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Who do you want to see in the Super Bowl?
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<blockquote data-quote="Thirteen Below" data-source="post: 1028065" data-attributes="member: 18006"><p>It wasn't as acrimonious as the story is often told; in fact, it was a relatively amicable move that both parties were OK with.</p><p></p><p>Ringo liked Lombardi and enjoyed playing for him, but he was coming to the end of his career and feeling homesick for New Jersey. The year before, he'd written his own contract renewal, asking for $11,000. According to Pat Peppler, Green Bay director of player personnel, Lombardi added another $1,000 to keep Ringo happy. This year, he wanted $15,000, and he knew he wouldn't get it. Lombardi had too many other good players to keep happy, and paying Ringo 15K would have destroyed the team's salary structure. He told Peppler, "if you won't go the 15, trade me", figuring that he'd probably wind up with an East Coast team. Peppler said he'd pass it up to "the old man".</p><p></p><p>According to Peppler, Lombardi got on the phone to Philly, and called Ringo personally an hour later to tell him "Jim, you can negotiate with Philadephia now. I just traded you."</p><p></p><p>It was a classy, respectful move by Lombardi. He loved Ringo and was very loyal to him, but he knew he was becoming more and more unhappy playing in Green Bay, and went out of his way to get him into a city only an hour and a half away from his hometown. Lombardi had apparently been working out the trade for several weeks, maybe even months according to Peppler, and when the chips were down and he finally had to make the call, he pulled the trigger.</p><p></p><p>It's possible there never was an agent to begin with. Peppler's version always included an agent, but Ringo changed his story a little in later years and said that he never used an agent; he always made his own deals. But neither man ever made any effort to completely refute the legend - Ringo didn't mind, Lombardi liked what it did for his reputation, and both men had the sense to recognize it was a great story. When Vince was asked about it over the years, he never either confirmed it or denied it; just sorta winked and made a wise crack. The closest he came was in the late 60s, when he scoffed and said, "I never would have made a deal like that so suddenly. That'd be a hell of a way to manage a team". Which, knowing Vince, sounds logical.</p><p></p><p>However it went down, it worked out well for everyone. Ringo missed out on the true glory years, but he still won 2 championships under Lombardi, he got to finish his career playing close to home, and he made some pretty damned good money his last few years - quarterback money, runnning back money. The owner of the Eagles was a real estate developer who always made sure his players had construction jobs in the offseason, and he took especially good care of Ringo. Lombardi replaced an aging, undersized center a year or two earlier than he would have liked, but got excellent value in return - and already had the man's replacement standing by and ready for the "3peat" run that began in 65. There were no hard feelings; the men remained good friends for life, and respected each other greatly.</p><p></p><p>Everybody won.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Thirteen Below, post: 1028065, member: 18006"] It wasn't as acrimonious as the story is often told; in fact, it was a relatively amicable move that both parties were OK with. Ringo liked Lombardi and enjoyed playing for him, but he was coming to the end of his career and feeling homesick for New Jersey. The year before, he'd written his own contract renewal, asking for $11,000. According to Pat Peppler, Green Bay director of player personnel, Lombardi added another $1,000 to keep Ringo happy. This year, he wanted $15,000, and he knew he wouldn't get it. Lombardi had too many other good players to keep happy, and paying Ringo 15K would have destroyed the team's salary structure. He told Peppler, "if you won't go the 15, trade me", figuring that he'd probably wind up with an East Coast team. Peppler said he'd pass it up to "the old man". According to Peppler, Lombardi got on the phone to Philly, and called Ringo personally an hour later to tell him "Jim, you can negotiate with Philadephia now. I just traded you." It was a classy, respectful move by Lombardi. He loved Ringo and was very loyal to him, but he knew he was becoming more and more unhappy playing in Green Bay, and went out of his way to get him into a city only an hour and a half away from his hometown. Lombardi had apparently been working out the trade for several weeks, maybe even months according to Peppler, and when the chips were down and he finally had to make the call, he pulled the trigger. It's possible there never was an agent to begin with. Peppler's version always included an agent, but Ringo changed his story a little in later years and said that he never used an agent; he always made his own deals. But neither man ever made any effort to completely refute the legend - Ringo didn't mind, Lombardi liked what it did for his reputation, and both men had the sense to recognize it was a great story. When Vince was asked about it over the years, he never either confirmed it or denied it; just sorta winked and made a wise crack. The closest he came was in the late 60s, when he scoffed and said, "I never would have made a deal like that so suddenly. That'd be a hell of a way to manage a team". Which, knowing Vince, sounds logical. However it went down, it worked out well for everyone. Ringo missed out on the true glory years, but he still won 2 championships under Lombardi, he got to finish his career playing close to home, and he made some pretty damned good money his last few years - quarterback money, runnning back money. The owner of the Eagles was a real estate developer who always made sure his players had construction jobs in the offseason, and he took especially good care of Ringo. Lombardi replaced an aging, undersized center a year or two earlier than he would have liked, but got excellent value in return - and already had the man's replacement standing by and ready for the "3peat" run that began in 65. There were no hard feelings; the men remained good friends for life, and respected each other greatly. Everybody won. [/QUOTE]
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