NFL Team by Team Guide: Green Bay Packers
Founded in 1919, the Packers are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL. To this day, the Packers operate as the only non-profit, community-owned sports franchise among the four major professional sports leagues in the United States.
Green Bay has a storied past and owns an NFL record 13 league championships. Nine of those championships occurred prior to the Super Bowl era. The Packers won the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967 and have won two more since.
With such a long and checkered past, the Packers are a favorite on national broadcasts like Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and Thursday Night Football. Regional and national games can be watched on networks such as CBS, FOX Sports, ESPN, and the NFL Network. Fans can watch nearly the complete Packers schedule using a live streaming service like Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, or HULU.
Home of the Packers
The Packers play in one of the most iconic stadium’s in the NFL – Lambeau Field. The stadium is named for franchise founder, player, and long-time coach Curly Lambeau. Green Bay has been playing home games there since 1957. Lambeau Field has been renovated twice. The latest renovation occurred between 2012 and 2015. The stadium now seats 81,441 fans.
Championship History
As mentioned, the Packers have won more NFL championships (13) than any other franchise. The Packers won the very first two Super Bowls and have won two more (1996, 2010) since. Their championship trophy case includes nine conference titles and 19 division crowns. Green Bay has made 33 playoff appearances in franchise history.
Best of the Packers
Curly Lambeau was the original Packer, the franchise’s first head coach who also served as a player. He won six NFL titles and as a three-time All-Pro. His career coaching record ended up 226-132-22 and he ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 as one of the inaugural inductees. The Packers home field is named for him.
Vince Lombardi is one of the all-time greatest NFL head coaches. He coached ten seasons – nine in Green Bay – in the league and never had a losing record. Lombardi was twice named the NFL Coach of the Year (1959, 1961) and was a five-time NFL champion. That includes winning the first two Super Bowls. His final career coaching record of 105-35-6 earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame in 1970.
The Packers have the second-most members in the Hall of Fame (30, 25 inducted as Packers). Bart Starr was the team’s quarterback from 1956 to 1971. He led five teams to NFL titles. Starr was the MVP of the first two Super Bowls and the league MVP in 1966.
Starr’s teammate Jim Taylor was a rugged fullback who played on four NFL championship teams, earned five Pro Bowl berths, and six All-Pro honors. Taylor was the NFL MVP in 1962.
Linebacker Ray Nitschke captained the defenses while Starr and Taylor led the Packers offense through the late ‘50s and ‘60s. Nitschke was also part of five NFL champions. He was selected to the NFL’s 50th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Teams.
Author: Dan Anderson