Vince Lombardi

Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American football. He was the driving force of the Green Bay Packers, who dominated the National Football League during his tenure as coach.

Professional coaching career

Lombardi began his career as a professional football coach in 1954, when he became an assistant offensive coach for the New York Giants. The Giants had finished the previous season with a woeful 3-9 record, but Lombardi and defensive coach Tom Landry needed only three years to turn the team into a championship team. Lombardi relied on the talents of the great Frank Gifford, whom Lombardi switched from defense to offense as a pass-option player.

Related Topics:
1954 - New York Giants - Tom Landry - Frank Gifford

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Lombardi was not content, however, to remain an assistant coach, and in 1958 he accepted the position of head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers. The Packers at the time were dismal, having won only a single game the previous season, but Lombardi felt that his coaching skills were equal to the challenge. Lombardi immediately began building his reputation as an extraordinarily demanding coach, creating punishing training regimens and expecting absolute dedication and effort from his players. His unrelenting coaching philosophy paid off with a remarkable 105-35-6 record as a head coach; his only postseason loss came in his first postseason game, in 1960, and he led the Packers to a still-unmatched three consecutive NFL championships in 1965, 1966, and 1967. The Packers also won the first two Super Bowls under his leadership. Lombardi's popularity was so great that Richard Nixon supposedly considered naming him his running mate for the election, only to be reminded by an advisor that Lombardi was a Kennedy Democrat.

Related Topics:
1958 - 1965 - 1966 - 1967 - Super Bowl - Richard Nixon - Kennedy - Democrat

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As coach of the Packers, Lombardi converted Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung to halfback, running a play he had originally developed for Gifford that would become known as the Packer power sweep.

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Although Lombardi retired as head coach of the Packers in 1967, his competitive drive led him to return to the NFL in 1969 as coach of the Washington Redskins, where he broke a string of 14 losing seasons. Unfortunately, he was soon after diagnosed with cancer, and died on September 3, 1970. Many people made long journeys to attend his funeral, and hardened football veterans wept openly at the service; President Nixon went so far as to send a telegram of condolence signed "The People". Lombardi was enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame in 1971, and in that year the NFL's trophy was renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy in his honor.

Related Topics:
1969 - Washington Redskins - Cancer - 1970 - NFL Hall of Fame - 1971 - Vince Lombardi Trophy

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The Ice Bowl

One of the most famous games in the history of football was the NFL championship game of 1967, in which his team played the Dallas Cowboys in Green Bay. The game time temperature was −13 °F (−25 °C), and the game has come to be known as the Ice Bowl. Near the end of the game, with time running out, the Packers were behind by three points, and near the goal line. Their quarterback, Bart Starr, ran a quarterback sneak, with guard Jerry Kramer taking out Dallas player Jethro Pugh; Starr scored the touchdown and won the game in the final seconds. The play actually called for Starr to hand off to Chuck Mercein, a little known running back who had played a major part in propelling the Packers down the field on the final drive. But Starr, feeling the field was too icy and footing too precarious, decided to keep the ball and dive in himself, surprising even his own teammates. Lombardi, explaining why he had not chosen to kick a game-tying field goal, said of that play, "We gambled and we won."

Related Topics:
Dallas Cowboys - Ice Bowl - Quarterback - Bart Starr - Quarterback sneak - Jerry Kramer - Jethro Pugh - Chuck Mercein - Field goal

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