My earliest memories of the Green Bay Packers, as I recollect, were listening to the games on our local Milwaukee radio station. One of the first Packers’ players I heard about on the radio was “Indian Jack” Jacobs, rookie quarterback on the 1947 team. I was 14 years old at the time. Jacobs was a good runner, fair passer and outstanding punter. Another player I distinctly remember was Tony Canadeo, an outstanding halfback. He was so good that it was said, “He ran like a ‘shifty deer’!”
In 1949 the Packers drafted Stan Heath, a University of Nevada quarterback, 5th runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Stan was rated top quarterback in the NCAA in 1948. He happened to be the son of Mickey Heath, baseball radio broadcaster for our Milwaukee Brewers [American Association] for many years. Sadly, as it turned out, Stan was a “big bust” with the Pack.
Shifting gears a bit, when I entered 10th grade at Milwaukee’s Washington High School in 1948, I had a momentous mishap while dressing in the boys’ locker room after gym class. I slipped on the wet floor and landed on my back. Who helped me to my feet?… none other than football coach, Lyle “Liz” Blackbourn! A couple of years later he coached football at Marquette University, then University of Wisconsin and in 1954 he became head coach with the Packers!
Until the Coach Lombardi years in the 1960s, I suffered along with all Packers’ fans, while the team floundered under coaches Ronzani, Devore, McLean and Blackbourn. Lombardi’s teams featured some of the greatest players in NFL history: Starr, Hornung, Taylor, Kramer, Gregg, Thurston, Dale, Adderly, Robinson, Jordan, Nitschke, Davis and Wood. Radio and TV broadcasts were immensely exciting. Under Coach Lombardi the Pack won 3 consecutive league titles and 5 in the 7 years he coached, along with victories in the first 2 Super Bowls!
Of course, I have many fond memories of the Holmgren/Favre and Aaron Rodgers’ eras. Under the guidance and expertise of Mike McCarthy and Rodgers, the Pack had a memorable year in 2010 culminating with a fabulous Super Bowl victory. My family and I are really enthused with the 2011 Packers finishing with a 15-1 record and hopefully, winning a 2nd consecutive Super Bowl in 2012! Go Pack!
