Home Forums Blogs Articles Photos Videos Contact FAQ

Green Bay Packers - Franchise history

Green Bay Packers - Franchise history: Encyclopedia II - Green Bay Packers - Franchise history

The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 11, 1919 by Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun. Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor. The Packers became a professional franchise in 1921. Financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise was lost the same year. The Packers found new backers the next year and regained the franchise. The financial backers, known as the "H ...

Green Bay Packers: Encyclopedia II - Green Bay Packers - Franchise history

Green Bay Packers - Franchise history

The Packers became a professional franchise in 1921. Financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise was lost the same year. The Packers found new backers the next year and regained the franchise. The financial backers, known as the "Hungry Five," formed the Green Bay Football Corporation.

The Packers are now the only publicly owned company with a board of directors in American professional sports. Typically, a team is owned by one person, partnership, or corporate entity; thus, a "team owner." It has been speculated that this is one of the reasons the Green Bay Packers have never been moved from the city of Green Bay, a city of just over 100,000 people. By comparison, the typical NFL football city usually is populated in the millions. However, the Packers have long had a large following throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest; in fact, for decades, the Packers played four (one pre-season, three regular-season) home games each year in Milwaukee. The Packers did not move their entire home schedule to Green Bay until 1995.

Based on the original "Articles of Incorporation for the (then) Green Bay Football Corporation" put into place in 1923, if the Packers franchise was sold, after the payment of all expenses, any remaining monies would go to the Sullivan-Wallen Post of the American Legion in order to build "a proper soldier's memorial." This stipulation was enacted to ensure the club remained in Green Bay and that there could never be any financial enhancement for the shareholders. At the November 1997 annual meeting, shareholders voted to change the beneficiary from the Sullivan-Wallen Post to the Green Bay Packers Foundation.

In 1950, the Packers held a stock sale to again raise money to support the team. In 1956, area voters approved the construction of a new stadium, which in 1963 became Lambeau Field.

Another stock sale occurred late in 1997 and early in 1998. It added 105,989 new shareholders and raised more than $24 million, money utilized for the Lambeau Field redevelopment project. Priced at $200 per share, fans bought 120,010 shares during the 17-week sale, which ended March 16, 1998. As of June 8, 2005, 111,921 people (representing 4,749,925 shares) can lay claim to a franchise ownership interest. Shares of stock include voting rights, but the redemption price is minimal, no dividends are ever paid, the stock cannot appreciate in value, and there are no season ticket privileges associated with stock ownership. No shareholder is allowed to own more than 200,000 shares, a safeguard to ensure that no one individual is able to assume control of the club. As a means of running the corporation, a board of directors is elected by the stockholders. The board of directors in turn elect a seven-member Executive Committee (officers) of the corporation, consisting of a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and three members-at-large. The president is the only officer who receives compensation. The balance of the committee is sitting "gratis."

The Packers have won more league championships (12, including three Super Bowls) than any other American professional football team. They are also the only American professional football team to win three straight titles, which they did twice (1929-1931 and 1965-67).

The Packers of the 1960s were one of the most dominant NFL teams of all time. Coach Vince Lombardi took over a last-place team and built it into a juggernaut, winning five league championships over a seven-year span. Green Bay won the first two Super Bowls. The Super Bowl trophy was ultimately named the Vince Lombardi Trophy in recognition of his and his team's accomplishment.

The Packers' fan base is notoriously dedicated: No matter how the team performs, Lambeau Field has been sold out every game since 1960. The Packers have one of the longest waiting lists for season tickets in professional sports. The current wait time for season tickets is approximately 35 years. For this reason, it is not unusual for fans to designate a recipient of their season tickets in their wills.

The Packers also draw the largest national TV audiences for the NFL's Monday Night Football telecasts.

Packer fans are commonly known as "cheeseheads," a derogatory nickname for people from Wisconsin, as the state is known for its cheese production among a variety of other items. To poke fun at this nickname, they wear foam triangles made to look like cheese on their heads, which further reinforces the "cheesehead" designation.

Green Bay Packers - Nickname and uniforms

Curly Lambeau, the team's founder, solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor (this is similar to what would happen the following year with the Decatur Staleys, who would become the Chicago Bears). The new Green Bay team was referred to as "the Indians" in one of the earliest newspaper articles about the new squad, but by the time they played their first game they had adopted the name "Packers."

In the early days, the Packers also were referred to as the "Bays" and the "Blues" (and even occasionally as "the Big Bay Blues"). These never were official nicknames, although Lambeau did consider replacing "Packers" with "Blues" in the 1920s.

In 1920, the Indian Packing Company was purchased by the Acme Packing Company. Acme continued its support of Lambeau's team, and in its first season in the NFL the team wore jerseys with the words "ACME PACKERS" emblazoned on the chest.

Lambeau, a Notre Dame alumnus, chose the team's colors of blue and gold/yellow from his alma mater. In the 1930s, the Packers briefly experimented with green and gold, although they always returned to the traditional navy.

In 1959, new head coach Vince Lombardi changed the colors to the current hunter green and athletic gold/yellow (navy blue was kept as a secondary color, but it was not actually used and quietly was dropped from the team colors list on all official materials shortly thereafter). This color scheme yields the common Packers nickname, "The Green and Gold".

Green Bay Packers - 2005 season

The Packers finished their season at 4-12, in last place in the NFC North division (one game behind the third-place Detroit Lions). The Packers' November 27 loss to the Eagles assured the Packers their first losing season since 1991 and Brett Favre's first losing season in his career. The team's offensive roster has been devastated by injuries, including notable 2005 starters or backups. For example, wide receiver Javon Walker and running backs Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport, and Samkon Gado have all suffered major injuries. Also hampered by injuries yet remaining in the line-up are linebacker Na'il Diggs and Favre, who has suffered repeated ailments to his throwing hand. One day after the conclusion of the regular season, Packers General Manager Ted Thompson announced the firing of head coach Mike Sherman, who'd enjoyed six years at the helm of the team. Sherman compiled records of 9-7, 12-4, 12-4, 10-6, 10-6 and 4-12. This included four straight playoff appearances and three straight NFC North division titles, both of which came to an end in 2005. As a result of their dismal season, the Packers ended up with the fifth overall pick in the NFL Draft, which is to be held April 29-30 in New York City.