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The 1968 Green Bay Packers - 6-7-1 (3RD - Central Division)

Head Coach: Phil Bengtson

1968 PRE-SEASON RESULTS (4-2)

                                                                                                                                                               OFF     DEF

AUGUST (3-2)                              RESULT    RECORD    ATT RSH PSS RSH PSS STARTING QB         LEADING RUSHER           LEADING PASSER         LEADING RECEIVER

2  College All-Stars at Chicago          W 34-17    1- 0-0 69,917                 Bart Starr          Donny Anderson (68)      Bart Starr (288)       Carroll Dale (6-103)

10 G-NEW YORK GIANTS                     L 14-15    1- 1-0 50,861

19 M-CHICAGO BEARS                       L  7-10    1- 2-0 47,127

24 at Dallas Cowboys                     W 31-27    2- 2-0 72,014

31 M-PITTSBURGH STEELERS                 W 21-17    3- 2-0 47,265                 Bart Starr 

SEPTEMBER (1-0)

7  at Cleveland Browns                   W 31- 9    4- 2-0 84,918                 Bart Starr                                   Bart Starr (164)       Carroll Dale (3-83)

1968 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS

SEPTEMBER (1-2)

15 G-PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (0-0)           W 30-13    1- 0-0 50,861 185 193  91 187 Bart Starr          Donny Anderson (92)      Bart Starr (220)       Boyd Dowler (5-110)

22 M-MINNESOTA VIKINGS (1-0)             L 13-26    1- 1-0 49,346 105 137 124 118 Bart Starr          Donny Anderson (37)      Bart Starr (148)       Carroll Dale (5-48)

29 G-DETROIT LIONS (1-1)                 L 17-23    1- 2-0 50,861 105 219 153 190 Bart Starr          Donny Anderson (57)      Bart Starr (255)       Carroll Dale (6-205)

OCTOBER (2-1-1)

6  at Atlanta Falcons (0-3)              W 38- 7    2- 2-0 58,850 158 312  78  76 Bart Starr          Donny Anderson (101)     Bart Starr (275)       Boyd Dowler (5-55)

13 M-LOS ANGELES RAMS (4-0)              L 14-16    2- 3-0 49,646  84 113  93  97 Zeke Bratkowski     Donny Anderson (55)      Zeke Bratkowski (139)  Boyd Dowler (4-53)

20 at Detroit Lions (3-2)                T 14-14    2- 3-1 57,302 134  79 212  70 Zeke Bratkowski     Donny Anderson (71)      Zeke Bratkowski (102)  Boyd Dowler (3-28)

28 at Dallas Cowboys (6-0)               W 28-17    3- 3-1 74,604 105 217 159 206 Bart Starr          Elijah Pitts (58)        Bart Starr (260)       Donny Anderson (6-84)

NOVEMBER (2-2)

3  G-CHICAGO BEARS (3-4)                 L 10-13    3- 4-1 50,861 107 135 291  37 Bart Starr          Elijah Pitts (43)        Bart Starr (154)       Elijah Pitts (4-33)

10 at Minnesota Vikings (4-4)            L 10-14    3- 5-1 47,644 172  91 160  66 Bart Starr          Jim Grabowski (89)       Bart Starr (118)       Boyd Dowler (4-50)

17 M-NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (3-6)            W 29- 7    4- 5-1 49,644 132 157  74  62 Bart Starr          Jim Grabowski (50)       Bart Starr (167)       Carroll Dale (6-181)

24 at Washington Redskins (4-6)          W 27- 7    5- 5-1 50,621 158 230  33 134 Zeke Bratkowski     Jim Grabowski (56)       Zeke Bratkowski (230)  Marv Fleming (5-59)

DECEMBER (1-2)

1  at San Francisco 49ers (5-5-1)        L 20-27    5- 6-1 47,218 173  44  60 292 Bart Starr          Jim Grabowksi (88)       Zeke Bratkowski (78)   Carroll Dale (4-45)

7  G-BALTIMORE COLTS (11-1)              L  3-16    5- 7-1 50,861  66  97 138 104 Zeke Bratkowski     Donny Anderson (48)      Zeke Bratkowski (113)  Jim Grabowski (5-26)

15 at Chicago Bears (7-6)                W 28-27    6- 7-1 46,435  65 251 134 157 Zeke Bratkowski     Donny Anderson (54)      Don Horn (187)         Boyd Dowler (5-182)

G - Green Bay  M - Milwaukee

1968 IN REVIEW

Phil Bengtson, the architect of the great Packer defenses of the 1960s, took over as head coach following Vince Lombardi's move to the front office. Despite a successful debut against the Eagles, the Packers struggled to a 6-7-1 record, their first losing mark since 1958. Green Bay had suddenly become old, with the average age of the offensive starters being 29, and the defense 29 1/2. The kicking game as a disaster, with four different players taking a shot at the position. Bart Starr led the NFL with a 63.7 percentage completion mark, but missed part or all of eight games. Green Bay's defense remained strong, ranking third in yards given up and was tops against the pass for the fifth consecutive season. While many Packer fans felt that the 1968 season was an anomaly, the fact was the players from the Glory Years were getting old, and there were few replacements in the pipeline.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL - THE EARLY YEARS

Monday Night Football did not simply appear in 1970. There were several attempts to get Americans to watch football on days other than Sunday, and the Packers played a key role. Five Monday Night games were played in the 1950's, and in 1964, the Packers beat the Lions in a Monday night game. The NFL scheduled two Monday Night games in 1964, and one in 1965. An attempt in 1964 to play games on Friday nights was quickly dismissed due to criticism over the effect these games would have on high school football. Commissioner Pete Rozelle contracted with CBS to air one Monday night game during the 1966 and 1967 seasons. The St. Louis Cardinals played in both games, even though the team could not be considered a ratings grabber. They fell to the Packers in 1967. Seeing the success of the games, NBC followed suit by airing one AFL Monday Night game during 1968 and 1969. CBS increased its Monday night coverage to two games in 1968 and 1969, with the Packers beating the Cowboys in one of the 1968 games. In 1969, Rozelle approached the Hughes Sports Network, an entity wholly subsidized by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, with the proposed Monday night games. Feeling the heat, ABC, although still less than convinced, entered into a contract with the NFL to begin airing games on Monday night for the 1970 season.

MONDAY NIGHT GAMES IN THE 1960s

1964: Green Bay Packers 14, Detroit Lions 10 (September 28)

1964: Baltimore Colts 47, St. Louis Cardinals 27 (October 12)

1965: St. Louis Cardinals 20, Dallas Cowboys 13 (October 4)

1966: St. Louis Cardinals 24 Chicago Bears 17 (October 31)

1967: Green Bay Packers 31, St. Louis Cardinals 23 (October 30)

1968: Kansas City Chiefs 26, Houston Oilers 21 (AFL) (September 9)

1968: Los Angeles Rams 24, St. Louis Cardinals 13 (September 16)

1968: Green Bay Packers 28, Dallas Cowboys 17 (October 28)

1969: Baltimore Colts 24, Philadelphia Eagles 20 (October 13)

1969: New York Jets 26, Houston Oilers 17 (AFL) (October 20)

1969: Dallas Cowboys 25, New York Giants 3 (October 27)

NAME              NO  POS  HGT WGT COLLEGE         YR PR AG  G HOW ACQUIRED

Herb Adderley     26   CB 6- 1 200 Michigan State   8  8 29 14 1961 Draft-1st

Lionel Aldridge   62   DE 6- 4 245 Utah State       6  6 27 14 1963 Draft-4th

Donny Anderson    44   RB 6- 3 210 Texas Tech       3  3 25 14 1965 Draft-1st

Ken Bowman        57    C 6- 3 230 Wisconsin        5  5 25 14 1964 Draft-8th

Zeke Bratkowski   12   QB 6- 3 210 Georgia          6 13 36 10 1963 FA-LA

Bob Brown         78   DE 6- 5 260 Ark-Pine Bluff   3  3 28  6 1966 FA

Tom Brown         40   DB 6- 1 190 Maryland         5  5 27 14 1963 Draft-2nd

Lee Roy Caffey    60   LB 6- 3 250 Texas A&M        5  6 27 14 1964 Trade-Phil

Fred Carr         53   LB 6- 5 238 Texas-El Paso    1  1 22 14 1968 Draft-1st

Leo Carroll       67   DE 6- 7 250 San Diego State  1  1 24  6 1968 Trade-Atl

Leon Crenshaw     70   DT 6- 6 280 Tuskegee         1  1 25 10 1968 FA

Carroll Dale      84   WR 6- 2 200 Virginia Tech    4  9 30 14 1965 Trade-LA

Willie Davis      87   DE 6- 3 245 Grambling        9 11 34 14 1960 Trade-Cleve

Boyd Dowler       86   WR 6- 5 225 Colorado        10 10 30 14 1959 Draft-3rd

Dave Dunaway      29   WR 6- 2 205 Duke             1  1 23  2 1967 Draft-2nd

Jim Flanigan      55   LB 6- 3 240 Pittsburgh       2  2 23 13 1967 Draft-2nd

Marv Fleming      81   TE 6- 4 235 Utah             6  6 26 14 1963 Draft-11th

Gale Gillingham   68    G 6- 3 255 Minnesota        3  3 24 14 1966 Draft-1st

Jim Grabowski     33   RB 6- 2 220 Illinois         3  3 23 14 1966 Draft-1st

Forrest Gregg     75    G 6- 4 250 SMU             12 12 34 14 1956 Draft-2nd

Doug Hart         43   DB 6- 0 190 Arlington State  5  5 29 14 1964 FA-St. Louis

Dick Himes        72    T 60 4 244 Ohio State       1  1 22 14 1968 Draft-3rd

Don Horn          13   QB 6- 2 195 San Diego State  2  2 23  1 1967 Draft-1st

Bob Hyland        50  C-G 6- 5 250 Boston College   2  2 23 14 1967 Draft-1st

Claudis James     27   WR 6- 2 190 Jackson State    2  2 24 14 1967 Draft-14th

Bob Jeter         21   DB 6- 1 205 Iowa             6  6 31 12 1960 Draft-2nd

Henry Jordan      74   DT 6- 3 250 Virginia        10 12 33 14 1959 Trade-Cleve

Ron Kostelnik     77   DT 6- 4 260 Cincinnati       8  8 28 13 1961 Draft-2nd

Jerry Kramer      64    G 6- 3 245 Idaho           11 11 32 14 1958 Draft-4th

Bill Lueck        62    G 6- 3 235 Arizona          1  1 22 11 1968 Draft-1st

Errol Mann        39    K 6- 0 203 North Dakota     1  1 27  2 1968 FA

Chuck Mercein     30   RB 6- 3 230 Yale             2  4 25 11 1967 FA-NY Giants

Mike Mercer       38    K 6- 0 217 Arizona State    1  8 32  6 1968 FA-Buffalo

Ray Nitschke      66   LB 6- 3 235 Illinois        11 11 31 14 1958 Draft-3rd

Francis Peay      71    T 6- 5 250 Missouri         1  3 24 14 1968 Trade-NYG

Elijah Pitts      22   HB 6- 1 205 Philander Smith  8  8 29 14 1961 Draft-13th

Bucky Pope        80   WR 6- 5 200 Catawba          1  4 27  3 1968 FA-LA (1967)

Dave Robinson     89   LB 6- 3 240 Penn State       6  6 27 14 1963 Draft-1st

NAME              NO  POS  HGT WGT COLLEGE         YR PR AG  G HOW ACQUIRED

John Rowser       45   DB 6- 1 180 Michigan         2  2 24 14 1967 Draft-3rd

Gordon Rule       47    S 6- 2 180 Dartmouth        1  1 22  1 1968 Draft-11th

Bob Skoronski     76    T 6- 3 245 Indiana         11 11 34 14 1956 Draft-5th

Bart Starr        15   QB 6- 1 190 Alabama         13 13 34 12 1956 Draft-17th

Bill Stevens      10   QB 6- 3 195 Texas-El Paso    1  1 23  1 1968 Draft-3rd

Phil Vandersea    83   LB 6- 3 235 Massachusetts    2  3 25 10 1968 FA-NO (1967)

Travis Williams   23   RB 6- 1 210 Arizona State    2  2 22 14 1967 Draft-4th

Francis Winkler   58   DE 6- 3 230 Memphis State    1  1 21  7 1968 Draft-5th

Willie Wood       24   DB 5-10 190 USC              9  9 31 14 1960 FA

NO - Jersey Number POS - Position HGT - Height WGT - Weight YR - Years with Packers PR - Years of Professional Football AGE - Age on September 1 G - Games  Played FA - Free Agent

1968 PACKERS DRAFT (January 30-31, 1968)

RND-PICK NAME                  POS COLLEGE

1a -   5 Fred Carr (A)          LB Texas-El Paso

1b -  26 Bill Lueck              G Arizona

2  -  53 to Los Angeles Rams in Ben Wilson trade

3a -  67 Bill Stevens (B)       QB Texas-El Paso

3b -  81 Dick Himes              T Ohio State

4a -  92 Brendan McCarthy (C)   FB Boston College

4b - 108 John Robinson          WR Tennessee State

5a - 121 Steve Duich (D)         T San Diego State

5b - 137 Francis Winkler        DE Memphis State

6  - 164 Walter Chadwick        HB Tennessee

7  - 191 Andy Beath             DB Duke

8  - 218 Tom Owens               G Missouri-Rolla

9  - 245 Bob Apisa              FB Michigan State

10a- 260 Richard Cash (E)        T NE Missouri St

10b- 272 Ron Worthen             C Arkansas State

11 - 299 Gordon Rule            DB Dartmouth 

12 - 325 Dennis Porter          DT N. Michigan

13 - 353 Frank Geiselman        WR Rhode Island 

14 - 380 John Farler            WR Colorado 

15 - 407 Ridley Gibson          DB Baylor 

16 - 434 Al Groves              DT St. Norbert 

17 - 461 Ken Rota               HB N. Dakota St

A - from New Orleans Saints for Jim Taylor - B - from St. Louis Cardinals for Fred Heron - C - from Pittsburgh Steelers for Dick Arndt - D - from Pittsburgh Steelers for Kent Nix - E - from New York Giants for Dave Hathcock

Anchor 1

1968 PACKER TRADES - TRANSACTIONS

MAY 2 - Traded LB Tommy Crutcher and OT Steve Wright to NEW YORK GIANTS for OT Francis Peay

JUL 12 - Released DT Al Groves (16th round). DT Dennis Porter (12th round) elected not to come to camp

JUL 15 - Released QB Lloyd Carr, FB Charles Moore, HB Ken Rota (17th round), DL Russ Sandstede and HB Bill McHenry (69 players)

JUL 27 - Released K Metro Gerela, DB Ridley Gibson (15th round), WR Frank Geiselman (13th round), C Ron Worthen (10th round) and G Tom Owens (8th round). HB Willie Ray Smith announced his retirement (58 players)

JUL 30 - Traded OT Steve Duich (5th round) to ATLANTA for K Dave Traynham. RB Bob Apisa and RB Walt Chadwick released.

AUG 17 - Traded FB Brendan McCarthy (4th round) to DETROIT for undisclosed draft choice (rescinded when Lions waived McCarthy)

AUG 26 - Traded LB Dick Capp to ST. LOUIS for a 1969 6th-round draft choice. Released K Wade Traynham and DB Andy Beath (7th round) (46 players)

SEPT 2 - Traded WR Bob Long and RB Doug Goodwin to ATLANTA for DE Leo Carroll

SEPT 4 - DT Dick Cash (10th round) claimed on waivers by ATLANTA (43 players)

SEPT 10 - Placed FB Ben Wilson, S Gordon Rule and QB Billy Stevens on waivers and then on taxi squad (40 players)

OCT 26 - Activated K Errol Mann from taxi squad.

NOV 8 - Signed K Mike Mercer

NOV 11 - Placed DE Bob Brown (broken leg) on injured reserve.

NOV 22 - Activated DE Francis Winkler.

DEC 1 - Activated DE Leo Carroll and WR Bucky Pope. Placed DE Phil Vandersea and DE Francis Winkler on inactive list.

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