Thursday, 21 November 2024

Curly Lambeau

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2024
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Football
Statistics: 6 NFL Championships (1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939 & 1944)
226-132-22 NFL Record
3-2 NFL Playoff Record
Named to the NFL 100th Anniversary Team
Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame

*Member of the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team

*As a player
In the Big Four of North American sports leagues, there is only one true small market team. That is the Green Bay Packers, and without Curly Lambeau, they would have never existed.

In 1919, Lambeau was a co-founder of the Packers, and he was also a player and coach of the team. The Packers' success allowed them to join the American Professional Football Association (which became the National Football League), and one of the most fabled teams in sports got its start.

Lambeau took Green Bay to their first NFL Championship in 1929, after which he stepped away from playing and focused only on coaching. Green Bay won the next two NFL Championships, and Lambeau again would guide the Packers to titles in 1936, 1939, and 1944. As a coach, Lambeau is credited with helping to develop the forward pass and making that a regular part of the offense.

In the late 1940s the Packers began to suffer financially, a lot due to Lambeau's decision to purchase Rockwood Lodge, a dedicated training facility for the team. While this would be a great idea that would be copied throughout sports, the price tag was too hefty, and the Lodge's limestone under the fields was too hard and causing injuries.

The Packers were on the brink of bankruptcy, and he rejected overtures from outside investors who would only buy in if they abolished their public ownership structure. Team executives wanted Lambeau out, and they got their wish after a mysterious fire burned down Rockwood Lodge, and insurance money saved the franchise. By this point, Lambeau was done with Green Bay, and he resigned in 1950.

Lambeau would later be the head coach for the Chicago Cardinals and later the Washington Redskins, though his success did not follow him, and his coaching career came to an end after the 1953 season. He died in 1965, and the Packers, to honor Lambeau, renamed City Stadium, Lambeau Field, in honor of the man who built and kept professional football in Green Bay.

We are proud to nominate Curly Lambeau for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

Back to List