The 1966 Green Bay Packers

The 1966 Green Bay Packers were one of the greatest teams in professional football history. Led by legendary head coach Vince Lombardi and 10 future Hall of Famers—including Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Forrest Gregg, Willie Davis and Ray Nitschke—they were the decisive winners of Super Bowl I, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs and upholding the superiority of the National Football League over the upstart American Football League. This book tells the story of the hard-working ’66 Packers on the gridiron and their legacy in Titletown, USA.

Retired attorney George Bozeka is the president and assistant publications director of the Professional Football Researchers Association. He has written numerous articles in the association’s publication The Coffin Corner and was the recipient of the PFRA’s lifetime achievement award, the Ralph Hay Award in 2022 and the Bob Carroll Memorial Writing Award in 2011. He lives in Akron, Ohio.

Edited by George Bozeka

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 328
Bibliographic Info: 67 photos, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2016
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6203-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2442-6
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Great Teams in Pro Football History

Acknowledgments (George Bozeka) vi
Preface (George Bozeka) 1

Part 1: The Organization
Head Coach Vince Lombardi (Gary Sarnoff) 5
Assistant Coaches (Ed Bryant) 13
Ownership (John Maxymuk) 17
Building the Team (John Maxymuk) 19
The 1966 Draft (Chris Willis) 23

Part 2: The 1966 Season
Training Camp and Preseason (Rick Schabowski) 29
Regular Season Game Summaries (Rupert Patrick,
Neal Golden and Rich Shmelter) 35
1966 NFL Championship Game (Rupert Patrick) 73
Super Bowl I (Neal Golden) 80
Statistics (Rupert Patrick) 88
Superlatives (Rupert Patrick) 90

Part 3: The Team
Herb Adderley (Joe Zagorski) 95
Lionel Aldridge (John Grasso) 98
Bill Anderson (John Maxymuk) 101
Donny Anderson (Jay Zahn) 105
Ken Bowman (Rick Schabowski) 111
Zeke Bratkowski (George Bozeka) 115
Allen Brown (Matt Reaser) 119
Robert Brown (Michael D. Benter) 122
Tom Brown (John Maxymuk) 126
Lee Roy Caffey (Greg Selber) 130
Don Chandler (George Bozeka) 133
Tommy Joe Crutcher (Greg Selber) 137
Bill Curry (John Maxymuk) 139
Carroll Dale (John Grasso) 144
Willie Davis (George Bozeka) 148
Boyd Dowler (Randy Snow) 153
Marv Fleming (Jay Zahn) 157
Gale Gillingham (Rick Schabowski) 162
Jim Grabowski (Jeffrey J. Miller) 167
Forrest Gregg (John Grasso) 171
Doug Hart (Joe Zagorski) 176
Dave Hathcock (John Maxymuk) 179
Paul Hornung (George Bozeka) 181
Bob Jeter (Michael D. Benter) 188
Henry Jordan (John Maxymuk) 192
Ron Kostelnik (Jay Zahn) 196
Jerry Kramer (Kenneth R. Crippen) 202
Bob Long (Rick Schabowski) 206
Red Mack (Gary Sarnoff) 211
Max McGee (John Maxymuk) 215
Ray Nitschke (Rich Shmelter) 221
Elijah Pitts (Michael D. Benter) 226
Dave Robinson (John Maxymuk) 231
Bob Skoronski (Rick Schabowski) 235
Bart Starr (John Vorperian) 240
Jim Taylor (Neal Golden) 248
Fuzzy Thurston (Rick Schabowski) 253
Phil Vandersea (Ed Bryant) 257
Jim Weatherwax (Matt Reaser) 259
Willie Wood (Joe Zagorski) 263
Steve Wright (Gary Sarnoff) 267
Taxi Squad (John Maxymuk) 273
Race and the Packers (John Vorperian) 277

Part 4: The Stadiums
Lambeau Field (Randy Snow) 283
Milwaukee County Stadium (Mark L. Ford) 286

Part 5: The Press
Bud Lea and Chuck Johnson: The Milwaukee Beats
(Rick Schabowski) 295
Art Daley and Lee Remmel: The Green Bay Beats
(Joe Marren) 300
Ray Scott (Joe Marren) 302
Vernon Biever (Matt Foss) 305

About the Contributors 311
Index 313

• “An absolute ‘must’”—Midwest Book Review
• “A unique and detailed history…highly recommend it”—Gridiron Greats
• “Green Bay football fans will no doubt enjoy virtually every bit of this collection of well-written essays on one of pro football’s greatest teams”—Journal of Sport History
• “This book does exactly what it purports to do. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Packers and covers every aspect of their season. The work is highly readable, has some nice photographs and provides a thoroughness that will allow all fans, even knowledgeable Packer fans, to learn something new”— Mind’s Eye Press

Review Fix chats with The 1958 Baltimore Colts: Profiles of the NFL’s First Sudden Death Champions and The 1966 Green Bay Packers: Profiles of Vince Lombardi’s Super Bowl I Champions author George Bozeka, who details the creation process and why these teams are so special.

Review Fix: What inspired this book?

George Bozeka: In 2014, I became aware of a book series produced by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) that covered memorable teams in baseball history. I proposed to the Board of the Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) that we produce a similar series on great teams in pro football history. The Board liked the idea and voted to move forward with the series. We have since published two books…The 1966 Green Bay Packers: Profiles of Vince Lombardi’s Super Bowl I Champions and The 1958 Baltimore Colts: Profiles of the NFL’s First Sudden Death Champions.

Review Fix: What was the writing and editing experience like for you?

Bozeka: It was a wonderful experience. Each book in the series is a collaborative effort involving between 25 to 30 members of the PFRA who contribute either writing or editing services. I organize each book project and also act as the lead editor for each book project. Our organization is blessed to have very supportive leadership and members all of whom share an intense passion for pro football history.

Review Fix: Did you learn anything you weren’t expecting?

Bozeka: It was really not something I did not expect given Coach Lombardi’s character, but i was pleased to learn that the Packers were truly a color blind team because Lombardi would not tolerate racism, bigotry, or prejudice on his team. As an Italian American he had experienced prejudice first hand. As a result he fostered a culture of diversity, acceptance, and respect in the Packers organization.

Review Fix: What else makes the original Packers here so special?

Bozeka: It all started with Coach Lombardi. His leadership and teachings about the pursuit of excellence on the football field and in life were the foundation of the great Green Bay teams of the 1960s. Add to that foundation an amazing group of players led by Hall of Famers Bart Starr, Paul Hornung , Jim Taylor, Jerry Kramer, Forrest Gregg, Ray Nitschke, Herb Adderley, Willie Davis, Dave Robinson, Henry Jordan and Willie Wood, all of whom understood the value of team over individual, and had a shared love, faith, and respect for each other, and you have a great recipe for sustained championship success…and for the Packers it extended beyond the football field, as many of the players went on to lead very accomplished lives off the gridiron.

Review Fix: How do you think they’d fare in today’s NFL?
Bozeka: I think they would perform very well. Because of Coach Lombardi, this team knew how to win. They would succeed in any era.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this book the most?

Bozeka: Fans of the Green Bay Packers and fans of pro football in general will enjoy the book and the book series.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this book?

Bozeka: The goal of the Packers book and the book series is to memorialize the history of these great teams. This aligns with the purposes of the PFRA… to foster the study of professional football as a significant and athletic institution; to establish an accurate historical account of professional football; and to disseminate research information. Each book in the series is a complete history of the season of the team covered with game summaries, statistics, and bios of each player and coach. Each book also includes bios of key media members that covered the team, a history of the team’s home stadium, photographs, and special feature chapters about the team.

Review Fix: What’s next for you?

Bozeka: We are currently working on the third book in the series. It will cover the 1951 Los Angeles Rams. The Rams book will be released in 2021. A fourth book covering the 1964 Buffalo Bills is also planned with a 2024 release date.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Bozeka: To learn more about the PFRA and to become a member visit our website at profootballresearchers.org. Further, to purchase any of the books in the series go to the McFarland Publishing website at mcfarlandbooks.com.