checked and verified by Phil Bengtson, the Packers' defensive line coach who spent the past eight years with the 49ers. And Lombardi is in the market for players with desire because he feels that type of player can get better help the Packers held defeat the club's defeatist attitude. While Palatella is highly regarded as a blocker - for the passer or on rushing plays, Coach Red Hickey felt he could part with Lou because the 49ers have a surplus of offensive linemen. Palatella will battle with veterans Jim Salsbury, Forrest Gregg and Jerry Kramer - plus a host of good rookies, including Andy Cvercko of Northwestern for regular duty. The guard corps was hurt earlier this year when Hank Bullough decided to retire in favor of coaching at Michigan State. Palatella, who was married recently, starred at the University of Pittsburgh as a tackle. He made the All-American Scholastic team, with an above-average B average, and gained all-East honors. A native of Vandergrift, Pa., Palatella has been working as a sales manager for a liquor company in Redwood, Calif., where Packer Marv Matuszak, also a former 49er, operated a restaurant...Lombardi also announced the signing of offensive halfback George Dixon, the Packers' ninth draft choice from Bridgeport, Conn., University. Dixon started playing end last season but was shifted to halfback because of his speed and power. He wound up as the No. 4 rusher in all small college football with 1,106 yards in 155 carries for an average of 7.14 per try. Dixon took the opening kickoff in the All-American Bowl game at Tucson last winter and raced 85 yards for a touchdown. He was the leading ground gainer in the East for nine straight weeks last fall and five times he won all-offense honors...PRO BITS: The Cardinals obtained linebacker Bob Dougherty from the Steelers for an undisclosed draft choice. Dougherty, a former Ram, played in 12 games for the Steelers last year. The Steelers also announced the signing of John Nisby, the former Packer, for '59.
BREEZY'S GOT A JOB (AT VPI); EVERYBODY'S GLAD
JUN 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Breezy's got a job. And all the folks know him are real happy about it. Breezy Reid joined the Packers as a halfback in '50. He was placed on waivers after the Bear game i Chicago in 1956. He scouted enemy games for the Pack in '57 and joined the club as backfield coach in 1958. Reid was the last member of the ill-fated '58 coaching staff to land a job, although he scouted for three weeks for the Packers in the southeast last spring. He'll work with the backs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg, Va., starting in August. No Packer regime arrived and went in such a hurry - less than a year. Scooter McLean, a Packer since '51, became head coach in January of 1958; he resigned in the middle of the following December. Aides Ray Richards, Nick Skorich and Reid resigned several weeks later. Scooter is with the Lions; Skorich with the Eagles; and Richards is out of football. Reid is exceptionally well liked in Green Bay - like Scooter, and a common question among the sportsters the last few months was: "Did Breezy find a job yet?" Reid did a lot of job-hunting in Green Bay and area and actually was too honest to connect. Breezy just had to tell prospective employers that if anything opened up in the coaching field he'd have to take it. A number of Breezy's friends, and they are many, put on a farewell dinner for him at Platten's Grove the other night and gave him a transistor radio. The Reids will leave this week for their original hometown, Hamilton, O., where they will spend the summer before moving East. They didn't figure to leave so soon but, as Breezy put it, "the first person who looked at our home bought it. Just like that." The Reids live at 1465 Rockdale. Reid always has been a Packer fan even as a player. When he arrived here back in '50, he said: "Say, this is a little town. I'm going to like it here; just like back home. This is my team." His parting words: "I really hate to leave, but you can bet that I'll be pulling for the Packers - always. Pull 'em through for me." Reid finished with a lifetime Packer rushing average of 4.3 yards. He carried 459 times for 1,972 yards in 75 games...The Colts want some eye teeth for quarterback George Shaw, which is why they're having trouble trading him. Shaw, who asked the Colts to trade him so he could get a chance to play for his pay, hopes a deal will be worked out. Reportedly, if the Colts can't move Shaw to another club, he will naturally return to Baltimore - but with the provision that he play on an option clause and not a signed contract. This means Shaw could become a free agent at the end of the '59 season.
PACKERS INK QB MCHAN
JUN 5 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Lamar McHan, the veteran quarterback obtained by the Packers in an "if" trade with the Chicago Cardinals, has signed a Packer contract, it was announced today by Coach-GM Vince Lombardi. The Cardinals will receive a draft choice from Green Bay if McHan makes the club. McHan will be in competition with three holdover veteran QBs - Joe Francis, Babe Parilli and Bart Starr. One rookie QB will also figure in the fight - Bob Webb of St. Ambrose.
PACKERS KEEP STEP WITH ROCKET AGE, INK 'MISSILE' PAIR
JUN 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - They haven't ordered their space suits, as yet, but the Packers are keeping step in this bewildering "Rocket Age." This became manifest today with announcement by their "leader," GM-Coach Vince Lombardi, that he has stocked Green Bay's expanding missile base with a pair of human "Thors." These jets in gym clothing are blond Buddy Mayfield, University of South Carolina end, and Dave Smith, Ripon College's workhorse fullback. Mayfield, a teammate of No. 2 Packer draftee Alex Hawkins at SC, is a real "bomb." Buddy, christened Clellon William Mayfield, streaked the 440-yard dash in 48.2 seconds and the 220 in 21.5 in Atlantic Coast Conference competition this year, winning titles in both events. The 6-2, 190-pound South Carolinian, No. 8 choice in the draft, is a prime candidate to replace the departed Billy Howton, recently dealt to the Cleveland Browns, as a running mate for 1958 holdovers Max McGee and Gary Knafelc. Thought not a Bobby Morrow, Mayfield's fellow signee, Smith, is fleet for a fullback. The 6-1, 194-pound Greendale, Wis., native has been clocked at a brisk 10.2 seconds in the 100-yard dash. A good example of the "old college try," Smith also has other attributes to recommend him. He's rated as strong and eager and isn't likely to add to Trainer Bud Jorgenson's annual burden - he's never been injured...BONE-JARRING BLOCKER: Statistically, too, the record is impressive. In three years at Ripon, Dave piled up 2,672 yards in 142 carries for an average of nearly seven yards per try. Further, the Redmen ace caught 30 passes for 580 yards. And, as the fullback in the Ripon formation, he led most of the plays as a bone-jarring blocker. Last fall, he carried 148 times for 778 yards and a 5.5 average, scoring a Midwest Conference record. Smith was contacted by eight pro clubs and two of them, the 49ers and Giants, wired him the week before the draft to verify that he hadn't changed his mind about playing pro ball. Dave, the Packers' 21st choice, was mildly surprised at being drafted by the Packers because his only correspondence with the club had been filling out the preliminary questionnaire, a service he had performed for all other interested NFL teams. Quietly confident of making the major league grade, always a long shot for a small college alumnus, Smith says, "I intended to go to camp with the attitude that I will make the team and to go all out while I'm there." P.S. Dave already has inquired about getting out of ROTC summer camp early to join the Packers and been given the green light. He wants to be on hand from the opening whistle...Monday was a big day for the Packers. who also hosted 125 press, radio and television representatives, directors and ticket sales representatives at their annual spring soiree at Oneida Golf and Riding Club. Of these, more than 40 toured the spacious Oneida course, former Green Bayite Fred Gage, now of Madison's WIBA, weighing in with the day's best score, a 76. Members of the fourth estate came from as far south as Madison and Racine and from as far north as Escanaba, Mich.
BOBBY DILLON QUITTING GRID
JUN 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bobby Dillon, the Packers' brilliant defensive halfback, has called it a career. Dillon, bulwark of the Packers' outer defense ever since he came to them from the University of Texas in 1952, notified GM-Coach Vince Lombardi by telephone late this morning from his Temple, Tex., home that he is retiring to pursue a business career. Bobby is assistant sales manager of the Ralph Wilson Plastic Co., in Temple, which he says is "expanding" and offers a bright future. His present duties also will make it possible for him to continue his Bobby Dillon Sports Remodeling Service, he said. Dillon, who already had signed his 1959 contract, has been an annual all-league choice. "Losing him is a very difficult blow," said Lombardi. "He's the best in the league and a man like Dillon is irreplaceable at this time."
PACKERS HUNTING SITE FOR MILWAUKEE DRILLS
JUN 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers are looking for suitable facilities in the Milwaukee area that could be used as a training site for the two weeks preceding the opening of the 1959 season. "It would be foolish to keep the players in camp for seven weeks and then turn them loose for the last two weeks," GM-Coach Vince Lombardi said today in revealing the plan. Lombardi said he planned to check on several possible training sites next week before selecting a location. The Packers will start their training July 25, using living quarters at St. Norbert College and their home stadium for drills. Lombardi said that if suitable Milwaukee area facilities are available, the Packers will stay there after they return from an exhibition game against the Washington Redskins at Winston-Salem, N.C., Sept. 12, travel to Minneapolis for a contest with the Pittsburgh Steelers Sept. 20, and then finish training in Milwaukee.
BOBBY DILLON - 'HE WAS EVERYBODY'S ALL-LEAGUE'
JUN 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "He was everybody's all-league." It was the Packers' Tom Miller paying spontaneous tribute to the gifted Texan, Bobby Dan Dillon, who Wednesday put a lump in the throat of Packerland (not to mention the coaching staff) by announcing his retirement from football. Never has the proverbial shoe fit better. As Tom put it, "He was the unanimous choice of the league's coaches and opposing players as well as the sportswriters and press services." The records, alone, bear out the Packer publicitor - in spades. The Texas greyhound, as much a man apart in his specialty (the interception) as the incomparable Don Hutson was in his, was an all-league choice by both major press services in four of the last five years. The true worth of this formal recognition can be fully appreciated only when it is considered that the NFL's most accomplished larcenist played with a break-even Packer team just once during his seven-year career and, sad but true, great athletes with second division clubs are often overlooked in all-league selections because of their association with mediocrity. Not to mention the fact that he attained football's pinnacle despite a major handicap, having been without vision in one eye because of a childhood accident. Then, too, he often had to compensate for the inadequacies of fellow defenders, which left him more vulnerable. In the "trade", he was rated without a peer. Only last autumn Phil Bengtson, now a member of the Packer staff but then assistant coach of the San Francisco Forty Niners, declared, "He's the best in the business." And burly Ray Richards, former Chicago Cardinal head man and Packer defense