Gale Gillingham

So good they switched him to D-line one year IIRC>

Great Times article, Ex. Thanks for the link. Gillingham was so fast and yet powerful, he was revolutionary in a guard at that time. He could have played in today's era just as easily. 

That was a wonderful read - thanks.

 

Pretty cool what some of his opponents said about him.

Holy Cow, excalibur, that was a fantastic read!!!! Thanks so much!!!!!

A bit of a digression, but (from the article):

By the mid-1960s, the Green Bay power sweep, with both guards pulling, was well established as the most famous play in football. Lombardi installed it every year in training camp with the same energy and enthusiasm. The photographs of Kramer and Thurston leading Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung are some of pro football’s iconic images of the decade. Over time, one of the ways that developed to counter the sweep was to have the defensive end take a hard rush upfield to cut off the guards and force the runner back into the pursuit. The Packers would answer with the play that provided the turning point in the divisional playoff against the Rams in 1967: the Long Trap.

 

Coming into that game, many believed that time had run out on the Packer dynasty. Too old and banged up, they said. Green Bay struggled to go 9-4-1. The Rams finished tied with the Colts for the N.F.L.’s best record, 11-1-2, and had beaten the Packers in Los Angeles two weeks before. Even though the game was played in Milwaukee, the Rams were favored.

I always considered the Rams game a personal favorite.  I remember the last game of the regular season, the 10-1-2 Rams faced the 11-0-2 Colts at the Coliseum and destroyed them 34-10 (just looked it up).

 

However, the week before, they only beat the Pack in LA 27-24 and while they absolutely needed the win, from a getting to the playoffs standpoint, the game was meaningless for the Packers.

 

The Packers looked to have the game won.  They were up 24-20 late in the 4th when a Donny Anderson punt was blocked.

 

Struggling to go 9-4-1 a bit off.  The Packers did pretty much give the final game away and I know one of their other losses was another game they had (against the Colts).

 

So it sure isn't like they were not competitive with the Colts and the Rams.

They lost one game because of an on-side kick that Tommy Joe Crutcher didn't recover. He felt the further the ball went down the field the better chance the Packers had of recovery.  The last game of the season was vs. the Steelers when they really sucked. Don Horn played mostly at QB.  Lombardi rested many starters that day.

Yeah, I am ~99% sure the on-side kick loss was to the Colts.  Just checked and they lost 13-10 in Baltimore.

 

So, while a wonderful article, it is hard to characterize that Packer team as subordinate to Colts and Rams.  They actually pretty much had both games and they were both away games.

 

The Steeler loss was a gimme.  Only other loss was to the Vikings who competed pretty well against the Lombardi Packers.  Then you had the opening game 17-17 tie with the Lions.

This thread has old man stink.

 

Yes it does, but I for one like it. Love hearing stories about the Lombardi Packers. Especially from the fans and people on here who lived through it.

Thanks, Tavis!

 

I am 56.  The first Packer game I remember was the 1965 Colt OT playoff win.  We lived in Milwaukee and family drove to my great aunt's house in Rubicon (near Hartford) so as to be able to watch the game.  Was it in Milwaukee?  I know it was blacked out.

 

So, I was only 7 and all I remember is being really tired, asking dad when could we go home, and then for some reason I could not comprehend, having to wait longer (read: OT)!

 

1966 I saw a few games.  Certainly remember the Packer win over Dallas in the championship, the game with the Boyd Dowler TD grab where he does a flip in the air.  Also, the INT at the end.

 

By 1967, I was watching almost all the games and certainly after that season, I was sold and henceforth dedicated myself to watching the Pack always!

 

First jersey was #31 (Jimmy Taylor).

Nice....bought a throwback Taylor a few years back from a guy in Cooperstown, NY who made them as close to authentic as is possible. Durene material, long sleeve, etc. Jersey is almost too nice to wear.

For whatever reason, the last paragraph stuck with me. You picture this guy playing through everything he did, retired, but back in tiny town Little Falls. Reeks of history and Supper Clubs.....
"In the mid-1980s, Kramer went to Little Falls, Minn., to see Gillingham for “Distant Replay”, the follow-up to his best-selling diary of the 1967 season, “Instant Replay.” Just before he left, Kramer asked his old teammate what he remembered best about his football career. Gillingham didn’t talk about any particular play or any specific game, like the Ice Bowl or either of the Super Bowls. What mattered most to Gale Gillingham was the feeling of anticipation in the moments leading up to the opening kickoff. “I love my kids dearly”, he said, “but I have never been as close to people as I was every Sunday when I walked through that damn tunnel to the field. I thought so much of those guys walking with me, I didn’t want to do anything to let them down. We would kill for each other. We would die for each other. We would do anything for each other.”

Gotta have that Durene.

“I love my kids dearly, but I have never been as close to people as I was every Sunday when I walked through that damn tunnel to the field. I thought so much of those guys walking with me, I didn’t want to do anything to let them down. We would kill for each other. We would die for each other. We would do anything for each other.”  - Gale Gillingham

 

this should be hanging at the end of the player's tunnel at Lambeau.

I am the third one from the end. 

Split personality?

 

And I can't agree more about that last paragraph.  Does that exist in Goodell's NFL anymore?

http://news.google.com/newspap...&pg=5877,7126775

 

The last 1/4 of the story talks of Gillingham vs Keating in SBII.

I'd heard mention of it before but didn't know any details.

Thanks, Grig. That was a good read. It's all those little things behind the scenes that are so cool and help make sports legends. Two battered players dragging themselves out there again and again. And imagine Vince trying to get his tie off and having the equipment guy end up cutting it off... priceless.