Posted May 28, 2006
Chris Havel column: Packers legends facing a tough reality
By Chris Havel
PackersNews.com
The Green Bay Packers of the Lombardi Era, like their fans, have been blessed through the years.
In the 1960s, the Packers won five world championships, including victories in Super Bowl I and II. They ruled professional football like no other, and their head coach, Vince Lombardi, was revered like no other.
So much has been said and written about Lombardi’s teams that their legacy has grown to almost mythical proportions. The way Lombardi lived his life, coupled with his death at age 57, seemed to cement that lofty place in America’s pro sports culture.
Furthermore, the years have been uncommonly kind to most of the players. Of the 40 players listed on the Packers’ Super Bowl I roster, only Henry Jordan, Ron Kostelnik, Ray Nitschke, Elijah Pitts, Lee Roy Caffey, Lionel Aldridge and Tommy Joe Crutcher have died.
Today, the Super Bowl I players are in their mid- to late-’60s or early 70s. They endeavored to conquer every team in their path, and they have gone on to beat the odds in a profession where the life expectancy of players from that era is 54.
Willie Wood, the Packers’ Pro Football Hall of Fame safety, was pleasantly surprised by the statistics.
“That’s good news, because guys in that field are dropping like flies,â€
Chris Havel column: Packers legends facing a tough reality
By Chris Havel
PackersNews.com
The Green Bay Packers of the Lombardi Era, like their fans, have been blessed through the years.
In the 1960s, the Packers won five world championships, including victories in Super Bowl I and II. They ruled professional football like no other, and their head coach, Vince Lombardi, was revered like no other.
So much has been said and written about Lombardi’s teams that their legacy has grown to almost mythical proportions. The way Lombardi lived his life, coupled with his death at age 57, seemed to cement that lofty place in America’s pro sports culture.
Furthermore, the years have been uncommonly kind to most of the players. Of the 40 players listed on the Packers’ Super Bowl I roster, only Henry Jordan, Ron Kostelnik, Ray Nitschke, Elijah Pitts, Lee Roy Caffey, Lionel Aldridge and Tommy Joe Crutcher have died.
Today, the Super Bowl I players are in their mid- to late-’60s or early 70s. They endeavored to conquer every team in their path, and they have gone on to beat the odds in a profession where the life expectancy of players from that era is 54.
Willie Wood, the Packers’ Pro Football Hall of Fame safety, was pleasantly surprised by the statistics.
“That’s good news, because guys in that field are dropping like flies,â€