Green Bay Packers: Remembering Elijah Pitts

With the 2021 NFL draft just two weeks away, I want to write about one of the players that the Green Bay Packers selected in the 1961 NFL draft. That player was drafted in the 13th round out of a small college in Arkansas called Philander Smith. That player’s name was running back Elijah Pitts.

Pitts was part of a draft class which included Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley who was selected in Round 1, as well defensive tackle Ron Kostelnik, who was drafted in Round 2. And in the next round after Pitts was selected, the Packers drafted LB Nelson Toburen in Round 14.

Going into the ’61 draft, the Packers already had Paul Hornung and Tom Moore at the top of their halfback depth chart. Adderley had played halfback at Michigan State and Pitts also played that position at Philander Smith, so something had to give.

The Packers ended up first moving Adderley to flanker and then towards the end of the year to cornerback. It obviously was a wise decision that both Vince Lombardi and Phil Bengtson made, as Adderley became one of the very best corners to ever play the game.

In his rookie year, Pitts played in all 14 games and actually started a game, as he rushed for 75 yards on 23 carries and scored a touchdown. Hornung led the NFL in scoring for the third year in a row, plus rushed for 671 yards and had eight rushing touchdowns. No. 5 also caught 15 passes for 145 yards and two more scores. Hornung was later named the NFL MVP in ’61. Moore rushed for 302 yards and a score, plus had caught eight passes for 41 yards and another score.

The Packers would go on and win the 1961 NFL title at new City Stadium in Green Bay, as Hornung scored 19 points for the Pack, as Green Bay defeated the New York Giants 37-0. Hornung almost didn’t play in that championship game due to Army duty, but thanks to the friendship between Lombardi and President John F. Kennedy, he was given a pass to play.

In 1962, Pitts got some more playing time, as Hornung injured a knee and only played in nine games. Fullback Jim Taylor led the Packers in rushing with 1,474 yards and 19 touchdowns. No. 31 was later named NFL MVP in 1962. Moore led the halfbacks with 377 yards and seven scores, while Hornung rushed for 219 yards and five touchdowns. Pitts chipped in with 110 rushing yards and two scores.

In ’62, Pitts also returned punts at times and had seven returns for 17 yards, as Willie Wood was the main return man for the Pack. But in the 1962 title game against the New York Giants again, this time at Yankee Stadium, Pitts had a key 36-yard punt return in the 4th quarter to help set up Jerry Kramer for another field goal attempt to pad the 13-7 lead the Packers had at the time. Kramer missed that 40-yard attempt in a swirling wind, but later connected on 30-yard attempt in that same direction to make the score 16-7 and the Packers were NFL champions again for the second straight year.

In 1963, there was a major change for the Packers as they attempted to win their third straight NFL title. They would have to do it without Hornung, who was suspended along with Alex Karras of the Detroit Lions for the season for gambling. That also meant more time at halfback for Pitts.

Moore became the lead halfback in Hornung’s absence, as No. 25 gained 658 yards and scored six touchdowns. Pitts added 254 yards rushing and had five rushing touchdowns himself. Moore and Pitts also combined for 32 receptions for 291 yards and three more scores. Pitts also continued to return punts along with Wood, as No. 22 returned seven for 60 yards. But between the absence of Hornung, a broken hand which caused quarterback Bart Starr to miss four games and the exceptional play by the Chicago Bears, the Packers fell just short in winning the NFL title again in 1963. Green Bay finished 11-2-1, but Chicago was even better at 11-1-2, as da Bears ended up winning the NFL crown by beating the G-Men from New York.

Hornung was back for the Packers in 1964, but there were major changes along the offensive line, as center Jim Ringo had been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for linebacker Lee Roy Caffey and a 1965 1st round draft which would be used to select Donny Anderson. In addition to that change, right guard Jerry Kramer missed almost the entire season with intestinal issues. Left tackle Bob Skoronski moved over to play center for some games, while Norm Masters filled his spot at left tackle, plus Dan Grimm filled in for Kramer at right guard.

The Packers finished second in the Western Conference again in 1964, as the kicking game of the Packers was a big reason why, as Hornung was just 12-of-38 in connecting on field goal attempts. The Packers lost two close games to the Western Conference champion Baltimore Colts due in part to the kicking woes. Bottom line, if the Packers had beaten the Colts in those two games, Green Bay wins the Western Conference.

With the return of Hornung, Pitts again was relegated to being the third option at halfback behind Hornung and Moore. Hornung rushed for 415 yards and five scores, while Moore ran for 371 yards and two touchdowns. Pitts chipped in with 127 rushing yards and one score. Pitts continued to return punts in tandem with Wood and returned seven for 191 yards, which included a 65-yard touchdown scamper.

In 1965, the Packers were determined to get back to the status of being champion. The rushing game struggled for most of the year, but when it counted in the postseason, the ground game clicked like it did in the early ’60s in Green Bay. Taylor only rushed for 734 yards, which was the first time he hadn’t eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark since 1959. Pitts remained as the No. 3 halfback behind Hornung and Moore, but when he got an opportunity, he found a way to find pay dirt. Hornung rushed for just 219 yards, but had five scores, while Moore only had 124 yards rushing and no scores. Pitts rushed for 122 yards, but he did also have four rushing touchdowns.

In the 1965 NFL title game at Lambeau Field against the Cleveland Browns, Taylor and Hornung ran like it was 1961 again, as combined they rushed for 201 yards. The “Golden Boy” rushed for 105 yards and a score, as the Packers were NFL champs again, as they beat the Browns 23-12.

The situation for Pitts at halfback would be quite different in 1966, as Lombardi had traded Moore to the Los Angeles Rams and now had Anderson, who Lombardi had drafted in 1965 with a future pick in the 1st round. Hornung started the year as the lead halfback again, but as the season wore on, the neck/shoulder issues he had only allowed No. 5 to play in nine games and start six of them.

With Hornung relegated to the sideline due to his injury, Pitts became the main halfback for the Packers in 1966. No. 22 gained 393 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Hornung rushed for 200 yards and had two scores, while Anderson had 104 yards on the ground and had two scores.

Plus, Anderson took away the job Pitts had in returning punts with Wood, especially after No. 44 returned a punt for 77 yards and a TD in a game against the Atlanta Falcons in a game I attended at County Stadium in Milwaukee.

Bottom line, Starr was the difference for the Packers on offense in ’66, as he was named NFL MVP in ’66.

The Packers once again returned to the 1966 NFL title game, this time against the Dallas Cowboys at the Cotton Bowl. Pitts came up big in that game, as he rushed for 66 yards on just 12 carries, plus caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Starr, who threw for 304 yards and four TD passes in the game. For the second straight year, the Packers were NFL champs and had won their fourth NFL title in six years. But another test was still awaiting the Pack. That would be Super Bowl I, when the NFL champion Packers would be facing the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs for the bragging rights in Pro Football.

Starr was just phenomenal in the game, as he was named MVP in the 35-10 win by the Pack. Split end Max McGee also had a big game, as No. 85 caught seven passes for 138 yards and two scores. Guess who else scored two TDs for the Packers that day? That would be Mr. Pitts, who had two rushing touchdowns, as he rushed for 45 yards on 11 carries.

In 1967, things would really be different for the Packers in terms of their offensive backfield. Taylor played out his option and signed with the New Orleans Saints which netted the Packers a 1st round pick in the 1968 NFL draft, while Hornung was nabbed by the Saints in the expansion draft. Hornung would end up retiring due to his neck/shoulder woes.

That meant the starting backfield for the Packers in 1967 would be Jim Grabowski at fullback and Pitts at halfback. The two would be backed up by Ben Wilson and Anderson, as the Packers tried for their third straight NFL title, a feat that had never been done in NFL history since the playoff era started in 1933.

Both Grabowski (466 rushing yards and two TDs) and Pitts (247 rushing yards and six TDs) were having strong years, when both were basically lost for the season in Week 8 against the Baltimore Colts at Memorial Stadium. Pitts was definitely lost for the year with a ruptured Achilles tendon, while Grabowski suffered a knee injury that kept him out for the entire year except four carries against the Bears in Week 11.

It was at that point that Lombardi added Chuck Mercein to add to the depth chart at fullback, while Anderson became the starter at halfback with rookie Travis Williams backing him up. Even with all the changes at running back for the Packers in 1967, the team finished second in the NFL in rushing. Better than that, the team indeed won their third straight NFL title by beating the Cowboys again in the 1967 NFL championship game at Lambeau Field, better known as the “Ice Bowl”, plus won their second straight Super Bowl, by beating the Oakland Raiders 33-14.

In 1968, Lombardi resigned as head coach and was general manager only for the team, as Bengtson became the head coach. Pitts, along with Williams, became backups to Anderson at halfback. The same routine occurred in 1969, when Pitts backed up both Anderson and Williams. In ’68 and ’69, Pitts combined to rush for 398 yards and two scores.

In 1970, Pitts, along with Caffey and center Bob Hyland, were traded to the Bears for a 1st round draft pick. Pitts was later released by the Bears and picked up by two teams (the Saints and the Rams) in 1970. All told, Pitts rushed for 104 yards in eight games combined for both teams.

In 1971, the new head coach and general manager of the Packers, Dan Devine, picked up Pitts to play for the Pack in ’71. But No. 22 did not carry the ball once for the Packers that year and only returned kicks for Green Bay that year. After the season was over, Pitts retired and started scouting for the Packers, which he did for two seasons.

In 1974, Pitts was hired to coach running backs with the Rams in 1974. That led to a long assistant coaching career in the NFL, similar to what both Boyd Dowler and Zeke Bratkowski did after their playing careers ended, as Pitts coached for 23 years as an assistant, which concluded with Elijah being the assistant head coach of the Buffalo Bills when they went to four straight Super Bowls in the early 1990s.

In 1997, while Pitts was still coaching in Buffalo, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. That dreaded disease took the life of Pitts just nine months later at the young age of 60.

Now you know the history of Pitts as a NFL player and coach. But I want to you to know more about Elijah. Which is why I wanted to talk with both Kramer and Anderson about their time with Pitts.

Let’s start with No. 64.

“Elijah was probably one of the sweetest, gentlest, most thoughtful players on the team,” Kramer said. “He really had a nice comfortable way about him. He had a great voice and a great smile. I remember that smile as much as anything.”

No. 44 concurred.

“Elijah was a perfect gentleman,” Anderson said. “I could understand why he was there in Green Bay for so long. Elijah was pretty quiet guy. He didn’t have a lot to say, but he was pretty funny when he would say things. He was just a sweet guy. And he was my friend. I was his friend too, even though we fought for the same position.”

Kramer talked about the running style of Pitts.

“I tried to get on his ass a little bit about the way he would go by Fuzzy and me on the sweep,” Kramer said. “And Elijah would go, ‘Okay Jerry, okay.’ But later he would do the same thing and run by us. I think it was more of an instinctive way to run by Elijah. He had great talent and speed. But he wasn’t used to waiting for his blockers while he ran. He was the type of back who wanted to go for as much as he could get, as quick as he could get it.”

Anderson mentioned that he and Pitts had similar styles.

“Elijah was different than Hornung in terms of power and speed,” Anderson said. “I was like him, in terms of being light-legged and fast. Elijah could block a lot better than I could though.”

Anderson also mentioned another story about the way he and Pitts ran.

“Elijah and I were similar in the way we ran, as we didn’t raise our feet very high,” Anderson said. “So anytime we played a stadium that had high grass, that could be a deterrent for us, as we would sometimes stumble. In fact, Vince asked me why Elijah and I stumbled at times running. I told him that the grass was too high, like at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Both Elijah and I had problems there, as did Bob Jeter. After that, Vince made sure the grass was mowed in either Green Bay or Milwaukee for Elijah and I.”

Kramer summarized the way Pitts was when they played together.

“There were quite a few things that were impressive about Elijah,” Kramer said. “There was his smile and his singing, but there was more than that. Elijah just had a happy way in the manner he conducted himself. Always smiling and happy and just a very pleasant guy to be around.”

Green Bay Packers: Five Teammates Pay Tribute to Herb Adderley

Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley passed away on October 30. Adderley’s death was yet another loss over the past two years that has seen a number of players who played with the Green Bay Packers under head coach under Vince Lombardi pass on.

Hall of Famer Jim Taylor passed away on October 13, 2018. Bob Skoronski died 12 days later.

In 2019, the Packers saw two Hall of Fame players who were in the same 1956 draft class pass away. Forrest Gregg passed away in April and Bart Starr passed on in May.

Later in November of 2019, Zeke Bratkowski, who was the capable backup to Starr at quarterback and Bart’s best friend, also passed away.

2020 has been a tough year for the Lombardi Packers. It started on New Year’s Day when Doug Hart passed on. Less than a month later, Allen Brown also passed away. A week later, Hall of Famer Willie Wood died.

In April, the captain of those great defenses in the Lombardi era, Hall of Famer Willie Davis, passed away.

And just recently, Adderley passed on.

That’s nine players in just a little over two years. And six of those players have busts in Canton, which obviously includes Adderley.

In his career, the former Michigan State Spartan star had 48 picks for 1,046 yards and seven touchdowns. 39 of those interceptions came when he was a member of the Packers. All of his touchdowns also came while he played in Green Bay.

Adderley was also a very good kickoff returner with the Packers, as he had two return touchdowns.

No. 26 finished his career in Dallas with the Cowboys in 1970, 1971 and 1972.

Adderley was part of six teams which won NFL titles and three teams which won the Super Bowl.

In 1980, Adderley was rewarded with a bust in Canton.

I talked to five of Herb’s teammates on the Packers to get their thoughts and insights about No. 26.

Boyd Dowler remembers when Adderley was drafted out of Michigan State in the first round in 1961 as a halfback and practiced on offense with the flankers most of his rookie year.

“When Herb was drafted, Coach Lombardi thought of him as a flanker,” Dowler said. “I was a starter at that position at the time and Vince thought of Herb as a wide receiver then and that’s where he played most of his rookie year.”

An injury to cornerback Hank Gremminger late in the ’61 season caused Lombardi and defensive coordinator Phil Bengtson to rethink where to play Adderley. No. 26 started the last game of the year at cornerback.

“It was in Los Angeles,” Dowler said. “I remember that very well. At one cornerback, we had Jesse Whittenton, who was All-Pro that year and went to the Pro Bowl and on the other side we had Hank Gremminger. As I recall, Gremminger must have been hurt and after Herb played that game against the Rams at corner, he came back the next year and was put at cornerback permanently.”

The Packers beat the Rams that day 24-17 and two weeks later would win their first NFL championship under Lombardi when the Packers shut out the New York Giants 37-0 at new City Stadium (now Lambeau Field).

Even when he was practicing as a flanker as a rookie, Dowler sensed that Adderley wanted to become a defensive back.

“I think Herb, all along, wanted to be a defensive player,” Dowler said. “He definitely had the temperament, the aggressive nature and the attitude of a defensive back.”

When Dowler practiced against Adderley, he knew he would be going up against great competition.

“I remember one day at training camp coming back to the huddle not having not caught the ball because Herb had batted it down,” Dowler said. “I remember saying that Herb was tough to beat. And Vince who was right there near our huddle nodded his head and said, ‘I know.’

Lombardi definitely knew.

When I talked to Jerry Kramer, he mentioned a story that he had heard from Herb about some glowing words that Lombardi told Adderley after a game.

“Herb had heard about the time Coach Lombardi had cussed me out in practice one day and then later in the locker room told me that I could be the best guard in football,” Kramer said. “Those words from Vince changed my career and made me the player I became. The same thing happened to Herb.

“Herb told me about the time when he came off the field after a game early in his career, Coach Lombardi came up to him on the field and said, ‘Herbie, you have played the finest game I have ever seen a cornerback play. Take that with you and keep ahold of it.’

“Herbie told me that for the rest of his career, he tried to play the best game a cornerback could ever play.”

Speaking of Lombardi, there was another time when a number of his players were playing golf at the Lombardi Classic to raise money for cancer research after their coach died of colon cancer in 1970.

“A bunch of us were at a bar on Wisconsin Avenue past Highway 100 after playing in the Lombardi Classic,” Kramer said. “Paul [Hornung], Max [McGee], Ron [Kramer] and Fuzzy [Thurston] were there with me.

“I looked across the bar and it was kind of dark in the bar and I saw an African American man over there, but I couldn’t clearly see who it was. I asked Fuzzy if that was Herb, and Fuzzy said no, because Herb would be with us. I told Fuzzy he was right.

“About 10 or 15 minutes later, I get a tap on my shoulder. And I turn around and it’s Herb. And he’s got his arms open. So I stood up and wrapped my arms around him and he did the same to me. And Herb says to me, ‘It’s still there JK. It’s still there.’ I told Herbie that it would always be there. It would be there forever.”

Dave Robinson played on the left side of the defense of the Packers. In front of him was Davis at left defensive end. Behind him at left cornerback was Adderley. Robinson considered Adderley the very best at his position.

“Herb Adderley was the best. You talk about shutdown cornerbacks, that’s what Herb was,” Robinson said. “He just shut people down. Herb is very proud of the fact that in the entire year of 1965, from the opening gun to the end of the season, not one receiver beat Herb for a touchdown.

“You have to remember that most quarterbacks in the NFL were righthanded, which means the those teams would load up the right side of the offense. So that meant Herb would be facing the best receiver on that team. But no receiver in that 14-game season of 1965 beat Herb for a touchdown.”

Robinson played with a lot of talented players in his 10-year career in Green Bay with the Packers and also in the two years he spent with the Washington Redskins. Robinson considers Adderley the best he ever played with.

“Herb was the most complete football player I ever played with,” Robinson said. “I played with a lot of cornerbacks, in Pro Bowls and championship games. Herb was head and shoulders above everyone else. The only one who came close to Herb was “Night Train” Lane.

“Both of them could cover very well. Both of them played the run very well. Both of them could knock you out if you were a running back. And they would. I saw Herb lay some wood on some people that was amazing. He played like a linebacker the way he could hit.”

Robinson also recalls the Herb was a leader for the Packers.

“Herb was more than just a cornerback, he was a team man,” Robinson said. “He always had a friendly thing to say and he always had a smile on his face. He would also say he was going to do something in the game and then challenge you to do something. I knew I better do what he asked me to do.”

Adderley also had a way to fire his teammates up.

“Herb was not a rah-rah guy. He would say, ‘I’m going to pick one today. Maybe two.’ Herb would lift up that whole defense, including the secondary. Willie Wood ran the secondary, but Herb was the example. Herb was the guy!”

Robinson also believes that Adderley’s presence in Dallas with the Cowboys is what finally brought them a win Super Bowl VI.

“When Herb arrived in Dallas, they couldn’t win the big one,” Robinson said. “Mel Renfro said he knew that Dallas would never win a championship until Herb got there. Herb taught them to win.”

In 1966, the Packers brought in a rookie running back by the name of Donny Anderson. Like Adderley was in 1961, Anderson was the No. 1 pick of the Packers in 1965 as a future pick.

For much of his rookie season, Anderson would return kickoffs and punts. When he returned kickoffs, he teamed with Adderley to return the kicks.

“When I was a rookie, I was put back there with Herb on kickoffs,” Anderson said. “Herb would tell me that between the goal posts if we were standing on the goal line, that anything that was to the middle or the right would be his and anything to the middle and the left would be mine.

“I said okay. I had returned kicks at Texas Tech. I recall a kickoff that was right to Herb’s goal post and he said, ‘Donny, you got it. You got it.’ That was kind of the way we started off. It wasn’t quite what he explained to me, but he later told me that it was easier to block than to return.

“You find out later on kickoffs that it’s pretty much a suicide mission, because if somebody misses one block you get clobbered pretty well. Then when Travis [Williams] came on in ’67, Herb was lucky he got off the kickoff team and Travis set all sorts of records.”

Anderson knew right away what a outstanding teammate and player Adderley was when he became a Packer in 1966.

“I always though Herb was a perfect gentleman,’ Anderson said. “He was classy and I recall that he dressed extremely well. And he played the position like it was supposed to be played. He was a running back at Michigan State and then tried out at wide receiver for a while, but when he became a cornerback, I can’t see how one could accomplish more than Herb did in his career.”

I also talked to Anderson about the many losses the the Packers family has gone through over the past two years losing nine of his teammates.

“It’s very close to all of us,” Anderson said. “Jerry and Boyd were there at the beginning. I was there six years and played most of the time in five of those years. You had a kindness and togetherness there that will never be replaced. You talked together. You practiced together. You played together.

“Coach Lombardi formed the personality of the team. We knew how great we were. That’s something in your lifetime on earth, I don’t know of anything other than your children, grandchildren and my family that can even touch that. So it’s sad. It’s very sad,”

Don Horn was able to practice against Adderley on a number of occasions, especially in 1969, when Horn started five games and won four of them.

“Herb had an uncanny knack for baiting people,” Horn said. “He would bait the quarterback and receiver. Herb did his homework and he knew how the pattern would develop and what the receiver’s tendencies were. He would act like he would play soft and then step right up and pick the ball off.”

Like Anderson, Horn knew right away what type of person Adderley was when No. 13 became a Packer in 1967.

“Herb was just a quiet leader,” Horn said. “I practiced against him a lot, especially in ’69 when Bart was hurt and I started a few games. From my perspective, I think Herb raised the bar for others in the secondary to play at a higher level. Especially Bob Jeter and Tom Brown. Herb and Willie [Wood] sort of set the bar.”

Horn was also able to reconnect with Adderley before Herb passed on.

“Herb and I stayed in touch the past few months,” Horn said. “Herb and I sort of had a special relationship. I don’t know why, but he helped me a lot. We stayed good friends over the years. About five or six months ago I reached out to him because I hadn’t heard from him in a while.

“We started some correspondence and it was really nice. The last time I was in touch with Herb was about six weeks ago. The news of his passing kind of caught me off guard.”

You can tell by the comments from Dowler, Kramer, Robinson, Anderson and Horn what a special person and player Adderley was.

Rest in peace, Herb. May God bless you and your family, as well as your close friends and former teammates.

Halloween Eve in 1967: The Green Bay Packers Get a Return on Investment

Before the NFL made Monday Night Football a weekly event for the fans of the league in 1970, the Green Bay Packers played three Monday night games in the 1960s.

The Packers beat the Detroit Lions 14-10 in 1964 on a Monday night at Tiger Stadium, plus beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-17 in 1968 at the Cotton Bowl on another Monday night.

In between those two games, there was another game on Monday night in 1967, on Halloween eve, as the Packers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 31-23 at Busch Memorial Stadium.

Bart Starr started every one of those Monday night games at quarterback, plus was also the starting QB in the inaugural season of MNF in 1970, as the Packers defeated the then San Diego Chargers 22-20 at San Diego Stadium.

The current Green Bay team plays the now Los Angeles Chargers this upcoming Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Park, as Aaron Rodgers tries to lead the 7-1 Packers to their fourth road victory of the season.

The Chargers were originally the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960 when they joined the AFL, but moved to San Diego the next year and remained there through 2016. In 2020, the Chargers will play at the new L.A. Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park and share that venue with the Los Angeles Rams.

Back to the 1967 Monday night game in St. Louis now. It was a very important game for the Packers, as they realized that they now had a huge weapon returning kickoffs as Travis Williams returned the first of four touchdowns he scored via the kickoff in 1967.

The game itself was a bloody battle before the kickoff return for a touchdown by Williams.

The Cardinals, led by quarterback Jim Hart, who threw for 317 yards, had 405 total yards, compared to just 245 by the Packers.

Starr struggled in the game, only throwing for 117 yards and a touchdown. No. 15 also threw two interceptions.

Hart also threw two picks, but he also threw two touchdown passes to Dave Williams, who had six receptions for 147 yards.

Boyd Dowler was the leading receiver for the Packers, as he caught five passes for 50 yards and a score.

The Green Bay ground game was quite efficient though, as the Packers averaged over five yards per carry.

Fullback Jim Grabowski rushed for 71 yards on just 10 attempts, while halfback Elijah Pitts rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts.

As it turned out, the game was the last game that Grabowski and Pitts would finish together, as Pitts was lost for the season (Achilles tendon tear) the following week in Baltimore versus the Colts and Grabowski suffered a knee injury in that same game that would basically end his season except for just four carries later in the year.

The Packers were trailing 23-17 in the fourth quarter to the Cardinals, when Williams returned a kick from former Wisconsin Badger Jim Bakken for 93 yards and a score.

The Packers never looked back, as they added another touchdown on a pass from Starr to Dowler, as Green Bay won 31-23.

But the return was just the start of what Williams would do in 1967. Williams was part of a rookie class that included two first round picks in offensive lineman Bob Hyland and quarterback Don Horn.

In his rookie season, Williams returned 18 kickoffs for 739 yards, which averages out to 41.1 yards-per-return, which is still a NFL record. No. 23 returned four of those 18 kicks for touchdowns and almost had a fifth against the Chicago Bears.

But it all started with that kickoff return for a touchdown against the Cardinals.

Jerry Kramer wrote about that play in his classic book, Instant Replay, which was edited by the late, great Dick Schaap.

“When the Cardinals went ahead 23-17 in the last quarter, I felt we were in real danger. But then they kicked off, and Travis Williams , playing on the kickoff return team for the first time because [Herb] Adderley had bruised his hand, took the ball and headed straight up the middle. I was on the front line, nearest the Cardinals. I hit one guy with a forearm and knocked him backwards, then took about four more steps towards another guy. Suddenly, I felt Travis breeze by me, zip, zip, zip, zip, like I was standing still. He went all the way for a touchdown, 93 yards, and we were back in the lead.”

And that play happened 52 years ago tonight, on Halloween eve.

That was quite a trick by Williams and quite a treat for the Packers.

The Packers would go on to win their third straight NFL title in 1967, a feat that has never been duplicated, as well as winning their second straight Super Bowl.

The 1967 season was also the last year Vince Lombardi roamed the sidelines as head coach of the Packers.

The legacy of Lombardi in Green Bay turned out to be a fantastic treat for Packer Nation.

Green Bay Packers: Remembering Travis Williams, aka ‘The Roadrunner’

I was reading a story today by Rick Gosselin of the Talk of Fame Sports Network in which he names his all-time NFL special teams unit.

Now nobody studies NFL special teams units like Gosselin does. Since 1980, Gosselin has studied and ranked all the special teams units in the NFL. That has gone on now for 38 years and his rankings are must-read material.

Back in 1980, Gosselin was covering the Kansas City Chiefs. The special teams coach of the Chiefs then was Frank Gansz. It was by talking with Gansz that Gosselin learned the formula about how to rank special teams units.

Before I read the story on his all-time team, I was wondering if Travis Williams of the Green Bay Packers and later the Los Angeles Rams was on Gosselin’s 53-man unit. It turns out that he wasn’t, as the returners which Gosselin has on his team are certainly worthy of getting that honor.

The three kickoff returners Gosselin has on his team are Gale Sayers, Josh Cribbs and Mel Gray. The three punt returners are Devin Hester, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson and Rick Upchurch.

Everyone of those players were consistently very good at returning kicks throughout their NFL careers, as opposed to Williams, who made a name for himself in 1967, which also happened to be his rookie year in the NFL.

In that season, Williams returned 18 kickoffs for 739 yards, which averages out to 41.1 yards-per-return, which is still a NFL record. No. 23 returned four of those 18 kicks for touchdowns and almost had a fifth against the Chicago Bears.

Williams was never able to replicate that performance again on a consistent basis, but he did score again on returns on two occasions for the Packers in 1969, when he returned a punt for 83 yards and another kickoff for 96 yards.

Also, in 1971 when he was a member of the Rams, Williams returned another kickoff for 105 yards and a touchdown.

Besides flashing outstanding ability as a kick returner, Williams also showed that he could be a game-changer when he played running back.

Never was that more true than in the 1967 Western Conference title game, when the Packers played the Rams at Milwaukee County Stadium. “The Roadrunner” was the star of the game for the Packers.

No. 23 didn’t return a kickoff for a score, but he did rush for two touchdowns and had 88 yards rushing.

Right guard Jerry Kramer talked to me about that first TD run by Williams.

“I remember blocking on Merlin [Olsen] very vividly on one play,” Kramer said. “It’s still crystal clear in my mind. Travis is going outside right on the play. And I’m blocking on Merlin and I’m trying to get outside position on him. And he’s starting to move and I’m chasing him.

“All of a sudden, I see Travis about even with us, but near the sideline and I knew that he was gone.”

Gone he was, as Williams scampered 46 yards for a score.

The 1967 season was a special one for the Packers, as the team won it’s third straight NFL championship under head coach Vince Lombardi. That feat has never been duplicated either. That season was also the last year the Packers were coached by Lombardi.

The Packers also won their second straight Super Bowl that season, which was an outstanding feat based on all the injuries the team had that season.

In 1966, quarterback Bart Starr was the NFL MVP. But for the first part of the 1967 season, Starr was affected by a number of injuries which forced him to miss two games.

In addition to that, when the season started, the Packers no longer had halfback Paul Hornung or fullback Jim Taylor as starters in the backfield. That combination was considered to be the best in the NFL for several seasons.

Hornung was claimed by the expansion New Orleans Saints when Lombardi had put him on the Green Bay expansion list. No. 5 never played with the Saints however, as he was forced to retire due to a neck/shoulder injury.

Taylor did play for the Saints that season, as he played out his option in the 1966 season and signed with the Saints in 1967.

With Hornung and Taylor no longer available, Lombardi made Elijah Pitts his starting halfback and Jim Grabowski his starting fullback. Both were having solid seasons when in Week 8 of the 1967 season against the Baltimore Colts, both Pitts and Grabowski were lost for the season with injuries.

Lombardi then added fullback Chuck Mercein to the team via waivers and Green Bay now had a one-two punch at both halfback and fullback throughout the rest of the 1967 season.

Donny Anderson and Williams shared time at halfback, while Mercein and Ben Wilson shared duties at fullback.

The result? The Packers finished second in the NFL in rushing in 1967.

When the postseason came around, Lombardi utilized all of his backs, depending on the opponents.

Against the Rams, Lombardi primarily played Williams at halfback and Mercein at fullback. Against the Cowboys in the “Ice Bowl”, Anderson played primarily at halfback, while Mercein received most of the playing time at fullback.

But in Super Bowl II versus the Oakland Raiders, Anderson again was in most of the time at halfback, while Wilson got the start at fullback that game and led the Packers in rushing that day with 65 yards.

In 1967, Williams was part of a rookie class, which included Bob Hyland and Don Horn. I wrote a piece about that class a little over a year ago.

Williams first showed his kickoff return prowess in Week 7 of the 1967 season, when he returned a kick for 93 yards and a score against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

At the time of that kickoff return, the Packers were trailing the Cardinals 23-17 in the fourth quarter. The Packers ended up winning that game 31-23.

Two weeks later against the Cleveland Browns at Milwaukee County Stadium, Williams really put himself on the NFL map. Williams returned two kickoffs for touchdowns that day in the first quarter. The first was 87 yards and the second one was 85 yards. If that wasn’t enough, Williams rushed for 43 yards in just four carries in the game.

Williams returned his fourth kickoff return for a touchdown against the Rams in Week 13 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for 104 yards.

As a running back in the 1967 regular season, Williams rushed for 188 yards (5.4 yards-per-carry average) and one score, while he caught five passes for 80 yards (16 yard average) and another score.

In the postseason, Williams rushed for 137 yards (4.6 average) and had two touchdowns (both against the Rams).

As it was, Williams only showed glimpses of what he did in 1967 throughout the rest of his career in Green Bay and in the NFL.

In 1968, Williams only had a 21.4 average in returning kicks (no touchdowns) and only rushed for 63 yards the entire season.

In 1969, Williams appeared to have bounced back in fine fashion, as he had two return touchdowns and also rushed for 536 yards (4.2 average) and four scores. No. 23 also caught 27 passes for 275 yards and three more touchdowns.

But in 1970, Williams again regressed, as he had just 276 yards rushing (3.7 average) and one touchdown, plus caught just 12 passes, one of which was a score.

In 1971, new head coach and general manager Dan Devine traded Williams to the Rams, where “The Roadrunner” had his last season in the NFL because of a knee injury.

Sadly, Williams died at the young age of 45 in 1991 of heart failure after a long illness. Williams had dealt with homelessness, poverty and alcohol for a number of years leading up to his death.

Williams had battled depression due to the deaths of his wife, mother and sister in 1985.

It was a tragic end to the life of Williams, who had been the brightest of lights for the Packers in the glorious season of 1967.

It was in that season when “The Roadrunner” set a kickoff return record which has yet to be broken. That didn’t get Williams on Gosselin’s all-time NFL special teams unit, but I certainly believe that Williams deserves honorable mention for his kick returning skills.

The 1967 Draft Class of the Green Bay Packers

Center Bob Hyland prepares to snap the ball to quarterback Don Horn, as the Green Bay Packers played the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field in 1968.

The 1967 season was a special one in the legacy of Vince Lombardi and his Green Bay Packers. That season tuned out to be the last season that Lombardi would coach the Packers, plus it was also the year that the Packers won their third straight NFL title, as well as their second straight Super Bowl.

The three straight NFL championships has never been duplicated in any era since the postseason playoff system started in the NFL in 1933. Overall, the Packers won five NFL titles in seven years under Lombardi (including Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II), culminating in the glorious season of 1967.

That season was masterfully chronicled by right guard Jerry Kramer of the Packers, as he would recite his thoughts into a tape recorder and then submit those words to Dick Schaap, who edited the words into the final version of the classic book, Instant Replay.

I described how that wonderful book was put together in a piece I wrote last summer.

But before the season began, the NFL held it’s annual draft on March 14, 1967. That draft was 50 years ago last month. How time flies. In those days, the draft lasted 17 rounds.

If you thought 17 rounds seems long compared to the current NFL practice of seven rounds, you should look back when Kramer was drafted in 1958. Then the NFL draft was 30 rounds. Yes, you read that right. 30 rounds! Anyway, that particular draft was the best one the Packers ever had. I documented that in a recent story.

But the 1967 draft brought some very talented players to Green Bay as well. In the first round of that draft, the Packers selected center/guard Bob Hyland of Boston College with the ninth overall pick of the draft.

Lombardi (who was also general manger) acquired that pick from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for defensive tackle Lloyd Voss and tight end/defensive end Tony Jeter.

The Packers also had another selection in the first round in 1967, which was their own pick, and the Packers selected quarterback Don Horn of San Diego State with pick No. 25 in the first round.

In all, the Packers had six players from that draft make the team in 1967. They were Hyland and Horn obviously, as well as linebacker Jim Flanigan of Pittsburgh (second round), cornerback John Rowser of Michigan (third round), running back/kick returner Travis Williams of Arizona State (fourth round) and wide receiver Claudis James of Jackson State (14th round).

Two other draft picks were put on the taxi squad (like the current day practice squad) that season. They were wide receiver Dave Dunaway of Duke (second round) and center Jay Bachman of Cincinnati (fifth round).

Another rookie who was part of that draft class was cornerback Mike Bass, who was selected in 12th round out of Michigan. Lombardi ended up selling Bass to the Detroit Lions that training camp.

Bass ended up having a very nice career with the Washington Redskins (Lombardi coached him in 1969) for several years when he was named to the Pro Bowl twice and was named All-Pro once. Bass had 30 interceptions in his career, with three returned for touchdowns.

The Packers did have a rookie free agent make the team as well. That would be tight end/linebacker Dick Capp of Boston College, who actually was drafted originally in the AFL draft in 1966 by the Boston Patriots.

I had the opportunity to talk with both Hyland and Horn last week to talk about being part of that 1967 draft class of the Packers, plus how special that rookie season was for both of them.

Neither Hyland or Horn had any inkling that the Packers would be the team to select them.

“I didn’t expect to be selected by the Packers,” Hyland said. “I had indications from the Cowboys, the 49ers, the Bears and the Steelers though.

“Also, the previous weekend of the draft, I went to Baltimore, as the Colts had the first pick in the draft and they wanted to interview me and Bubba Smith. They decided on Bubba. But on draft day, I didn’t know if I was going to be picked first or a bit later.”

Horn didn’t expect the Packers to be drafting him either.

“I expected to be drafted in round one because I was told that I was going to be picked in that round by two or three teams if I was still available,” Horn said. “The Lions said that. The Raiders said that. The Chargers said that as well.”

Both players were surprised when they got a call from Vince Lombardi of the Packers.

“At BC (Boston College) they are pretty serious about getting to class,” Hyland said. “I had a 9:00 class and afterwards I went back to where I lived. I had three roommates and we lived in an old mansion on campus.

“We actually had a phone which was kind of unusual back in those days, but between the four of us we could afford it. That was the phone number that I gave the NFL to contact me. They told me to get near a phone by 10:00, which I did.

“About 10 minutes later I got a call from Coach Lombardi. I was thrilled. I really had no idea. I was a Giants fan as a kid and I was very aware of Coach Lombardi. I followed the NFL very closely. You couldn’t help but to be a Green Bay Packer fan as your second favorite team compared to your hometown team.

Bob Hyland snaps the ball to Bart Starr.

“I was really excited about the possibility going out to Green Bay and being with a championship team.”

Horn had to wait awhile until he got his call from Coach Lombardi, as he sat in the public relation director’s office at San Diego State listening to the draft on the radio.

“So we’re listening to the draft and I hear that the Lions selected Mel Farr with their pick in the first round,” Horn said. “And I’m thinking that those guys [the Lions] didn’t tell the truth about picking me.

“So as we getting near the end of the first round, I’m kind of ticked because all these teams who said they were going to pick me, didn’t. All of a sudden the phone rings and I believe it was Coach Lombardi’s secretary, and she said, ‘Is this Donald Horn?’ And I said yes. She then told me to please hold for Coach Lombardi.

“At first I thought someone was playing a trick on me. Then Lombardi and his distinctive voice gets on the phone. He says, ‘Donald,  this is Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers. The Kansas City Chiefs are picking right now. We are considering making you our next draft choice. Do you have any reservations about playing for the Packers?’ I said no sir.

“Then Coach asked if I had signed any contracts with other leagues like the Canadian Football League. Again, I said no sir. Lombardi then said he would get back to me in about 15 minutes. About 15 minutes later, I get the call and Lombardi says, ‘Don, you are now a Green Bay Packer.’

“I couldn’t believe it. I felt like I was 10 feet tall. It was like walking on water!”

When the veterans and the rookies got together for training camp in the summer of ’67, they were met with important message from their coach.

I also talked to Kramer last week and he related this story to me.

“The biggest thing was the first day of training camp when we had our first meeting,” Kramer said. “Coach Lombardi talked about winning our third consecutive title. He told us that no one has ever done that before and that it will set us apart from everyone else who ever played in the NFL.

“He told us that we had to have a great deal of discipline, perseverance, tenacity, pride, character, all the things that we needed to do to win that third straight title. He told us everyone would be looking to knock us off.

“That was an important message for us. That was to be our focus. Veterans and rookies alike.”

For the rookies, training camp under Lombardi was something they had never experienced before. Certainly Horn didn’t.

“I never experienced anything like we went through in training camp that summer,” Horn said. “Never. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe he worked people that hard. In college, it was pretty easy.

“We didn’t do anything near what we did in Green Bay to get in shape or work out. Or have the dedication to work out like Vince did. Those two-a-days and those grass drills that we went through were incredible. To this day, we still talk about them. He just beat you down physically before practice with these drills. And then you were expected to practice as hard as you could. It was amazing.”

Horn talked about an incident which occurred during that training camp which brought a few chuckles from the team.

The team was running through some drills where the center and the quarterback were go through snap exchanges. It’s important to know that Hyland was about about two inches taller and about 25 pounds heavier than Ken Bowman, the other center on the Packers.

Horn talked about that dynamic played out.

“So we are at practice one day working on some drills,” Horn said. “Bob had a pretty tall stance snapping the ball, compared to Ken.  And it takes awhile for a quarterback to get used to a new center. Especially if he was as big as Bob was. So, it’s two-a-days and Bart’s taking some snaps from Bob. And he fumbles a snap. Then Zeke [Bratkowski] stepped in and muffs a couple of snaps from Bob. I come in and do the same thing.

“So Vince and the other coaches start yelling at Bob and all the quarterbacks. Finally Lombardi says, ‘Let me show you how to do this!’ So Vince goes over under Bob and by now Bob is pretty nervous and he’s shaking. So Vince calls the signal and Hyland snaps the ball to Vince and the football jams his fingers and Lombardi starts cursing in pain. We were all laughing pretty good under our breath.”

It wasn’t always that way for Hyland. In fact, Lombardi went out of his way to compliment the play of Hyland many times in training camp.

Lombardi got so comfortable with Hyland playing center, that the White Plains, New York native started six games at center in the regular season for the Packers, starting with the Week 9 game versus the Cleveland Browns at old County Stadium in Milwaukee.

The rookie class certainly made a mark in that game. Hyland started at center for the first time. Horn played quarterback for half of the fourth quarter in a 55-7 blowout win by the Pack. That was Horn’s first meaningful playing time that season.

But the rookie who made the biggest splash that day was Travis Williams. Williams returned two kickoffs for touchdowns that day in the first quarter. The first was 87 yards and the second one was 85 yards. If that wasn’t enough, “The Roadrunner” rushed for 43 yards in just four carries.

Horn told me a story about how the game ended which will tell you a lot about the class and dignity of Lombardi.

“It’s late in the fourth quarter and I drove the team 50 or 60 yards to the Cleveland seven-yard line,” Horn said. “There’s two minutes to go and we were up at the time 55-7. So I’m think we are going to score. All of a sudden Forrest Gregg comes back into the game, as by then all the backups were in the game. So that was sort of odd.

“So I’m thinking to myself that Forrest brought in a play for me to run and we are going to score. But instead, Forrest grabs me and pulls me aside and says, ‘The old man told me to tell you NOT to score.’ So I ran the clock out just like Coach Lombardi wanted.

“After the game ended, Vince was one of the first guys to see me. He grabbed me and he said, ‘Donald (as he pointed over to head coach Blanton Collier of the Browns), you see that gentleman over there? 55 is bad enough. I’m not going put 62 on him. That man is a gentleman. Do you understand, son?’ And I replied, yes sir. Lombardi then says, ‘Okay. Good.’

Over the remainder of the season, Hyland remained the starter at center for the Packers. No. 50 talked about how the veterans of the offensive line supported him during that time.

“They took me right under their wing,” Hyland said. “Especially when I became a starter. I remember Bob Skoronski asking me to go out to dinner with them a couple of times. The offensive linemen stuck together quite a bit. They wanted me to feel part of the group. Which they did

“I just had a lot of respect for every one of the guys on the offensive line. They were outstanding people. Kenny and I had a difficult situation of course. He was a good player. Coach Lombardi was more in my favor then. Maybe because I was bigger and I could handle guys who played right over me better than Ken could.

“It was a tough thing for Kenny. He earned his way to the first position and then all of a sudden I stepped on his toes. But the one thing was that we all wanted to win. That was the most important aspect. I think we were all able to deal with what ever our personal setbacks might have been for the greater good of the team to help win a championship.”

Another example of that situation was when left guard Gale Gillingham became the starter at left guard after Fuzzy Thurston hurt his knee in a scrimmage early in training camp. Thurston never regained his starting job back from the talented Gillingham.

Kramer talk about how Thurston handled that situation.

“Fuzzy sat besides Gilly for the rest of the ’67 season, ” Kramer said. “He coached Gilly. They sat together in every film session. Fuzzy gave him the benefit of everything he had learned about the defensive tackle that Gilly would be facing that given week.

“Fuzzy told Gilly what he liked to do against that tackle and told Gilly that he should think about doing the same thing. Basically, Fuzzy was Gilly’s personal coach.”

Travis Williams returns a kickoff for 104 yards and a touchdown vs. the Rams in Los Angeles.

The rookie who really took off starting in Week 7, was Williams. Against the St. Louis Cardinals that week, No. 23 ran his first kickoff return for a touchdown that year. He then returned the two kickoffs for touchdowns against the Browns, plus had another one, for 104 yards, versus the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13.

All told, Williams returned 18 kickoffs for 739 yards and four touchdowns. His kickoff return average of 41.1 yards is still a NFL record.

Williams also received some playing time at halfback, as starter Elijah Pitts was lost for the year with a torn Achilles tendon against the Baltimore Colts in Week 8. In that same game, starting fullback Jim Grabowski was also basically lost for the year with a knee injury.

Williams rushed for 188 yards (5.4 average) during the ’67 season and scored one touchdown.

Williams also had a receiving touchdown, which he caught from Horn in the last week of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lambeau Field. It was Horn’s first career touchdown pass as a matter of fact.

The Packers ended the 1967 regular season with a 9-4-1 record and were NFL Central Division champs.  Their first matchup in the postseason would be against the 11-1-2 and Coastal Division champion Rams at County Stadium in Milwaukee.

In that game, Bowman surprisingly started the game at center. Hyland talked about how that went down.

“Against the Rams, Coach Lombardi started Kenny Bowman and then put me in after the first series,” Hyland said. “I had a good game. I guess Lombardi’s theory was to take the pressure off the kid and don’t let him know what’s in store for him until after the first series.

“Kenny was obviously disappointed, but I was thrilled to be part of a big win.”

A big win it was, as the Packers whipped the Rams 28-7. The star of the game was Williams. He didn’t return a kickoff for a score, but he did rush for two touchdowns and had 88 yards rushing.

Kramer talked about the first touchdown run by Williams.

“I remember blocking on Merlin [Olsen] very vividly on one play,” Kramer said. “It’s still crystal clear in my mind. Travis is going outside right on the play. And I’m blocking on Merlin and I’m trying to get outside position on him. And he’s starting to move and I’m chasing him.

“All of a sudden, I see Travis about even with us, but near the sideline and I knew that he was gone.”

Gone he was, as Williams scampered 46 yards for a score.

The next week was the legendary “Ice Bowl” game at Lambeau Field, as the Packers hosted the Dallas Cowboys in the 1967 NFL Championship Game on New Year’s Eve.

Bowman got the start a center in that game, while Williams rushed for just 13 yards, as Donny Anderson received most of the playing time at halfback.

Which brings up another point. Lombardi was a bit of a “hunch” coach. He started players based on hunches at times, not because of how a player had been performing recently.

For instance, Hyland played well against the Rams in the playoffs, but Lombardi still started Bowman against the Cowboys the next week. Lombardi also did that with his running back tandems in the postseason that year.

Against the Rams, Lombardi primarily played Williams at halfback and Chuck Mercein at fullback. Against the Cowboys, Anderson played primarily at halfback, while Mercein received most of the playing time at fullback.

But in Super Bowl II versus the Oakland Raiders, Anderson again was in most of the time at halfback, while Ben Wilson got the start at fullback that game and led the Packers in rushing that day with 65 yards.

And this was after Mercein played very well against the Rams and the Cowboys.

Back to the “Ice Bowl” now. The game was an epic battle that was played in brutal conditions, as the game-time temperature was 13 degrees below zero.

Green Bay was down 17-14 late into the fourth quarter. The Packers got the ball back at their own 32-yard line with just 4:50 remaining in the game. Somehow the Packers were going to have to trudge 68 yards across a truly frozen tundra to win the game.

Trudge they did. The game down down to this: there were just 16 seconds to go with no timeouts at the Dallas 1-yard line. Starr conferred with Lombardi on the sideline and called the 31 Wedge play in the huddle, which calls for the fullback to get the ball.  But Starr decided he was going to keep the ball because of the slippery conditions near the goal line.

The decision to call the wedge play under these settings was first suggested by Kramer earlier in the week.

“I saw that Jethro [Pugh] was high, and I actually suggested that play on Thursday when we were studying short-yardage films. I said we could wedge Pugh if we had to. And Coach Lombardi said, ‘What?’ And I said that we can wedge Pugh if we have to. So we ran the film back three or four times, and coach says, ‘That’s right. Put in a wedge on Pugh.’

On the legendary play, Pugh stayed high just like Kramer expected and No. 64 cleared the way for Starr to sneak across the goal line for the game-winning score.

Kramer talked about that block.

“I put my face into the chest of Pugh. That is not the easiest thing to do, but it’s the safest and the surest way to make a block. I felt great personal responsibility to the team on that block. When I came off the ball, I was on fire.”

Kramer also talked about the contribution of Bowman at center on that play.

“I’ve analyzed that play a lot. “Bow” was there, there is no question about that,” Kramer said. “But when Jethro got up like I expected and then I got into him, the rest was a forgone conclusion. Jethro was then out of position and also out of the play. The play was over for him then.”

When Starr scored on that historic quarterback sneak, Lombardi raised his arms to signal touchdown. The first player to congratulate Lombardi after that touchdown was Horn.

Two weeks later, the Packers defeated the Oakland Raiders 33-14 to win Super Bowl II and to cement their third NFL title in a row. A feat that has never been reproduced.

Hyland reflected on how it felt to be part of such a mythical team as a rookie.

“From the standpoint of Coach Lombardi, I think it had to be his greatest year as a coach,” Hyland said. “He had to pull every trick he could out of the hat to put a good team on the field every week.

“Bringing in Chuck Mercein. Bringing Ben Wilson. Guys like that. Those guys did a great job and I think it’s a tribute to Coach Lombardi that he just inspired people to play way over their heads.

“I think it was a real interesting story that year. Jerry captured the situation very well in Instant Replay. With a lot of the behind the scenes going on and a lot of people have read the book many times simply because it was such a great year for the Packers.”

Quarterback Don Horn stands next to head coach Vince Lombardi near the end of Super Bowl II. Jerry Kramer is behind the legendary coach.

Speaking of Instant Replay, Horn told me a very interesting story about that book.

“Jerry gave me one of the first editions that he autographed for me,” Horn said. “Jerry personalized for me and I had the book for a couple of years. Then my mother came to visit my wife and I and asked to borrow the book because she wanted to read it.

“So I give her Instant Replay. This is around 1970.  A few weeks later, my mother calls and said that she lost the book at an airport. She felt really bad. I told her not to worry, that I’ll get another one and get Jerry to sign it.

“Well, about 15 to 20 years later, I’m playing in the Vince Lombardi golf tournament up there in Menomonee Falls and this couple walks up to me and hands me Instant Replay. The man says, ‘Mr. Horn, I think this belongs to you.’ And sure enough it was the same book Jerry had signed for me back in 1968. Somebody in their family had found the book at General Mitchell Field and kept all those years until they had a chance to return it to me.”

Talk about a very fortunate set of circumstances.

Which was how the season played out in 1967 for the Green Packers and their rookie class for that season.

But the Packers created their own fortune that year. They did it the same way that Lombardi taught them. Through preparation, commitment, consistency, discipline, character, pride, tenacity and perseverance.

Those principles led to a third straight NFL title and a second straight Super Bowl win.

Not to mention a treasure chest full of great memories for both Hyland and Horn.

Green Bay Packers: Jerry Kramer Talks About Playing da Bears

George Halas and Vince Lombardi

Playing the Chicago Bears was always special for Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. Not just because the storied rivalry started way back in 1921, but because Lombardi was personally endorsed by George Halas for the head coaching job in Green Bay.

So it was very apropos that Lombardi’s first game as head coach was against the Bears at new City Stadium (now Lambeau Field) on September 27, 1959.

The Packers rallied from a 6-0 fourth-quarter deficit in that game and won the contest 9-6. Lombardi was carried off the field by his players after the victory. That was a habit which was duplicated at least four more times in Lombardi’s tenure.

The last time that occurred was after the 33-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II, when Forrest Gregg and Jerry Kramer hoisted up Lombardi in his final game as head coach of the Pack.

I talked with Kramer on Wednesday and he related a couple of instances about how Lombardi was focused on Halas when a game against the Bears was approaching.

For example, Lombardi was always worried that Halas would use spies to check out the practices of the Packers.

“We would be practicing and Coach would see a lineman on a power pole a couple of blocks away doing electrical work,” Kramer said. “And Coach would go, ‘There’s one of Halas’ spies! Somebody go down there and check out that guy!’

Lombardi also had other ways to help hinder any spy tactics of Halas.

“At practice, Bart would wear No. 75 at times,” Kramer said chuckling. “We would change our numbers and everyone would wear a different number to confuse the spies of the Bears. Like Halas was going to think an offensive tackle is playing quarterback for us.”

Lombardi was always primed to play the Bears and he let his team know about as well.

“We were practicing on day before playing the Bears and Coach Lombardi brought us together,” Kramer said. “Coach said, ‘You guys go out and kick the Bears’ ass. And I’ll go out and kick old man Halas’ ass too.’

Kramer also remembered a quote from Halas talking about when the Bears played the Packers.

“Coach Halas said, ‘We knew what they [the Packers] were going to do. We knew where they were going to do it and we knew when they were going to do it. We just couldn’t do anything about it.”

Even with all the various techniques Lombardi would use to stop the flow of information to Bears about the Packers, Halas still had a way to get vital data regarding his rival to the north.

“When I played in the Pro Bowl after the 1967 season, Coach Halas was coaching the team and we we late coming in from Florida after our Super Bowl win,” Kramer said. “There were nine of us and Coach Halas had a bus saved for us to go to practice.

“So I get on the bus and Coach Halas is sitting right behind the driver and he hands me a playbook. I go back about four seats on the opposite side of the bus near the aisle. So I start looking at the playbook and I see the first play is red right 49, which is our play, our code, our number system and our blocking.

“So I flip the page and I see red right 48, 46, 44, 42, 40 and so on. I look up at Coach Halas looking stunned with my mouth hanging open and he’s checking out at my reaction. “Halas said, ‘Jerry, we didn’t want you Green Bay boys to get behind so we just put in your offense.’

“The old fart had it exactly right. The numbers, the colors, the blocking assignments and the variations of the blocking assignments. He knew exactly what our playbook was.”

But even with all that, Lombardi and his Packers had a 13-5 record in the nine years he coached in Green Bay over Halas and his Bears.

The Packers also won five NFL titles in seven years in the 1960s, plus won the first two Super Bowls, while Halas and the Bears won the 1963 NFL title.

The quarterback of those five championship teams of the Packers and the MVP of both Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II, was Bart Starr.

In an earlier conversation that I had with Kramer, he talked about a game which let the team know that Starr was truly their leader.

“We were playing the Chicago Bears,” Kramer said. “Bill George was their middle linebacker at the time. On a deep pass attempt, George thought he would try to intimidate Bart.

“Bill took about a five-yard run and he gave Bart a forearm right in the mouth. George timed it perfectly and put Bart right on his behind. He also cut Bart badly, from his lip all the way to his nose. After that, George said, ‘That ought to take care of you Starr, you pu**y.’ Bart snapped right back at George and said, ‘F— you, Bill George, we’re coming after you.’

“My jaw dropped after that exchange, as I was shocked. Meanwhile Bart was bleeding profusely. I told Bart that he better go to the sideline and get sewn up. Bart replied, ‘Shut up and get in the huddle.’

“Bart took us down the field in seven or eight plays and we scored. That series of plays really solidified Bart as our leader and we never looked back.”

It’s that type toughness and resiliency that the current 3-2 Green Bay team needs to have as they get set to play the 1-5 Bears on Thursday night at Lambeau Field on national television.

The Packers did not play well at all this past Sunday, when they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 30-16 at Lambeau Field.

Kramer was at the game, as he sat in a box with Brett Favre, Frank Winters, Antonio Freeman and LeRoy Butler.

“The Packers were chaotic and inconsistent,” Kramer said. “It was not a good showing at all.”

Going into the game against the Bears, the Packers have a number of issues. For one, the the team is dealing with a number of injuries. Which includes their top two running backs, as Eddie Lacy (ankle) and James Starks (knee) won’t be available to play and will be out for several weeks.

In fact, Lacy will be out until at least Week 15, after he was placed on injured reserve after it was determined he needs surgery on his ankle.

The Packers traded a 2018 conditional seventh-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for running back Knile Davis on Tuesday. Also, rookie running back Don Jackson was promoted from the practice squad to replace the roster spot of Lacy.

Kramer knows all about not being able to play with your best running backs. In 1967, the Packers went into the season for the first time in a decade without Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor in the backfield, as Hornung retired and Taylor moved on as a free agent.

In addition to that, both starting running backs, Elijah Pitts and Jim Grabowski, suffered season-ending injuries in Week 8 versus the Baltimore Colts.

Running back Travis Williams tries to elude linebacker Dick Butkus

The Packers didn’t flinch, as backs like Donny Anderson, Travis Williams, Ben Wilson and Chuck Mercein filled in and helped the Packers finish second in the NFL in rushing that season.

Another problem that the current Packers are having is that the passing offense of the team is not in sync. Aaron Rodgers has been in a year-long slump, at least based on the superlative passing numbers he put up from 2009 through 2014.

The receivers are having trouble getting open, even with the return of Jordy Nelson, and when they are open, Rodgers is missing them at times.

Again, Kramer has dealt with this before, as the offense of the Lombardi Packers had to transform itself over the years.

From 1960 through 1964, the Packers relied on the running game to be the focal point of their offense. In those five years, the Packers were either first or second in the league in rushing.

But in 1965, the running game started having some issues. The Packers were just 10th in the NFL in rushing that season. Ironically, the running game came alive when the team needed it the most that season.

The Packers would be playing for the 1965 NFL title versus the defending NFL champion Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field.

And although the running game of the Packers had struggled almost the entire year, the Packers could not be stopped on this snowy and muddy day on the frozen tundra.

Green Bay rushed for 204 yards behind Taylor and  Hornung, as the Pack won 23-12. The power sweep was especially effective, as Kramer and left guard Fuzzy Thurston kept opening big holes for the backs, mowing down defenders so the Packers gained big chunks of yardage on the ground.

The Packers won three straight NFL titles starting that season. In 1965 and 1966, the Packers became more of a passing offense. Starr was magnificent, as he threw 30 touchdown passes versus 12 interceptions in those two years.

Starr was also named the NFL MVP in 1966.

In 1967, Starr had a number of injuries which affected his play. Because of that, Lombardi leaned more on the running game again and another NFL title was the result.

The current Packers need to change their offensive tendencies like Lombardi did back in the day. Instead of running simply isolation pass patterns, perhaps they can try a few bunch-formation pass patterns, which usually allows receivers to get open a bit more easily.

Plus, go back to the basics of the west coast offense. Use quick-hitting pass patterns like slants and short curls.

The bottom line, the Packers have to find a way to get through all their issues and injuries and beat their most hated rival. With a win, the Packers be within a game of tying the all-time series between the two teams.

Right now the Packers are 91-93-6 in the regular season and 1-1 in the postseason versus the Bears. By winning on Thursday night and again in Week 15 in Chicago at Soldier Field, the Packers will even up the series for the first time since 1933, when the two teams were knotted at 11-11-4.

The Packers have been the dominant team in the past quarter century when the two teams played. A lot of that has been due to great quarterback play. In the 24 years that Favre and Rodgers have been under center for the team, the Packers have a 34-14 record versus da Bears.

Rodgers has been phenomenal for the most part in his career against Chicago. Not only did he beat them in the 2010 NFC title game at Soldier Field, but he’s 12-4 in the regular season as well.

In those 16 games, Rodgers has thrown 35 touchdown passes versus just nine picks for 3,839 yards. That adds up to a very robust passer rating of 107.3.

The Packers need more of the same from Rodgers on Thursday night. Head coach Mike McCarthy can help by changing his offensive scheme a bit, as his offensive inclinations are being diagnosed by the opponents.

The struggles of Rodgers and the offense over the past year or so validate that point.

Kramer knows what the Packers need to do versus da Bears.

“Just do what Coach Lombardi always instructed us to do to meet our challenges,” Kramer said. “Coach told us that we had to be tenacious, we had to be committed and that we had to be disciplined.

“We listened and followed his directions and we focused on the job at hand. That led us to all those championships, including the three straight NFL titles.”

The job at hand for the current Packers is beating the Bears on Thursday night. Not just winning, but also improving all facets of the football team with their play.

Jerry Kramer Talks About the 1967 Playoff Game Versus the Los Angeles Rams

The 1967 NFL season was a special one in the history of the Green Bay Packers. It would turn out to be the last season that Vince Lombardi would be the head coach of the team.

Up until that season, Lombardi and his Packers had won four NFL titles in six years, plus had won Super Bowl I. In addition to that, the Packers had a chance to win their third straight NFL championship, a feat which had never been accomplished in the playoff era of the NFL.

1967 was also the year when right guard Jerry Kramer of the Packers kept a diary of the season.  Kramer would recite his thoughts into a tape recorder and then submit those words to Dick Schaap, who edited the words into the final version of the classic book, Instant Replay.

Little did Kramer know that the 1967 season would be one of the most remarkable in the history of the NFL, culminating with the NFL Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, better known as the “Ice Bowl.” No. 64 played a key role in the outcome of that game as well, as the Packers won 21-17 in the final seconds of that legendary contest.

From training camp, through the “Ice Bowl” victory, then the win in Super Bowl II, Kramer provides a fascinating perspective about the viciousness of the NFL back then, when the game was truly a mixture of blood, sweat and tears.

Kramer also offers an insightful view of Lombardi, as a man, as a coach and as a leader.

Two of the more interesting aspects of the ’67 season were the two times the Packers had to face the Los Angeles Rams. With the Rams now going back to the City of Angels in 2016, I thought it would be an apropos time to talk those contests with Kramer.

The first time the team met was late in the season, when the Packers had already clinched the NFL Central division with a 9-2-1 mark heading into the game. They would be traveling to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to take on the 9-1-2 Rams.

The Packers really had nothing to play for except pride. The Rams meanwhile, were in a heated race with the Baltimore Colts to see who would win the Coastal division. Also, the NFL did not have a wild card format at the time, so the Rams had to win the division to advance to the playoffs.

Lombardi gave the team a quick pep talk on the sideline before the game.

“Thousands of people are here in the stands,” Lombardi told the team. “There are millions of people on television and everyone looking. All this speculation to see what kind of a game the Green Bay Packers are going to play today.

“Right? I want you to be proud of your profession. It’s a great profession. You be proud of this game. You can do a great deal for football today. A great deal for all the players in the league and everything else. Now go out there and play this ball game like I know you can play it!”

This past Friday, the NFL Network had a three-hour special as Super Bowl I was replayed in it’s entirety for the first time since that epic event 49 years ago.

In that special, it was presented that the speech that Lombardi gave his team in the 1967 regular season versus the Rams, was the one he gave before Super Bowl I, which also occurred at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

I knew that wasn’t the case and I posted a comment about it on Facebook. During a conversation I had with Kramer on Tuesday, I mentioned that to him.

“I saw that,” Kramer said speaking of my comment on Facebook. “I said, ‘Bob knows his shit. He’s doing it again. He’s got it right.’

The Packers played a great game on that Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles on December 9, 1967.

It was a hard fought contest, which saw both teams go back and forth taking the lead. The Rams had taken a 17-10 lead in the third period when they kicked off to Travis Williams of the Packers.

Williams had already become a sensation in the NFL in returning kickoffs that season, as he had returned three kicks for touchdowns before this game against the Rams.

No. 23 took the kickoff four yards deep in the end zone and returned the kick for yet another touchdown which tied the game at 17 all.

The Rams took the lead again 20-17 in the fourth quarter on a 16-yard field goal by Bruce Gossett, before the Packers scored on a four-yard touchdown run by fullback Chuck Mercein to give the Packers a 24-20 lead.

The Packers had that lead until the very last minute when Donny Anderson had his punt blocked by Tony Guillory of the Rams. Quarterback Roman Gabriel and his offense now had the ball on the five-yard line of the Packers with just seconds to go in the game.

Gabriel then threw a touchdown pass to Bernie Casey and the Rams won 27-24, as the Packers lost in heartbreaking fashion.

In Instant Replay, this is what Kramer wrote regarding the outcome of the game:

I was ready to fall down when the game ended. I contained Merlin pretty well, but I was beat from head to toe. I played about as hard as I ever played in my life, and I took an incredible physical pounding in the middle of the line. So did everyone else; everybody gave 100 percent. Coach Lombardi told me I played a great game, but I was down, blue, disappointed, dejected, everything. I never came so close to tears on a football field.

Fortunately for the Packers, they had one more opportunity to play the Rams. This time it would be in the Western Conference Championship Game at Milwaukee County Stadium on December 23, just two weeks after that painful loss to the Rams.

Kramer told me that he knew the Rams would be a very tough test.

“They [the Rams] were a hell of a football team,” Kramer said. “The Fearsome Foursome was very real. There wasn’t any weakness there. They also had a good linebacking corp and good defensive backs. They had a hell of a football team.”

The game didn’t start out well for the Packers as they had a couple of turnovers in the first quarter.  The last turnover led to a score by the Rams, as Gabriel hit Casey on a 29-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead.

But the Packers weren’t phased. The team was definitely ready to play, as Lombardi had given the team another pre-game pep talk in the locker room.

“We really got fired up in the locker room when Coach Lombardi gave us his Run to Win speech,” Kramer said. “That got us pretty high. The ring I wear, from Super Bowl II, has Run to Win on the side of it.

“He gave us this wonderful speech of St. Paul’s epistle,  about when all the runners are running the race, only one can win, and we run, not just to be in the race, but we run to win. That got us pumped up pretty good.”

The Packers basically took control of the game emphatically in the second quarter. Kramer talked about one of the strategies that the Packers employed in the game.

“One of the best things we did for the ball game was to put Marv Fleming next to Forrest [Gregg] to double Deacon [Jones],” Kramer said. “We really spent some time on trying to neutralize him and keep him a way from his favorite target [the quarterback].

“So that worked really well. Of course Travis [Williams] was the wild card in that game. I remember blocking on Merlin [Olsen] and he was starting to slip away to the outside in pursuit and I look outside and Travis was about even with us, but near the sideline running towards the end zone. And I knew that this play was over. He’s gone.”

Gone he was, as Williams galloped 46 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.

The Packers added another touchdown in the second quarter, as Bart Starr threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Carroll Dale for a 14-7 lead going into halftime.

The Packers were never threatened after that. Williams ended up with 88 yards rushing and two scores, while Dale caught six passes for 109 yards and a score.

The Packers had 20 first downs to the Rams 12 in the game. Starr was only sacked once, while Gabriel was sacked five times, including 3.5 sacks by Henry Jordan.

The result was a very satisfying 28-7 victory over the Rams. That win set up the game eight days later, when the Packers played the Cowboys in the Ice Bowl game, when the Packers won their third straight NFL title.

This is what Kramer wrote regarding that great win against the Rams in Instant Replay:

I was misty-eyed myself I felt so good. I felt so proud, proud of myself and proud of my teammates and proud of my coaches. I felt like I was part of something special. I guess it’s the way a group of scientists feel when they make a big breakthrough, though, of course, we aren’t that important. It’s a feeling of being together, completely together, a singleness of purpose, accomplishing something that is very difficult to accomplish, accomplishing something that a lot of people thought you couldn’t accomplish. It sent a beautiful shiver up my back.

One of the reasons Kramer was busting with pride was due to the fact that he had competed against arguably the best defensive tackle in the history of the NFL, Merlin Olsen.

Kramer talked to me about the many times he competed against the great No. 74 of the Rams.

“I knew that Merlin was never going to let up on the field,” Kramer said. “He was never going to quit. He wasn’t going to hold you. He wasn’t going to play dirty. But he wasn’t going to take a play off either. He was coming.

“You had to gamble a little bit with Merlin. I liked to pop him every once in awhile. Like if it’s a pass play, I might come off the line of scrimmage and just whack him real quick like it’s a running play. Then I would almost bounce back into my position as a pass-blocker.

“That gave me an extra second for him to figure out that it really was a pass play. I remember one time he was starting to loop around the center towards Fuzzy [Thurston}, and I came up and popped him real quick with my helmet. And he went down to one knee and then bounced back up into a running position.

“He was a load. He was strong. He was motivated. He was smart. And he may have been the best I ever played against.”

Olsen had the honors to prove it. He was named to 14 Pro Bowls and was named first team All-Pro nine times.

The respect and admiration that Kramer had for Olsen, was equally shared by No. 74 towards No. 64.

In fact, Olsen sent off this letter of endorsement for Kramer regarding induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

“There is no question in my mind that Jerry Kramer has Hall of Fame credentials. Respect is given grudgingly in the trenches of the NFL and Jerry has earned my respect as we battled eye to eye in the pits on so many long afternoons.

Jerry Kramer belongs in the Hall of Fame and I hope you will put this process in motion by including his name on the ballot for this coming year.”

That might be the strongest endorsement Kramer has ever received regarding his rightful place in Canton, which has still yet to occur, even with Kramer being a finalist 10 times.

I have written about this travesty many times, including in this story.

How can a man who was on the NFL’s 50th anniversary team, be kept out of Canton? Kramer is the only member of that first-team not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In addition, No. 64 was a five-time All-Pro and named to three Pro Bowls. He was also on the NFL All-Decade team for the 1960s.

But his biggest moments came on the football field in the postseason, when it truly was win or go home. The Packers kept winning and Kramer was a big reason why, especially in the 1962, 1965 and 1967 NFL title games.

Olsen wasn’t the only player who has come out to speak out on behalf of Kramer being in the Hall of Fame. So have contemporaries like Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Willie Davis, Frank Gifford, Chuck Bednarik, Bob Lilly, Doug Atkins, Alan Page, Joe Schmidt, John Mackey, Raymond Berry, Mel Renfro, Mike Ditka, Jim Otto, Tom Mack, Dave Wilcox, Tommy McDonald and Lem Barney.

You can see all of those endorsements and much more in this great book put together by Randy Simon.

No matter what your occupation in life is, you always want to be respected by your peers. And Kramer certainly was respected by his rivals in the NFL.

“In the wee small hours of the morning, I rather have the applause of my peers, than to not have the applause of my peers and be in the Hall,” Kramer said. “I rather have the guys I admired and I thought a lot of, think that I belong, than to be in there and have them think I didn’t.”

There is absolutely no question that Gerald Louis Kramer belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He has the credentials, the championships and the respect of his peers who are already in Canton.

In less than a week, on January 23rd, Kramer will celebrate his 80th birthday. He has waited far too long for his proper enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Here’s hoping that this injustice will be taken care of when Kramer is part of the Class of 2017 in Canton.

It s a well-deserved honor which has eluded the best guard in the history of the NFL, at least based on his inclusion on the NFL’s 50th anniversary team.

You know Merlin Olsen would certainly agree.