LeRoy Butler - Packers Pride: Green Bay Greats Share Their Favorite Memories

LeRoy Butler:

I want to dedicate this book to the real Packer fans, without you there is no LeRoy Butler; my kids; my hero, my mom; and my best friend, LeRoy Butler IV.

Rob Reischel:

For Mia and Madison

You fill each day with laughter, merriment and an endless stream of memories.

Youre the greatest blessings Ive ever received.

Love,

Dad

Contents

1. The Men Under Center

2. Playmakers

3. On the Line

4. In the Box

5. The Secondary

6. Specialists

7. Sidelines and Front Office

8. Rivals

9. Great Moments and Memories

Foreword by Willie Davis

I am a Green Bay Packer.

I say that as proudly today as I did when I wore the uniform. And there is something special about this uniform and this franchise. The Green Bay Packers are more than just a football team. Theyre something bigger, and whether youre a player, coach, trainer, fan, owner, or anyone associated with the Green and Gold, you cant quite put it into words, but you know exactly what Im talking about.

Being a Green Bay Packer fills you with a sense of pride.

Theres a lot to be proud of, especially for a former player like me who was able to experience what it means to be a Packer firsthand. As one of footballs oldest organizations, there is a rich and storied tradition that surrounds you as soon as you walk onto the field and see the names honored on the east and west sides of the stadium. There is the nostalgic wonder of the small town, the perpetual underdog and the last of its kind surviving and thriving in a big-market game. There is that winning tradition, the glory of Titletown U.S.A., exemplified by the great players and coaches through the years, including a man who not only put Green Bay on the map, but impacted the entire league and a generation.

But more than anything, what always made me feel the most proud to be a Packer was the fans, by far the finest fans in all of sports anywhere, ever. Make no mistake about it, while the Cowboys, Steelers, and even the Bears and Giants will make claims about their widespread popularity, the Green Bay Packers are Americas Teamsome could even argue, in the realm of American football, they are the Worlds Team.

A Packer fan is devotion personified. They know their team and its history and they are as proud of the uniform as the players. They eat, sleep and breathe Packer football. It is their fascination, their obsession. Week to week, regardless of who the Pack is playing, they win and lose with their team.

When I played and we lost (which didnt happen very often), fans would see us around town in the grocery stores, bars, restaurants, or on the street. They would always come up to us, ask us about the game, maybe drop a little advice and then all give us the same message, an encouraging, Youll get em next time. They tried their best to hide their disappointment and show us just how much they supported us and believed in us. It got to the point that while we wanted to win for ourselves and of course, for Coach Lombardi, we wanted to win for the fans more than anything! We felt we owed them at least that for their support and devotion.

In my 10 years there and beyond, I fell in love with that city and its fans. Its amazing to me to think that I never wanted to go there in the first place.

I was traded to Green Bay from the Cleveland Browns in 1960 and I couldnt have felt worse about it. In fact, I almost quit, and I would have if a certain legendary coach hadnt called me and convinced me to give it a shot. Green Bay, back in the late 50s, had the reputation of no mans land, the Siberia of Football where players, coaches, and careers disappeared. I was disappointed about the trade because I had started to build a life in Cleveland. I knew nothing other than Green Bay was a small, cold town in northern Wisconsin (and some small towns still werent as progressive in their tolerance of minorities back then). I was unsettled to say the least. The only thing I knew about the franchise was that they had lost consistently for a long time and while they had brought in a new coach that had showed some improvement, they were still a long ways from playing championship footballor so I thought.

I was wrong about everything. The lesson I learned in going to Green Bay was to never judge a book by its cover. That stuck with me for the rest of my life, as did many of the lessons I learned playing for Coach Lombardi. He convinced me early that we could win. The players he brought in convinced me we would win. And the fans convinced me that win or lose, as long as I was wearing the Green and Gold, I would have a city, a huge family, Packer nation by my side.

As I discuss in my autobiography, Closing the Gap, I was fortunate to find myself in Green Bay at an ideal time. Pro football was growing in popularity, slowly earning its place as the national pastime. The Packers as an organization had built a little momentum the season prior with its first winning record in years. Coach Lombardi, the fiery and inspiring motivator, was already earning his reputation as a coach that might be able to turn this franchise around (little did we all know that would be just the tip of the iceberg). Yes, I got to Green Bay in the middle of the perfect storm, and I was happy to be a part of it.

More than that, I was lucky to be a part of it. Not just because of the fans and what they taught me about acceptance, loyalty, and passion, or the players who showed me daily what dedication, guts, and a strong work ethic can achieve, but also because I had the opportunity to play for coach Vince Lombardi.

From the moment I met him, Coach Lombardi had a direct impact on how I pursued my goals and lived my life. Everything I did in football and beyond, I measured by him: what he would think, whether it would live up to his principles and expectations of me. That remains true even today. We all heard his words and we were moved by them each and every week. Those words made us champions. They werent reserved for just his football team. Coach moved the NFL, the nation, and generations to follow. People like Coach Lombardi only come along every so often, and when they do we are all fortunate to witness what they can do. To play for him was the greatest honor of my life.

How you play this game is a reflection of how you will live the rest of your life. Success is not a gift, its earned.

Winning isnt everything, its the only thing.

The quality of any mans life has got to be a full measure of that mans personal commitment to excellence and to victory.

I can still hear him delivering those speeches, motivating us to live up to our potential, to be the best, to be champions. Bart, Jim, Paul, Ray, Forrest, Jerry, Dave, all of uswe all learned what it meant to be champions because of Coach Lombardi. And once we knew how to be champions, we spent the better part of a decade showing the rest of the league and the nation what it meant, how to do it right, and the pride we all felt being Green Bay Packers.

There was no greater example of this (and for me no greater Packer memory) than the 1961 NFL Championship Game. While winning the first two Super Bowls was impressive, it was that championship game that made the entire country aware of Green Bay, its players, its coach, and its fans. It was the game that built Titletown U.S.A., the greatest football city in the country.

In the 1961 NFL Championship Game we defeated the New York Giants 370.