Green Bay Packers

Inaugural season: 1919

Home field: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Owner: Green Bay Packers, Inc.

Team colors: Dark green, gold, white

Overview

The Green Bay Packers are a National Football League (NFL) franchise that plays in the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1919, the Packers are among the most successful teams in NFL history. Often considered the NFL’s most storied franchise, “The Pack” has won thirteen league championships since 1929, including four Super Bowl championships. Moreover, the Packers were the first Super Bowl champions in history, and the award bestowed upon subsequent Super Bowl winners—known as the Vince Lombardi Trophy—was named in honor of the legendary Packers coach who guided the team to that groundbreaking inaugural victory. The Packers are also counted among the NFL’s most valuable franchises, with an estimated 2023 worth of $4.6 billion.

Off the field, the Packers support the broader Green Bay community through various charitable efforts. Most of these are realized through the Green Bay Packers Foundation, a charitable organization that has been giving back to the people of Wisconsin since 1986. To do this, the Green Bay Packers Foundation supports various charities that promote family and competitive values, contribute to player and fan welfare, ensure children's education and safety, and prevent animal cruelty. Further, the team hosts various community events such as blood drives, fundraisers, and an annual Thanksgiving dinner at Lambeau Field. Finally, the Packers also operate several football outreach programs to benefit youth football players, coaches, and parents.

History

One of the oldest professional football teams in history, the Green Bay Packers were founded by shipping clerk Earl “Curly” Lambeau in 1919. The team’s genesis came when the Indian Packing Company signed on to sponsor a football team that Lambeau was seeking to create. The team was dubbed the Packers in recognition of the company’s sponsorship. Initially, the Packers competed against several other amateur football teams scattered across Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. In 1921, the team joined the American Professional Football Association, a nascent professional football league that became known as the NFL the following year. During its first few years, the Packers franchise encountered serious financial difficulties that ultimately forced Lambeau to temporarily forfeit the team and reacquire it with the support of a group of financial backers who became known as “The Hungry Five.” This made the Packers a publicly owned nonprofit organization—a unique distinction that still sets the franchise apart from the rest of the NFL today.

Despite the team’s off-field struggles, the Packers found remarkable on-field success within just a few years of their founding. Between 1929 and 1931, the Packers captured three straight NFL championships and three additional championships in 1936, 1939, and 1944. The franchise subsequently reached a critical turning point in 1949 when Lambeau, who served as a player-coach until 1929 and the team’s non-playing coach from that point forward, stepped off the Packers sidelines for the final time. After his departure, the Packers entered a period of decline that lasted roughly a decade. The most notable highlight of the period was the opening of historic Lambeau Field in 1957. Up to that point, the Packers played on several home fields in Green Bay and Milwaukee. Lambeau Field became the Packers’ primary home field from 1957 onward and has been their exclusive home since 1994.

The cure to the Packers’ mid-century slump came when the team hired legendary coach Vince Lombardi in 1959. Under Lombardi’s leadership and with the support of iconic players like quarterback Bart Starr and fullback Jim Taylor, the Packers embarked on a historic string of NFL championships that included titles in 1961, 1962, 1965, and 1966. Lombardi and the Packers then went on to inaugurate a new era of championship football when they defeated the American Football League’s (AFL) Kansas City Chiefs 35– 10 to win the first-ever AFL-NFL World Championship Game in 1967. When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, this event became known as the Super Bowl. In 1968, which turned out to be his last year with the team, Lombardi guided the Packers to a 33–14 championship victory over the Oakland Raiders at Super Bowl II.

Just as happened following Lambeau’s departure years before, the Packers entered a long period of decline after Lombardi left to coach the Washington Redskins. Over the next twenty-five seasons, the Packers made the playoffs on only two occasions and failed to win any conference or divisional titles. Also akin to what happened after Lombardi’s eventual hiring, the Packers’ fortunes finally began to improve when new head coach Mike Holmgren was welcomed to the team in 1992. That year also saw the debut of future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. With Holmgren and Favre at the helm, the Packers underwent a dramatic transformation that led to six consecutive playoff appearances and two NFC championships. The era's highlight came when the Packers defeated the New England Patriots 35–21 to win Super Bowl XXXI in 1997. Holmgren left the team after the Packers returned to the Super Bowl the following year and fell to the Denver Broncos. Favre eventually departed a decade later.

Emerging star quarterback Aaron Rodgers ultimately replaced the outgoing Favre. A few years into his tenure, Rodgers led the Packers on a Herculean run through the 2011 postseason. After two playoff road victories, Rodgers and the Packers overcame the Chicago Bears to win the NFC championship and claim a Super Bowl XLV berth. Facing the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Packers emerged with a 31–25 victory and the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl championship. During the following season, the Packers achieved a remarkable 15–1 regular season record and entered the playoffs as a strong favorite to capture another championship. To the surprise of most onlookers, however, they were quickly eliminated by the New York Giants in just the first round of the postseason. Despite the loss, the Packers have remained one of the NFL’s most competitive teams since that time. In 2019 and 2022, the Packers won the Divisional Playoffs, only to lose in the NFC Championship game each year. The 2021 through 2023 seasons saw major disappointments in the Packer's post-season record, with the team not advancing past the division playoffs and not even advancing to them in 2022. Following the 2022 season, Rodgers left the Packers to join the New York Jets, though he was forced to sit out his first season with the team due to injury. Jordan Love replaced Rodgers as quarterback.

Notable Players

Many Green Bay Packers players have been inducted into Canton, Ohio's Pro Football Hall of Fame. Unquestionably, the two most celebrated Hall of Famers in Packers history were quarterbacks Bart Starr and Brett Favre. Starr played his entire career from 1956 to 1971 with the Packers and led the team to five NFL titles and two Super Bowl titles. Throughout his career, Starr threw for 24,718 yards and 152 touchdowns. Widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, Favre recorded six 4,000-yard seasons and retired as the league’s all-time leading passer, throwing for 71,838 yards and 508 touchdowns during his twenty seasons on the field. One of the key components of the Lombardi-era Packers dynasty, fullback Jim Taylor, was another Hall of Fame player. A Packer from 1958 to 1966, Taylor excelled as both a rusher and a receiver, amassing 8,597 yards and eighty-three touchdowns on the rush and 1,756 yards and ten touchdowns as a receiver. Another key Hall of Fame Packer from the Lombardi era was guard Jerry Kramer. Playing from 1958 to 1968, Kramer was an offensive line anchor selected to three Pro Bowls and was critical to the Packers’ first two Super Bowl victories. He is also remembered for making a pivotal block that allowed Starr to score the winning touchdown in the legendary 1967 NFL Championship Game, popularly known as the “Ice Bowl.” Defensive end Reggie White was another one of the many Hall of Fame players in the Packers. The so-called “Minister of Defense” reigned in Green Bay from 1993 to 1998 and became the team’s all-time sack leader with 68.5 total sacks.

Green Bay has been home to many other notable players as well. A Packer from 1957 to 1964, tight end Ron Kramer was one of the most dominant players on the first two championship teams of the Lombardi era. Kramer recorded 229 receptions for 3,272 yards and sixteen receiving touchdowns throughout his career. After spending his rookie year with the Baltimore Colts, guard Fred “Fuzzy” Thurston spent the remainder of his decade-long career in Green Bay. During that time, Thurston served as an effective counterpart to Jerry Kramer, with whom he helped masterfully execute Lombardi’s signature power sweep play. Although his career was cut short by a neck injury, wide receiver Sterling Sharpe was a top Packers player in the late 1980s and early 1990s who earned five Pro Bowl selections and was the first receiver in NFL history to make more than 100 receptions in back-to-back seasons. By his retirement, Sharpe totaled 595 receptions for 8,134 yards and sixty-five touchdowns. Suiting up with the Packers from 2006 to 2012, cornerback Charles Woodson was an outstanding defensive player who racked up fifty-six interceptions, eleven defensive touchdowns, and 1,205 combined tackles during his eighteen-season career. Notable players during the Rodgers era include Rodgers, a four-time league MVP, and Clay Mathews, Jordy Nelson, and Davante Adams. As of 2024, thirty-three Packers players have been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. 

Bibliography

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