Packers Heritage Trail | |
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Location | Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Established | November 2011 |
Designation | Heritage trail |
Use | Walking/Biking/Trolley |
Maintained by | Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame |
Website | Official website |
The Packers Heritage Trail is a self-guided walking and biking trail that traverses locations relating to the history of the Green Bay Packers. [1] All of the 25 sites have bronze commemorative plaques that connect the history of the site and its association to the Green Bay Packers. [2] Each plaque, which has individual sponsors, is either affixed to the side of the relevant building or placed on a pole in front of the site. [3] The Trail is split into three sections: the City Walk, which includes 16 sites and the Packers Heritage Plaza generally in downtown Green Bay; the Packing Plant Spur, which includes 4 sites along Baird Creek; and the Lambeau - Lombardi Spur, which includes another 4 sites along the Fox River. [4]
The Packers Heritage Trail was developed by sportswriter Cliff Christl, who would go on to become the team historian of the Packers. It was modeled after the Freedom Trail in Boston and opened in 2012. [5] [6] It was originally led by the Packers Heritage Trail Foundation, Inc., which was formed by Christl and his wife Shirley. Two years later, the Heritage Trail Plaza was opened on the corner of Cherry St. and Washington St. in downtown Green Bay. [7] In 2017, the Foundation was taken over by the Packers and is now part of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. The Packers offer combined tickets for touring Lambeau Field, entrance to the Packers Hall of Fame and trolley tours of the Packers Heritage Trail. [8] That same year, Christl published a book covering the Trail titled Packers Heritage Trail: The Town, The Team, The Fans From Lambeau to Lombardi. [3] The Packers Heritage Plaza, which was updated and renovated in 2022, provides a larger overview history of the team with various plaques and statutes of past Packers players and coaches. [9] However, the site of the plaza has been identified for future development, which would require its relocation to another site in downtown Green Bay. [10]
The City Walk portion of the Trail includes various buildings with connections to the Packers. This includes two historic train depots that the Packers utilized for away games, multiple office buildings that either the Packers utilized or key figures worked at, cultural and religious sites, and past Packers stadiums. The entirety of downtown Green Bay is identified as one of the historic sites, with the commemorative plaque located on the CityDesk, the name of Green Bay's riverfront. The Packing Plant Spur follows Baird Creek, just outside of downtown Green Bay and includes the remains of the packing plants for the Indian Packing Company, the Riverside Ballroom, and other historic playing fields. As the name implies, the Lambeau - Lombardi Spur focuses on the history of two key Packers coaches: Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi. [4] This spur is the only one that has sites with differences in their commemorative plaques: the plaque for Lombardi's home and the plaque for Lambeau's gravesite is located a short distance from the house and the cemetery along the Fox River trail. [11] [12]
Vincent Thomas Lombardi was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be among the greatest coaches and leaders in American sports. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight and five total NFL Championships in seven years, in addition to winning the first two Super Bowls at the conclusion of the 1966 and 1967 NFL seasons.
Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin, native George Whitney Calhoun, founded the Green Bay Packers in 1919. He served as team captain in the team's first year before becoming player-coach in 1920. As a player, Lambeau lined up as a halfback, which in the early years of the NFL was the premier position. He was the team's primary runner and passer, accounting for 35 touchdowns in 77 games. He won his only NFL championship as a player in 1929.
Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing the original City Stadium at Green Bay East High School as the Packers' home field. Informally known as New City Stadium for its first eight seasons, it was renamed in August 1965 in memory of Packers founder, player, and long-time head coach, Earl “Curly” Lambeau, who had died two months earlier.
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 Lumberjack Band was a marching band that played at Green Bay Packers' games. The band earned its name because of the plaid flannel jackets its members originally wore.
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.
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team that has played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) since 1921. The team was founded in 1919 by Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, and for the next two years played against local teams in Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan. In 1921, the Packers joined the American Professional Football Association, the precursor to the NFL, with Curly Lambeau as their coach. After falling into financial trouble, the Green Bay Football Corporation, now known as Green Bay Packers, Inc., was formed in 1923. The Packers became a publicly owned football team run by a board of directors elected each year. The team went on to win six NFL championships from 1929 to 1944, including three straight (1929–1931). Along the way, Curly Lambeau, with the help of receiver Don Hutson, revolutionized football through the development and utilization of the forward pass.
Gary Knafelc was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver and a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played one game at the start of his career with the Chicago Cardinals and his final season was with the San Francisco 49ers.
Joel David "Hawg" Hanner, was an American professional football player, coach, and scout.
The Indian Packing Company was a company that was involved in the canned meat industry and was incorporated in Delaware on July 22, 1919. Its canned meat sold as "Council Meats." When the company was absorbed by the Illinois-based Acme Packing Company in 1921, it had facilities in Green Bay, Wisconsin; Providence, Rhode Island; Greenwood, Indiana; and Dupont, Indiana. At the time of the sale it was controlled by New England Supply Company of Providence, Rhode Island, with F.P Comstock as its principal owner.
The 1957 Green Bay Packers season was their 39th season overall and their 37th season in the National Football League. After a week one win against the Chicago Bears, The team finished with a 3–9 record under fourth-year head coach Lisle Blackbourn and finished last in the Western Conference. It was Blackbourn's final season at Green Bay, who was replaced by Ray McLean in January 1958 for just one year, characterized by even worse results. McLean was succeeded in 1959 by Vince Lombardi, who brought a change of fortune for the Packers.
The 1965 Green Bay Packers season was their 47th season overall and their 45th season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 10–3–1 record under seventh-year head coach Vince Lombardi, earning a tie for first place in the Western Conference with the Baltimore Colts.
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.
St. Willebrord Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay located in downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1864 by Dutch immigrants, and dedicated to St. Willibrord. The church is spelled Willebrord because stonemasons made a mistake when carving the name.
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 reporter, 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.