| Packers Heritage Trail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Green Bay, Wisconsin |
| Established | November 2011 |
| Trailheads | Neville Public Museum of Brown County |
| Use | Walking |
| Website | Official website |
The Packers Heritage Trail is a self-guided walking tour that traverses locations relating to the history of the Green Bay Packers. 22 of the sites have bronze commemorative plaques. [1] 21 sites are located within a two-mile radius of downtown Green Bay. The Trail was developed by sportswriter Cliff Christl. [2]
The Packers Heritage Trail Plaza is located along the route at the northeast corner of Washington and Cherry streets in downtown Green Bay. It houses statues of pro football and Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame members Paul Hornung and John McNally, and team co-founder George Whitney Calhoun. [3]
City Stadium is an American football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on the north side of the Green Bay East High School property. It was the home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from 1925 through 1956. Renovated and downsized, City Stadium remains the home to the adjacent Green Bay East High School athletic teams. Prior to 1925, the Packers played home games at nearby Hagemeister Park and Bellevue Park.
George Whitney Calhoun was an American newspaper editor and co-founder of the Green Bay Packers, a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After establishing the Packers in 1919 with Curly Lambeau, Calhoun served the team in various capacities for 44 years until his death in 1963. Utilizing his editorial job at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, he became the team's first publicity director, helping to establish local support and interest. He also served as the first team manager and was a member of the board of directors of the non-profit corporation that owns the team. Although often overshadowed by the more famous Curly Lambeau, Calhoun was instrumental to the early success of the Packers. In recognition of his contributions, Calhoun was elected to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1978.
The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame is a team-specific hall of fame honoring players, coaches, executives and other contributors to the history and success of the Green Bay Packers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL). It was the first hall of fame built to honor a single professional American football team. William Brault, a Green Bay restaurateur and Packers fan, founded the Packer Hall of Fame in 1966. According to them, they got the idea after visitors to Green Bay would repeatedly ask about the Packers' storied history. Sensing opportunity, they went to Packers head coach Vince Lombardi, suggesting a hall of fame should be made to attract and educate tourists about the Packers and their history. Lombardi gave them his approval as long as the hall of fame would not interfere with the existing players.
Johnnie Lee Gray is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cal State Fullerton Titans. He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
Freddie Alton Carr was an American football player who played linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 to 1977.
Rockwood Lodge was the training facility of the Green Bay Packers from 1946 to 1950. Originally built in 1937 as a retreat for a local Norbertine Order, the Lodge was purchased by Packers coach and general manager Curly Lambeau in 1946 and then heavily renovated, making it the first self-contained training facility in professional football history. Although the facility was state-of-the-art at the time, many members of the Packers franchise and local fans complained of its high cost, distance from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and its poor practice field. The Lodge burned down in 1950, with the likely cause being faulty electrical wiring or lightning. The Packers received $75,000 in insurance from the fire, which would be used to help reestablish the Packers' long-term financial security. Lambeau resigned from the Packers just a week after the fire, citing a lack of unity in the team's direction between him and the Packers' board of directors. The Rockwood Lodge site would lay vacant for a number of years before being purchased by Brown County, Wisconsin, and developed into a public park.
Alden Stephen Rochè Jr. was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, and Seattle Seahawks from 1970 to 1978, having earlier played college football at Southern University.
The Hungry Five are the five Green Bay, Wisconsin area businessmen who were instrumental in keeping the Green Bay Packers franchise in operation during its early years. They raised funds, incorporated the team as a non-profit corporation, sold stock, established the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors and otherwise promoted the franchise.
Gerald Francis Clifford was an American trial lawyer, politician, and executive officer of the Green Bay Packers. Clifford began his legal career in 1913 after studying law at the University of Michigan. He was an active trial lawyer, specializing in cases regarding search and seizure and Prohibition. He once served as assistant Attorney General of Wisconsin where he became well-known for prosecuting corruption cases. Politically, Clifford was a leader in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and was once a Wisconsin Democratic nominee for Congress in 1934. In addition to his work in law and politics, he also served as an executive officer and team lawyer for the Green Bay Packers. Clifford assisted the organization in avoiding bankruptcy, reincorporated the team under a new ownership model, and helped prevent the team from moving away from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is one of The Hungry Five, a group of businessman who were instrumental in the early development of the Packers. Clifford died on February 24, 1952, at the age of 62. In recognition of his contributions, he was elected to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1991.
Verne Clark Lewellen was an American football player and executive.
Dominic John Olejniczak was an American real estate broker, politician, and football executive. Olejniczak served as an alderman of Green Bay, Wisconsin, from 1936 to 1944. He was then elected mayor, serving for 10 years from 1945 to 1955. During his tenure as mayor, a number of large infrastructure projects were completed and city administration was streamlined. Olejniczak was also known for his work with the Green Bay Packers. Over a period of almost 40 years, Olejniczak served as a member of the board of directors, a vice president, president, and chairman of the board. His 24 years as president is the longest tenure of any Packers president. During his presidency, he hired Vince Lombardi in 1959, the Packers won five championships, and the team saw its net worth grow over 5,000%. In recognition of his contributions, Olejniczak was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1979 and the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. He died in 1989, after a series of strokes.
Mark Steven Murphy is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). After graduating from GlenOak High School near his hometown of Canton, Ohio, Murphy attended West Liberty State College. At West Liberty, he played college football for all four years, with the last three as a starter for the Hilltoppers. In his senior year, he was named All-WVIAC and won the WVIAC championship. He went undrafted in the 1980 NFL Draft, but was subsequently signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent. He played for the Packers for 12 years before retiring in 1991. After his playing career, Murphy coached high school and college football in Ohio. He was elected to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1998 in recognition of his contributions to the team.
Raymond E. Evrard was an attorney and the second president of the Green Bay Football Corporation, the non-profit organization that owns the Green Bay Packers (now known as Green Bay Packers, Inc. In addition to his role as Packers president for one year, Evrard also served on the Packers board of directors and was the team's lawyer until 1929. Evrard was also elected for three terms as district attorney of Brown County, Wisconsin, serving from 1922 to 1929. He continued practicing law until the 1970s. Evrard played an important, yet often overlooked role in helping to organize the Packers during the team's early years through his various leadership roles. Evrard died on March 21, 1974.
The Green Bay East–Green Bay West football rivalry is a high school football rivalry between Green Bay East High School and Green Bay West High School, two public high schools in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Played annually since 1905, it is Wisconsin's longest-running consecutively-played high school football rivalry. The teams first met unofficially in 1895, but did not begin playing annually until ten years later. For much of the early 20th century, the rivalry game was one of the most popular events of the year in Green Bay due to East and West being the only city high schools, drawing crowds that exceeded those of the fledgling Green Bay Packers.
Clifford A. Christl is an American sportswriter who is the team historian of the Green Bay Packers, a football team in the National Football League (NFL). Prior to this role, Christl worked as a newspaper reporter for over 30 years at newspapers in Wisconsin, including the Manitowoc Herald Times, the Green Bay Press-Gazette and the Milwaukee Journal. Throughout his years as a reported, Christl covered the Packers as a sportswriter, while also chronicling the team in his spare time and helping establish the Packers Heritage Trail. In 2014, after historian Lee Remmel left the team, Christl was named the team's historian. One of his first activities after being hired was to write The Greatest Story in Sports: Green Bay Packers 1919–2019, a four-part book chronicling the first 100 years of the history of the Packers. Christl also writes articles on the team's history, records oral histories with past Packers' players and coaches and answers fan's questions about the team.
44°30′55″N88°0′55″W / 44.51528°N 88.01528°W
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