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
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.
