[Music] astrub at the Green Bay Packers is as warm and fuzzy as nonfiction can get they were a small-town team right from the start it's certainly the little town that could it's thought it's the professional town with a college spirit you'll see teams just make a big deal out of a playoff berth or a wild-card berth not in Green Bay its Championships it's the only surviving small-town professional sports team in America you know you play long enough the things things aren't going to always go right for you they face the one obstacle after another from the day they were born the most important play we have [Music] [Applause] [Music] you anybody who would start off football team in a little city like this the driving force behind it survival is an amazing story it's it's truly unique it's a there's no other story like it in sports and so much of it is what Curley did Lambeau had a dream and he accomplished it it manifested it Curly Lambeau and his senior annual makes the comment about after athletics he's going to conquer the world little does he know that through athletics through football he's actually going to conquer the world in a day where the signature of big business is emblazoned across most NFL stadiums the name of a man is the moniker of what may be the country's most famous football shrine Lambeau he was a real inspirational guy and he demanded a lot and we respect him and uh we got it we got a lot out of us he had that charm that he could sell a person about joining the Packers team he was a leader obviously not only starting the Packers but to the longevity to stay it was a man obviously of great ambition the key to his success as coach of the Packers was he was a great recruiter he was a really good salesman and it was his keen eye for talent and his persuasiveness the way he talked to people it brought him in the story of the Green Bay franchise is a spectacular sports drama where would you ever suspect that the town of 45,000 would get a franchise and compete against the big cities in the National Football League writers in New York are writing that was until the NFL froze Green Bay out of the league it'll never be big time they're on top of the world yet they're really not as a new decade Dawn's Green Bay is winning games but not producing enough revenue Packers are coming off a championship season where they made $1,000 financially they just weren't bringing in the money that the bigger New York Chicago those type cities were bringing in when the 1930s turned into the 1940s the Packers were still selling only about 2000 season tickets the NFL of that time was still a small operation it was a minor sport college football was the big sport and pro football was an afterthought it was not very well covered it was not very well attended August 1940 the season begins with Lambos nucleus intact Green Bay Packers square off against the College All Stars at Soldier Field it was the NFL champion of the previous season playing a group of college draft picks of NFL teams put together for just at one game and at that time Soldier Field held 85,000 so it was the biggest stage in football so that was another appeal the Lambo Lambo had a big eagle it is a crowd of well over 84,000 and the early years the college teams could hold her own with the parole as batting strength of a college experts opinion that error your honor st. Louis professional football teams Lambeau had lost to the all-stars the first time the Packers played him revenge was on his mind Art's Ward who created the college all-star game was never quite convinced that we were better than the college team because we didn't beat him we got back at him and beat him 45 28 and arch Ward says pro football has finally arrived I asked him one time what do you think there's a there's no way the Moose of a singular thing that that you've accomplished as a coach said you know you'll be surprised the 1940 college all-star game up until the day he died he called it his biggest victory said because at that time people were still thinking at the college football was about on the same level as pro football and that might seem odd to football fans today because it still listed is an exhibition game and the all-time scores with this personal victory behind him Lambeau now feels the sky's the limit on a frigid day November 1940 the Packers board a United Airline flight bound for New York Curley wish you know known as it an innovator of charts actors were the first team to fly to a road game they took a train to Chicago and cabs to the airport they boarded to DC 12 to fly to New York the league required him to rough buy into airplanes ignoring the possibility of her disaster that would wipe out the franchise they had a stop in Cleveland to refuel the milestone is Mark there was fog in New York and they wouldn't be able to continue the trip they had to take train from Cleveland to New York and got there about 12 hours late fortunately they had left three days early 19:41 starts much like 1940 teams knew that if they had the Packers on their schedule they were gonna have a good turnout that day for the game there was still good draw in the road George Halas was happy with that dollar in Chicago some of his biggest crowds for the Packer game down there every year at home it's a different story ticket sales continue to disappoint NFL owners are losing money when they play in Green Bay 1941 Curly Lambeau comes back from the NFL's annual meeting where they set the schedule and he only has at that point to team Chicago and Detroit willing to play in Green Bay nobody else wants to play here Green Bay was just too small to support professional football team especially at that time matters having trouble drawing for some of their home games they'd always get a sellout for the Bears usually a big crowd for Detroit but the other game was always a tough sell particularly if it fell on deer hunting weekend men in Green Bay do other priorities the Board of Directors tap into the well that is their constant support they meet with over 40 of Green Bay's most prominent business leaders to discuss plans for an upcoming season ticket drive so it's something that was just in bred into the community a lot of people that just love football and wanted to see it survive so they set a goal in 41 to try to sell 5,000 they felt that was what they needed to stay in the league the Packers fall short again they sell 2,860 for season tickets not much more than half the Packers end the season 10 and 1 the Bears are nine in one with another week to play the Packers are assured no less than a tie for the Western Division title the Bears had one more game left they needed to win to force a playoff so the Packers took a train from Green Bay to Chicago go down a Comiskey Park to watch the Cardinals play the Bears that's a big game if the Bears get beat will be Western Division champions who will be in the NFL championship game the Chicago Bears beat the Chicago Cardinals and force a playoff game against the Packers December 7th 1941 they were sitting in the end zone at Comiskey Park for me and also it was speed the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor Hawaii by air President Roosevelt has just announced the bombing of Pearl Harbor that drew the United States into World War two yesterday 1941 in the immediate reaction of the players was that they knew they were going off to war they also knew that they had a football game to play the next weekend the Bears were the monsters of the Midway at the time and we're favorites that game was an instant sellout forty one forty two thousand the Bears reign victorious defeating the Packers 33 to 14 at Wrigley Field the bear Packer series they created a lot of interest these men were in the limelight the publicity they got extended beyond Green Bay in Wisconsin the following week Chicago hosts the New York Giants for the NFL championship game the attendance a mere 13,000 the bear Packer game was bigger than the NFL championship game the fans just didn't think that would be as good of a game because the Giants went to Packers 1942 the United States is at war every community affected Green Bay Press Gazette is riddled with stories from the front NFL was greatly affected by a world war 2 because of how many people a personnel had to go into service some of cars volunteered but some were drafted right out of school taken out of their senior year some teams merged during the warriors just to be able to survive Philadelphia and Pittsburgh murrs they are called the steagald and they played together at one year and then at forty four the Cardinals merged with the Steelers and they were called the card pit 35 Packers are active players when they are called to serve if you get drafted or you're part of a reserve unit or the National Guard and you're getting called up you are going to go among them Packers back Tony Kennedale drafted by Green Bay in 1941 he plays only three games of the 44 championship season and misses all of the 45 season while serving my son was born I came home on furlough well that's the only reason they played the three games I wouldn't have played three games if we didn't fake my wife and heaven relapses and they called me back and say they needed and I hear when I was playing for the Packers I could have cried all the way back to Fort Bliss when I had to go baby he was a very durable ass back multi-functional he could run he could pass good block good throw one of those players well respected by his teammates because of what a fierce competitor he was only the third player in NFL history to rush for a thousand yards all the desire in the world a real pleasure to watch him run with the ball on top of that one of the finest that was driving bet in your life football is not going to be the main thing in your life serving your country is going to be the main thing there was consideration given to canceling the seasons the lead didn't but they lost a lot of players a lot of bull Red Hill veterans were called back the league was just desperate for players how are you gonna be the same team you were if you lose a number of your main you know people Howard Smyly Johnson a guard in 1940 and 41 is the second lieutenant with the 23rd Marines killed on active duty in a wajima at the age of 28 he is the only Packers casualty of World War two he dies a hero the recipient of two silver stars the guys that came back from that war regardless of where was in this country knew they were the luckiest people in the world they worked hard but they also had learned how to party hard because they didn't know if they'd still be there the next day they had seen the worst that humanity can offer their outlet was family work fun and it was also the Green Bay Packers despite losing players to the war and a constantly changing landscape on the field Don Hudson excels at his game he was fast but he he did run full speed all the time a defensive back played him close and pretty soon he put it on and passed you by my rookie here I'll never forget getting ready for this guy called Don Hudson some runners receivers have strides that are harder to judge as far as pace goes and he sort of ran skating along and then he gave me a little extra speed a little extra move and while he was running in there for touchdown land I started a jog to the bench because I knew I was going to end up right there when people talk about the greatest pack forever people today would put Hudson at the top of the list among the early Packers his best season one of the two years that he won the MVP he had 74 receptions for a 1211 yards and 17 touchdowns 74 catches the guy in second place Popeye he had 27 he had two great passers before I came up throwing the ball to him Arnie Herber and Cecil Isabel and then I came from a smaller school and it took a while to calm down he felt embarrassed when you threw it over his head or something like that rust when he was a packer voice from 1929 in 1946 in the end zone I can remember Russ saying time and time again ladies and gentlemen I apologize I know I keep saying this but I don't know how Don Hutson caught that ball how did he catch it when I was fast - no hmm I ran the ask wincing up on the track team in college and I could catch the ball from the time I started in high school the fundamentals seemed to come natural to me there is a sports writer that called Don Hudson the Babe Ruth of football that's a pretty high compliment he's part of the Packers success when they win championships in 1936-39 and 44 he makes big plays catches touchdown passes he was a one of a kind in he could argue that he's perhaps that one of the great players of NFL history in 1941 Don Hudson is named the winner of the NFL's most valuable player award which carries with it the Joe F car trophy it is an honor repeated in 1942 when he was the most valuable player in the league I wrote him a letter to congratulate him and he answered me he's so I have a personal letter from Don Hudson thanks jack glad to hear that the boys at st. Norbert are behind me that was this short later the guy did everything and he had a terrific game they played in Milwaukee it led the Detroit Lions the Packers early in the second quarter out of that game up or down seven to nothing at halftime they're leading 41 to seven they'd scored 41 on answer points and they went on to win the game 57 to 21 and Don Hutson the great Don Hudson bought four touchdown passes and five extra points among those 41 points in the second quarter they talked to Don Kirshner II who was a head coach at I had lines after the game and he said I'll give it to you in three words too much Hudson he played 11 NFL seasons eight times he led the NFL in receptions seven times he led the NFL in receiving yards and five times he led the overall the league in scoring his records 488 catches almost 8,000 yards receiving 90 receiving touchdowns those records weren't broken for four decades when he retired from the game he was a leading scorer on a history of professional football the leading receiver and a history of professional football and a second eating interceptor in the history of professional football with 30 interception as a defensive back and he also kicked short-range field goals and extra points site Rometty didn't do too much the Packers continued success on the field all of it covered by the Green Bay Press Gazette written by a determined and talented sports writer art daily all of a sudden he said I think it'd be kind of nice if I wasn't covered the Packers I said oh really you know so he did came up here and one just parked in front because you could do then and so he wasn't in there very long at all he just came out and said I got the job our daily was the sports editor of the Green Bay Press because that just your big tall Irishman big friendly guy art loved the Packers love writing about him our whole life revolved around football I couldn't have a conversation without dad saying you know that reminds me of the game in 1953 when such and such and such happen I mean it it just oozed out of him art was always very positive and very upbeat and even in even in a loss I would try to pick out where were some of the good things about that game covered them in the style of the day we're a team friendly approached but he was a born raconteur a born storyteller he would talk about the good things as the Packers did he had all the books and the game guides letters from other coaches and teams and he was entrenched in it he loved it alongside art a new up-and-coming sports fighter climbs the Press Gazette ranks art daily and Lehrer mo well and they're the very fact that we ended up with the Packard's they were joined at the hip I was a city side reporter or the printed press Gazette and I happen to have the desh my desk next to George W Calhoun I asked him if I paid my own expenses to Milwaukee different game against the Detroit lands would he allow me to write the sidebars and he said yes that was the beginning of it it having had that opportunity whetted my appetite to do more art would do the game but Lee did decide to our stories with Eric it was mostly all business memo however a vastly different Lee was a different breed of cat than our daily Lee had a very flowery use of the English language and that reflected leaves love with language first of all but also of the Packers we've got a lesson in the English language reading what he had to say press because that was a backer of the team they were warp and woof tied to the Packers people who are not Packer fans Lear Emma would have converted them it's a big deal even when we lost the game if you read the press who said you thought they were Packers won the game you know the relationship between the Green Bay Press Gazette and the Green Bay Packers was valuable to the Packers because they were basically a small business that needed some unpaid advertising needed some promotion and at a time that they needed it most the Press Gazette was there to help them along their way everybody in town was reading their sports page so it certainly it was reciprocal both parties got something out of it the 1944 season sees its share of struggles Packers vs. bears at City Stadium September 24th backers jumped out fortunately happily to a 28 to nothing lead and the Bears stormed back and tighten up and in the fourth quarter of backers scored a Lou Brock and then the maquette rich who was an All League fullback for the Packers but also played linebacker he intercepted a passer and they're back 55 yards were a touchdown in the Packers 142 to 28 it was a great day it's kind of a different year they won the right games and looked good enough played well enough against enough teams have enough wins to get to the championship game where they again played the Giants before a crowd of 46,000 16 fans the Packers beat the Giants in New York December 17th 1944 Lambeau wins his sixth NFL title first was in 1929 15 years later he wins again in 1844 so he won with totally different rosters being able to year after year put out a winner that consistency is it's very hard to do the 1944 Packers championship team had this solid nucleus alignment buckets Goldenberg still there Charlie Brock's playing in the prime of his career baby ray was a giant for his time 6-7 250 to 270 pounds just a good solid tackle real fine defensive football player he was one of the first big men they add up the Green Bay game from Vanderbilt they had some young backs Ted rich Tony Kennedale that was a really a well-rounded team one of Green Bay's advantages is that the players like playing here which adds to the team chemistry Packers aren't raising a lot of money they're not drawing big crowds at home so there had to be something that appealed to these players one of the things was the charm of a small town the gathering place was the Astor hotel it was a little sister of the three big hotels in town but it was a place where they were very welcoming to a lot of the rookies that came to town they stayed there Sue Ellen was a surrogate mother for the players she ran the front desk at the Astros Wallen took good care of all those Packer players and made sure that they wrote letters home to their moms and made sure that they had clean shirts she even called her mother as a report on him once in a while when she didn't like what she saw but the end of the war changes the landscape of professional football and Curly Lambeau is falling out of favor with fans he went Hollywood he got little too big for his britches people are not exactly happy about him and some of the his all you wouldn't like weighs Lambeau spends most of the offseason in California socializing with the Hollywood elite he marries another woman from California who had been the ex-wife of a Hollywood producer Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons reports Lambeau has been secretly married for four months this third marriage grace Nichols she moves to Green Bay doesn't stay happy very long and so he had another short marriage I don't know that Curley ever stopped womanizing some of those starlets steady hung with it changed the direction that his life went he's very flamboyant he drove always drove her sporty really nice car around and he was a party man good-looking charismatic he was always a well-groomed man he wore final grays and gray flannels rather and he wore black top coats and black overcoats and he wore the hamburger hat he was always alive and ready and and smiling and he had a Wade and everybody seemed to like him a smooth-talking master salesman the r-mo once told me he could charm the birds out of trees and he was somewhat a little bit of a phony he was having three different contracts and when I asked for a raise he would say to me what would you like more than Hudson or inkle and they would show me their contracts he would be very nice or very mean and he would always work towards our sympathies he's basically one of those people that everything that came out of his mouth was a lie he was very persuasive charming the spending habits he had developed wasn't something the board of directors was happy book Lambos was spending money excessively on things other than football 19:46 Lamba approaches the Board of Directors about a training facility his thinking years ahead of its time Curley was extremely creative and he was also very competitive it really allowed him to be this forward-thinking the housing shortage became a serious matter in the mid 40s that was the impetus for buy-in Rockwood lodge they had some housing there so he heated away for training camp the board unanimously votes to purchase the Rockwood Lodge 18 miles from Green Bay along the Bay shoreline Rockwood was like the European Chateau beautiful building and they had partment upstairs at cottages in the back for married players a lot of the ball players couldn't find places to live and they had places out there where they could stay and they lived there I actually right at the camp and the only bad part about rock with vibes is they had to haul dirt in there and make a new playing field the city of Green Bay was not real happy with the situation the Packers had been involved in the community so much business people downtown weren't seeing the players the way they did before what's more important than the the community it was at the players during the first practice discovered there is no Topsail Island or colony and it was some grass but it was just barely covering up rocks underneath it was a bad situation because there was no place to practice a rock skip that went up through so I went to him we all had eat breakfast together we had to stay together and everything else out there I says clearly if we don't get off of this field out here we're not gonna we're gonna ask some football players they're not gonna be able to run anymore Rockwood lodge isn't all bad many players found the living conditions ideal escorted by Green Bay Packers back herman stumpy roy it was beautiful they built little homes outside the lodge and the wives came up and stayed with the guys free meals steak at night that was pretty plush living was somewhat secluded so the players would pretty much have to focus on football and only football but in the moment when he paid for it put a strain on the organization along with the troubles of Rockwood lodge and curlies lifestyle coming into question Lambeau is criticized for his outdated game strategy the tide of 30 years of success is shifting he learned the passing game from Knute Rockne at Notre Dame you had the four players in the backfield and all four of those players needed to be able to have various times be able to block to fake his backs in that Notre Dame box needed to be versatile and they shared the lord passing running and punting you get that the snap from center you could you'd have to turn and hand it to somebody or fake it to him there's a whole different routine mature to know in 1947 Lambeau abandons his Notre Dame box offense and switches to a variation of the t formation most teams are running that the t formation and the Packers were one of the last two teams along with Pittsburgh to make the change I start going two ways which is a novelty for most of the Green Bay boys because the Rams and other teams the Bears were going to wait two years before we did Lambeau was really out of his element running anything other than his box changes on the field coincide with changes off the field a riff develops when Lambeau hires the former PR director for the NFL George Strickler previously had been sports editor of the Chicago Tribune he becomes the new Packer assistant GM and director of public relations it was always a connection between the Tribune and Lambeau because of our toward were contemporaries at Notre Dame and Strickler and worked for Ward George Calhoun co-founder of the team discovers he's been replaced when he rips the news story off the wire in the Green Bay Press Gazette newsroom he was there at the beginning he was at that first organizational meeting the second organizational meeting for the next 30 years George Whitney Calhoun wrote about the Packers he really helped promote the Packers and really made them more than just this town team in Green Bay it was about as bitter of a breakup as you could have two men who would accomplish so much together he will not give Lambeau the satisfaction of firing him Calhoun states in a letter to team President Lee Jo Inez well it's a rather drab way of ending 28 years of football service with the Packers however I have the personal satisfaction of knowing that him more than did my part in helping the Packers rise to national acclaim in the professional football woo George Whitney Calhoun resides Calhoun always said that he wanted to live long enough to pee on Lambos grave there's people critical of how he coached her strategy on the field several committees were appointed that included executive committee members and board directors that would run most facets of the franchise a power struggle begins with Lambeau that haunts him the remainder of his tenure weekly meetings are called Lambeau is mandated to attend his public image has kind of faded a little bit in Green Bay people are not exactly happy about him at one of those weekly meetings Lambeau efforts of flex of authority instilling his own set of rules he announces he's going to find players for what he calls spiritless performance he certainly wanted to control his players he was really trying to force his changes I mean he had been used to always really kind of getting his way and the team on the field had been declining it the decision follows a 17-7 loss to the Chicago Cardinals he finds his players 50% of their salary he had losing seasons in 48 and 49 and so that's certainly gonna turn off the fan base 1948 the Packers finished three and nine their first losing season in 15 years it was the only time they ever finished in the second division the football fans in this section the country they've really been yelling bloody murder 1949 the Packers lose their opener to the Bears and Curley announces shortly after the game that he is stepping down as coach and he was going to be a written advisory coach for the remainder of the season if Curley had continued at the rate he was going who knows what would have happened Lambo plans to focus on his duties as vice president and general manager the team is now coached by its assistance in Lambo probably still calling the shots from a press box almost 30 years that he was involved in football and green Green Bay he'd done everything and I think that Dave just happened that he he slowed down lost interest maybe the challenge wasn't there anymore the move raises eyebrows but the board is preoccupied with an even more pressing issue another major financial crisis looms for the Packers and for the three-year-old all-america Football Conference November 1949 the all-america Football Conference started play in 1946 and survived for four seasons his All American Football Conference owners were pretty wealthy people but even they were taken some big hits the cost of doing business went up you had to pay more for players it was a bidding war for draft picks Packers lost a couple of them on draft choices to the other conference they were looking at a pretty significant deficit it definitely was possible the team was gonna go under I had a my secretary bust me one day instead of three gentlemen outside would like to speak with you as soon as you might have time my ask are they worried that mr. Lambeau and mr. Fisher a mr. John it mr. Fisher was the president at that time mr. Jonathan was secretary treasurer I invited him and I said what do I owe this honor and currently did the talking and he said well we he said we're having a problem wouldn't depth and we've got to raise $50,000 fast or we could be in a problem with the franchise we want to know if you and had a campaign to get it close to 100 Packer backers gather for breakfast on November 14th at the hotel Northland it looked like the team could fold it they might not even be able to play their final two so that was a crisis a major proportion those who have gathered devised a plan to hold an inner squad game the goal raise $50,000 business people in the community organized that inter-squad all-star game thanksgiving ad of 1949 to help he reset debt and save the team in spite of freezing blustery weather fans huddle on wooden benches temperature is about 15 that day 11 o'clock in the morning it snow-covered field snow in the wooden bleachers at City Stadium and they draw close to 15,000 fans the press cassette refers to it as having a carnival air football greats from for decades or honoring the game meaningless to their season crucial to their future that Thanksgiving Day game more than raised money it did it created helped to renew and rebuild enthusiasm there's just that special connection between the Packers and the fans I was there with my dad I remember him talking to me about you're gonna go the game on Thanksgiving I was really looking forward to it about 50,000 was raised with that game that was a significant factor in the team was surviving just one week following the money raising inter-squad game the board meets to discuss Lambos new contract there was a meeting at this the Brown County Courthouse on November 30th 1949 there was a number of sports writers media people some radio announcers waiting outside puffing on their cigarettes waiting for the results that I mean it was a long and acrimonious meeting lasted about five hours they could hear shouting among the board members as they discuss Lambos contract he was the Green Bay Packers essentially at that time from 1919 to this point it's it's been Curly Lambeau and the Green Bay Packers for 30-some years he's the face of the franchise you wonder where the franchise - beheaded George Whitney Kim had been working behind the scenes to try to get the support of other board members to vote no on the contract extension and essentially fire Lambeau there are three no votes dr. W W Kelly Gerald Clifford and co founder George Calhoun in the end they voted to extend by 19 to 3 vote he came out and announced that he was he would be rehired as head coach general manager and vice president for two years rumors brew the Packers were in financial difficulty insolvency in its and if you're ever gonna pounce that's the time to do it is he had a pretty free hand with running the ballclub we want an accounting of what's going on with this football team then I think that's when all the fog outside he told the committee I happen to be on it that it he had four investors who would each put up fifty thousand bucks if we would change it to a profit-making corporation Curly Lambeau is making a move to take over the Green Bay Packers organization there's been a lot written about Curly's role and whether he wanted to move the Packers whether he wanted to take control of them turn him into a private corporation in a in a sense Curley was entitled to it except of course the fact that this had to be a community football team and Horner ship had to stay in green made my dad and his group of people on the executive assistant Lambos attempts to take over the franchise he was hoping to form a private corporation the loser can be a private stock sale Hurley was engaged in a power struggle not only was he fighting for his job but also for the full authority he once had moving the franchise bar goes back to throw fires a pass completed [Applause] [Music] my Packer bandleader came in my dad's place in a little bit north the Sturgeon Bay and they he saw me with my baton and I was twirling and that's all I ever did [Music] you know Mary he said I think I'd like to see you out and football field and I said ask my mother [Music] he said you're gonna be on an X next Sunday and it was in the old stadium and that was the start I did it and it was wonderful [Music] and they were all yelling that does Packer golden girl Packer golden girl and and I would throw my baton up and tried you know catch it I was assuming I catch it in the paper the next day it said that Green Bay Packer golden girl did quite a job [Music] go pack go go pack cold they'll develop develop some counted on talent then that was the one was it routines to [Music] [Applause]
