"The Voice of the New Due Process Army" ————– Musings on Events in U.S. Immigration Court, Immigration Law, Sports, and Other Random Topics by Retired United States Immigration Judge (Arlington, Virginia) and former Chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals Paul Wickham Schmidt. To see my complete professional bio, just click on the link below.
Jordan Love was nearly perfect in leading the upstart #7 Packers to huge victory over the #2 Cowboys in Dallas. Next week, they play #1 49ers in San Francisco. Green Bay will be big underdogs again! PHOTO: Packer website
🏈 SPORTS: BEHIND LOVE ❤️, JONES, DOUBS, 2 PICKS, & LAFLEUR’S COACHING, “UNDERDOG” PACK MAUL COWBOYS, 48-32, HEAD TO ROUND 2 IN SF!
By Paul Wickham Schmidt
Special to Courtside Sports
Jan. 14, 2024
It’s late, so just some of the highlights:
QB Jordan Love 16-21-272-3-0-157.2 (158.3 is the highest possible) — one of the top five performances in playoff history;
RB Aaron Jones 21-11-3 — tied Packer one-game playoff rushing TD record, fourth straight game 100+ rushing yards;
WR Romeo Doubs 6-151-1;
Safety Darnell Savage, pick 6 (64 yards);
CB Jaire Alexander, pick;
Offensive line, 0 sacks;
Youngest team ever to win a playoff game;
First #7 seed to win a playoff game (since playoffs expanded in 2020);
Tied highest Packer point total in playoff game;
Most points surrendered by Dallas in playoff game;
Ended 16 game Dallas home winning streak;
Packers four straight wins.
The game was not as close as the score and stats indicate. The Packers won the coin toss, drove 75 yards for a touchdown (Jones, 3 yard run), jumped to a 27-0 lead, and never looked back. Aftera 3-yard TD pass from Love to Romeo Doubs, the Pack led 48-16 with 10:41 left in the fourth quarter. The rest of the game was “garbage time” with the Cowboys racking up bogus statistics, some against Packer reserves.
One somewhat unfortunate consequence was that after the Cowboys scored two basically meaningless TDs with 2 point conversions, Coach Matt LaFleur was forced to send Love and the first unit back for a series. When Tucker Kraft dropped Love’s third down pass, his QB rating fell from perfect 158.3 to 157.2. That and a missed extra point by Anders Carlson were about the only things that went wrong for the Pack at AT&T Stadium.
Next week, Green Bay travels to San Francisco to face the top-seeded 49ers. Once again, they will be heavy underdogs. After what happened in Dallas today, the Niners are unlikely to take the upstarts from Green Bay lightly. So, it will take another extraordinary effort from Love and his young colleagues to reach the NFC Championship game!
Green Bay Packer QB Bart Starr (15) sneaks in the winning touchdown as Packers beat Cowboys 21-17 in the “Ice Bowl” on Dec. 31, 1967. The coldest NFL Playoff game — by far!
Photo: PackersNews.com
COURTSIDE WEATHER🥶/SPORTS🏈/HISTORY📗: -3 F FOR CHIEFS V. DOLPHINS PLAYOFF IN KC TONIGHT — That’s Not Even Close To The Coldest Playoff Game Ever, The 1967 “Ice Bowl!”
By Paul Wickham Schmidt
Special to Courtside Sports
Jan. 13, 2023
Alexandria, VA. When the Kansas City Chiefs take the Arrowhead Stadium field for their home playoff game against the Miami Dolphins in a few hours, it’s already being advertised as one of the coldest NFL playoff games in history. (Thanks to ethically-challenged fat-cat execs at NBC Universal, you’ll only be able to see the TV game if you subscribe to their streaming service, Peacock. But, media greed is another story.)For Fox Sports’srundown of the coldest playoff games in history, seehttps://apple.news/AeZJd_34gSMyMhei2REuS1g.
Weather forecasts say the actual temperature could be as low as -3 F with a windchill of -13. But, that would be “Balmy Days” compared with the December 31, 1967, 1:00 PM CST kickoff of the NFL playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys (coached by the great Tom Landry) at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The actual temperature at kickoff was listed at -13 F. Although “wind chill” hadn’t yet become a craze, it has been calculated at -48 F.
According to participants, the temperature and wind chill actually fell during the game. “Minus-15 and minus-55 chill factor — the only time I’ve ever been exposed to that, and I don’t care that if it’s the last time,” according to Packer wide receiver Carroll Dale (3 catches, 43 yards.)
Behind Hall of Fame QB Bart Starr and legendary Head Coach Vince Lombardi the Packers were actually able to move the ball through the air in the first half, taking a 14-0 lead and going into the frigid halftime up 14-10.
But, it was a different story in the second half, with the Cowboy defense holding the Packers scoreless on 10 straight possessions, while taking a 17-14 lead. When the Pack took over on their own 32 yard line late in the 4th quarter, with 4:50 to go, a long cold winter in Green Bay was definitely on the dimming horizon.
Starr led the team to a first down and goal at the one with time running down. After two failedDonny Anderson runs, the Packers called their final timeout with :16 to go. That led to one of the most famous plays in NFL history — one that in the end defined Lombardi, Starr, guard Jerry Kramer, and the Packers.
I was watching the game at home in Wauwatosa, WI with my family on our 13” GE color tv. As my brother, Jim, likes to remind me, it was about this moment that, as the youngest driver, he was “designated” to take our grandmother home and, therefore, missed what came next.
Most of us were expecting a pass. Even if incomplete, it would stop the clock for a “chip shot” field goal on fourth down to likely send the game into sudden death overtime.
But, Starr fooled everyone by calling his own number. Going over a slight opening created by Jerry Kramer’s iconic block on 6’6” 260 pound Cowboy defensive tackle Jethro Pugh, Starr knifed into the end zone for what proved to be the deciding score. The extra point by Don Chandler was good, and the Packers led 21-17 with 13 seconds left.
That’s where most accounts of the game end. But, as Jim reminded me, “Many of us recall the Starr QB sneak as the final play but actually there were 13 seconds left and the Packers had to kick off and defend a couple of plays.”
Despite the treacherous weather, almost all of the then approximately 51,000 seats at Lambeau were filled with hardy fans, and few left before the final whistle blew. (The inoperability of metal whistles during the Ice Bowl actually resulted in the NFL’s decision to permanently switch to plastic whistles.)
Ironically, Bart Starr was known for his passing, leadership, and “on field smarts,” but definitely NOT for his running. The one-yard winning TD that day at Lambeau was his only rush of the day (he also got sacked eight times for losses of 76 yards by Dallas’s “Doomsday Defense,” and lost a fumble resulting in the Cowboys’ first touchdown).
The Ice Bowl cemented the legend of Lombardi, Starr, and the 1960’s Packers. But, it also gave rise to some myths.
Myth #1: The Packers’ Invincibility in Frozen Games. Not surprisingly, as described in the Fox Sports article linked above, the Packers have participated in three of the seven coldest NFL Playoff games. But, the Ice Bowl remains their only victory. They lost to the Giants 23-20 in 2007 in Brett Farve’s last game as a Packer. They also lost to the San Francisco 23-20 in 2013 during the Aaron Rodgers era.
Although they have had other chances at Lambeau playoff games since 2000, they never have never been able to duplicate their winning trip to the 2011 Super Bowl where they bested Pittsburgh. Interestingly, and perhaps fortuitously for Packers fans, this year’s Jordan Love led playoff team resembles the 2010 squad.
They have the worst seed (now #7), thereby eliminating any possibility of another game at Lambeau. Like the 2010 team, they are heavy underdogs who had to win out over the last few games of the season to even make the playoffs.
Myth #3: The Packers have “owned” the Cowboys in the Playoffs. Significantly, the Pack won the first two playoff meetings, in 1966 and 1967, on their way to their first two Super Bowl Championships. And, they have won the last two memorable playoff games with the Cowboys, played in 2015 (26-21) and 2017 (34-31).
But, in between, the Cowboys won four straight (1983, 1994, 1995, 1996). Indeed, when the Packers won their lone Super Bowl under Farve, 1997, they did not face Dallas in the playoffs.
So, actually, the Packers and the Cowboys are 4-4 in playoff games with Dallas strongly favored in tomorrow afternoon’s late matchup on Fox.
Which leads me to my final point. In an era of “enlightenment,” when player health and fan safety are supposed to be paramount, why not postpone tonight’s KC-Miami matchup to more suitable weather when the players can perform somewhere near their best and the fans can actually enjoy the game rather than just having to survive it?
After all, the competition is about football, NOT attempting to set coldness records or “out ice the Ice Bowl.” In an unusual burst of rationality, tomorrow’s untenable showdown between Pittsburgh and Buffalo at the latter’s snow-bound home has been postponed at the request of NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, due to public safety concerns.
If tonight’s Chiefs v. Dolphins contest is marred on or off the field by a preventable weather-related injury or fan problems, authorities in Kansas City and the NFL might wish that they had acted with more common sense and prudence. I’m sure that those of us Packer fans who remember watching the Ice Bowl in the comfort of home enjoyed the game more than the players or, for that matter, the 51,000 freezing fans!
🏈 SPORTS: ON TO DALLAS WITH LOVE❤️! — Pack Down Rival Bears 17-9, Clinch Playoff Slot As QB Stars, Jones Runs, Defense Hangs Tough!
By Paul Wickham Schmidt
Special to Courtside Sports
Jan. 8, 2024
At the end of October, the Green Bay Packers were 2-5, riding a four game losing streak, with young QB Jordan Love coming off a 74.8 QB performance against the Vikings and having thrown 8 picks against 11 TDs. Many were questioning the team’s decision to hitch their future to the fourth year signal caller from Utah State, who played only sparingly in his first three seasons while backing up future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers.
Jordan Love has elevated his play over the second half of the season, helping the Packers to make the playoffs in the first year of the “post-Aaron-Rodgers” Era. Quarterback Green Bay Packers PHOTO” Packer website
Today, the Packers are heading to the playoffs as the NFC’s #7 seed with a 9-8 record, after defeating the rival Chicago Bears (7-10) 17-9 at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Love turned in a near-perfect performance going 27-32-316-2-0-128.6 in achieving a playoff spot in his first full season, something that eluded the great Rodgers. Love finished the regular season with over 4,000 yards passing, 32 TD passes (second only to the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott’s 36), 11 interceptions, a 96.1 rating, and 248 rushing yards.
It wasn’t easy for the Pack Sunday against the Bears, although they dominated the game statistically. Green Bay never punted on its seven possessions. But, mistakes on three of those kept the green and gold from talking a two possession lead that would have given fans some comfort.
Following a Bears’ field goal on the first series, the Pack drove to the Chicago 15. But, a sack of Love on third down led to a missed Anders Carlson field goal from the 41. The rookie kicker’s inconsistency on extra points (5 missed) and kicks from 40-50 yards (4-8) must be an area of concern heading into the playoffs.
Following a Chicago punt on the next possession, the Pack drove 92 yards, culminating in a 10-yard TD pass from Love to rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks (6-61-2). That gave Green Bay their first lead, 7-3.
The Bears closed the gap to 7-6 on Cairo Santos’s second field goal, a 39-yarder with 1:17 left in the half. The Packers then mounted a last-minute drive deep into Chicago territory that should have padded their lead. However, poor clock management by Coach Matt LaFleur resulted in time expiring with the team on the Chicago 19-yard-line.
Taking the second half kickoff, the Packers drove 75 yards on 9 plays for a TD. Again it was a pass from Love to Wicks, this one for 12 yards. With the extra point, the Pack extended their lead to eight. Better, but still within a single score. And, the Packers needed a win to make the playoffs. A tie would send them home for the post-season.
After forcing the Bears two punt on their next possession, the Packers mounted a drive that appeared destined to finally give them that two-score spread. But, in his only mistake of the game, Love fumbled near midfield while running for a first down. The Bears recovered. The Pack defense was stout, but Chicago was able to convert that turnover — the only one of the well-played game for either team — into Santos’s third field goal, to cut the lead to five, 14-9.
The Packers answered with what looked for a moment like Love’s third TD pass of the day, this one to Bo Melton who again performed admirably (5-62-0) after spending much of the season on the practice squad. But, the initial TD call was reversed on video replay, and Green Bay had to settle for a 25 yard Carlson field goal to put the lead back at eight, 17-9.
The Bears hung tough. On the ensuing possession they drove to the Packer 34 with the help of a defensive offside penalty on fourth down in their own territory. There, however, the drive stalled on a holding penalty and a sack of QB Justin Fields, leaving the Bears with a fourth and 22 from the 50. After another nice punt from Trevor Gill, the Packers had the ball on their own six yard line with 6:08 to go and the Bears still having three time-outs and the two-minute warning.
The game was still very much in doubt. Although the defense had contained the elusive Bear QB Fields (11-16-148-0-0-97.9), their leading rusher for the season, he is a threat to score on any play, from anywhere on the field. If the Pack were forced to punt from deep in their own territory, Chicago would have good field position and plenty of time to score a TD. The thought of having to defend Fields on a potential game-tying two-point conversion to avoid overtime was not one that Packer nation relished.
At this point, Love and his mates on offense put together the “drive of the game” — perhaps the “drive of the season” — even though it did not result in any points! Using a combination of clutch runs and passes, the Pack held the ball for the rest of the game, finally kneeling down on the Chicago 32 as the clock expired.
Along the way, Love converted two huge third downs, one to star rookie Jaydon Reed (4-112-0) at the Packer 29 and another to rookie Tucker Kraft (3-31-0) that took the ball to the Bears’ 42 with2:17 left, forcing Chicago to use its final timeout.
The “dagger,” as Packer radio broadcaster Wayne Larrabee would say, came two plays later when Aaron Jones ran up the middle for the Packers’ 24th, and final, first down of the day. Out of time outs, the visitors from the Windy City could only watch in dismay as the Lambeau fans celebrated.
Jones (22-111-0) notched his second straight 100+ yard game, against a tough run defense, showing once again why when healthy he is probably the best all-around running back in the league. With help from the O line, Jones’s running allowed Green Bay to achieve a near-perfect balance (32 passes, 27 runs), that chewed up clock, took some of the pressure off of Love (as problem that had led to mid-season woes), and kept the Bears’ defense off balance all afternoon.
Speaking of defense, Joe Barry’s much maligned unit turned in a second straight stellar performance, this time against one of the league’s most athletic and potentially explosive QBs. Over the past two games, the D has kept opponents out of the end zone when it counted, surrendering only a meaningless TD to the Vikes set up by a muffed punt inside the 10 yard line.
The Packers now head to Dallas (12-5) for a late-Sunday-afternoon date with the Eastern Division Champ Cowboys and Head Coach Mike McCarthy who directed the Packers to their (and Rodgers’s) only Super Bowl Title of the 21st Century following the 2010 season. Despite their regular-season-closing three game winning streak, the Pack will be a touchdown underdog.
In fairness, there is little similarity between Green Bay’s last three victims — Chicago (7-10), Minnesota (7-10), and Carolina (2-15) — and the ‘Boys. Dallas has a potent offense led by QB Dak Prescott (36 TDs) and a strong defense led by linebacker Micah Parsons. They are also undefeated at home this season. The Packers will not be able to afford “empty trips” into the opponent’s territory as happened three times against the Bears.
Not to mention that McCarthy, who was out of football for a season following his 2018 dismissal from Green Bay, would dearly love to show Green Bay’s management that he still has plenty left in his tank. There are also rumors that despite this year’s strong showing, Dallas owner Jerry Jones might axe him if the Cowboys don’t get to the Super Bowl. So, there will be plenty of drama with lots at stake.
With the youngest team in the NFL (and one of the youngest ever to make the playoffs), and a young QB in his first “real” season, it would be easy to view making the playoffs as a somewhat unanticipated success for the Packers and not worry much about what comes next. But, that would be a mistake for the team!
In this post-Tom-Brady Era of the NFL, even the “prime contenders” — Baltimore (13-4) and San Francisco (12-5) — have looked very vulnerable at times. Consequently, it’s plausible to imagine any of the remaining teams — including the lower seeds — hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas on Feb. 11.
When the Packers won the 2011 Super Bowl behind Rodgers & McCarthy, they were the lowest seed (then #6) and therefore played all “away” games. Despite the myth of the advantage of playing home games on Lambeau’s “frozen tundra” in January, in following seasons, with higher seeds and arguably better players on the roster, the Packers have never been able to get beyond the NFC Championship game.
Maybe this will be the first of many playoff runs for Love & the Packers, but there are no guarantees. Therefore, it’s important to make the most of each shot and for the Pack to give it their best shot in Dallas on Sunday.
Herb Adderley, a Hall of Fame cornerback who was a part of a record six championship teams with the Green Packers and Dallas Cowboys, has died. He was 81.
His death was confirmed by the Packers, but details on the date, place and cause of death were not disclosed.
Mr. Adderley played in four of the first six Super Bowls and won five NFL championships with Green Bay and one with Dallas during his 12-year career. But he was always a Packer at heart.
“I’m the only man with a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl ring who doesn’t wear it. I’m a Green Bay Packer,” he said in the book “Distant Replay,” a memoir by former Packers teammate Jerry Kramer.
Along with former Packer teammates Fuzzy Thurston and Forrest Gregg, Mr. Adderley was one of four players in pro football history to play on six championship teams. Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the other. Mr. Adderley was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.
Bart Starr, the Hall of Fame quarterback and a former Packers teammate, once called Mr. Adderley the “greatest cornerback to ever play the game.”
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Read the full obit at the link.
What a graceful, thrilling, clutch player! And, he could return kicks!
Like many of the Packers from the “Lombardi Era” he went on to do other worthwhile things after retirement.
Pete Dougherty reports for the Green Bay Press Gazette:
The quarterback who guided the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships and was as popular as any figure in franchise history has died.
Bart Starr, who served as the extension of coach Vince Lombardi on the field during the Packers’ glory days of the 1960s, has died, his family said Sunday in a statement. He was 85.
Starr’s health had been in decline since he suffered a mini-stroke while giving a speech in Madison in 2012. After suffering another stroke, a heart attack and multiple seizures in 2014, he underwent stem cell treatments in 2015 and ’16 and rebounded to some degree.
“We are saddened to note the passing of our husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Bart Starr,” the family statement said. “He battled with courage and determination to transcend the serious stroke he suffered in September 2014, but his most recent illness was too much to overcome.
“While he may always be best known for his success as the Packers quarterback for 16 years, his true legacy will always be the respectful manner in which he treated every person he met, his humble demeanor, and his generous spirit.
“Our family wishes to thank the thousands of friends and fans who have enriched his life – and therefore our lives – for so many decades and especially during the past five years. Each letter, text, phone call, and personal visit inspired him and filled him with joy.
“His love for all of humanity is well known, and his affection toward the residents of Alabama and of Wisconsin filled him with gratitude. He had hoped to make one last trip to Green Bay to watch the Packers this fall, but he shall forever be there in spirit.”
Starr’s place in Packers lore is cemented by his role in Lombardi’s 1960s Packers dynasty, which remains the most successful seven-year stretch in NFL history with five titles, including wins in the first two Super Bowls.
“The Packers Family was saddened today to learn of the passing of Bart Starr,” Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said in a statement. “A champion on and off the field, Bart epitomized class and was beloved by generations of Packers fans. A clutch player who led his team to five NFL titles, Bart could still fill Lambeau Field with electricity decades later during his many visits. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Cherry and the entire Starr family.”
He is most famous for leading the legendary drive and scoring the touchdown on the iconic play in Packers history, the quarterback sneak against Dallas that won the Ice Bowl in 1967.
The Ice Bowl drive and sneak were the culmination of the Lombardi-era Packers’ will to win, toughness and discipline that Starr embodied as quarterback of those teams.
Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr donated his Super Bowl II championship ring and other items to the Hall of Fame during, what his family says, was his last trip to Green Bay on Oct. 23, 2017. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
“That’s the sign of a champion,” Cowboys tackle Ralph Neely told the Green Bay Press-Gazette after the Ice Bowl. “They needed a score, and Starr got it for them.”
Starr’s jersey No. 15 is one of only six numbers retired in Packers history.
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Go to the link for the complete article with more pictures and videos of Starr’s fabled career.
Growing up in Milwaukee, I was fortunate to see Starr and the Lombardi-era Pack play “live” on several occasions. In those days, unlike now, the Packers played three “home” games at Milwaukee County Stadium. While we didn’t have season tickets, my parents had a few friends who did, so occasionally two tickets would come our way.
While Starr’s most famous play was the successful quarterback sneak against the Cowboys in the “Ice Bowl,” he was also noted for crossing up defenses on third down plays. I remember sitting with my Dad, feet freezing, at County Stadium for a late season game between the Pack and the Cleveland Browns, who at that time had “all world” running back Jim Brown and a stout defense.
The Pack had a third and one in their own territory in tight game. In those days, most offenses were focused on running, rather than the wide-open pass-oriented game of today. That was particularly true of the Pack under Lombardi. “Grind it out” and punish your opponents with tough physical play was more or less the “Lombardi culture.” With future Hall of Fame running backs Jimmy Taylor and Paul Hornung, and one of the premier offensive lines ever, everyone in the stadium, including the Browns, expected a run up the middle or maybe one of the famous “Packer Sweeps” with “pulling guards” leading the way for Taylor or Hornung.
Starr changed the play at the line. On the a snap, he took three streps back and hit his receiver (probably Boyd Dowler, but perhaps Max McGee) with a strike resulting in an untouched trip down the field into the end zone. Classic Starr! It changed the momentum of the game, allowing the Pack eventually to prevail.
I think Starr’s relationship with the legendary Vince Lombardi was the key to Packer success. While Lombardi was undoubtedly a coaching “genius,” he also was a “larger than life figure” who “sucked the air” out of any room he was in. Additionally, he was known for being rather frank and brutal in assessing failures to perform up to his high expectations.
I doubt that most of today’s “top tier” quarterbacks could have existed in Lombardi’s system. And, without somebody like Starr, who understood the “big picture” of what Lombardi was doing, and always delivered under pressure, I don’t think Lombardi and the Pack could have reached the heights of football dominance in the 1960’s as they did.
R.I.P Bart! Thanks for the memories, the excitement, and the inspiration of a life well-lived.
Kramer # 64 In Foreground Leads Way As Pack Vanquish Dallas Cowboys 21-17 on Dec. 31, 1967 For NFL Title — “Icebowl” Was Played In -13 Temperature In Green Bay!
Bottom right– Jerry Kramer, aged 82, as he looks today, 51 years after the Icebowl!
From Today’s Green Bay Press Gazette, Pete Dougherty reporting:
In his 11th time as a finalist, the former Green Bay Packers guard was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Kramer needed 80 percent of the vote from the 47 voters who were in attendance, which meant that no more than nine could vote against him. The Hall doesn’t reveal the vote totals, but Kramer hit the requisite 80 percent.
According to Hall protocol, after the vote was completed Saturday afternoon, David Baker, the president of the Hall of Fame, visited the hotel where the nominees were staying and notified each individually whether he was in.
“I said that (knock on the door) is it,” Kramer said. “And the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen (Baker), the big hunk down here at the end was standing there with the cameras and stuff behind him. I was over the top. It was something I was afraid to believe in, I was afraid to hope for. So I kept trying to keep those emotions out there somewhere. But hey, I’m here and I’m part of the group. Thank you very much.”
The other members of the 2018 class were fellow senior finalist Robert Brazile, and contributors candidate Bobby Beathard, as well as five modern-era candidates: Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher, Brian Dawkins, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens.
Kramer, 82, becomes the 13th member of the Packers’ dynasty in the 1960s that won five NFL championships in seven years to be voted into the Hall. The others are coach Vince Lombardi, fullback Jim Taylor, tackle Forrest Gregg, quarterback Bart Starr, linebacker Ray Nitschke, cornerback Herb Adderley, defensive end Willie Davis, center Jim Ringo, running back Paul Hornung, safety Willie Wood, defensive tackle Henry Jordan and linebacker Dave Robinson.
Kramer said he had dinner with Robinson on Friday night, just as they had dinner the night before Robinson was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. And Taylor was with him Saturday.
“I miss ’em,” Kramer said of his other Hall of Fame teammates. “But I wish they were here, I wish we had an opportunity to be here together. Bart has been sensational in writing letters and doing all sorts of things, and Hornung has been sticking up for me for 20 years. So many of the guys, Willie D (Davis) is a great pal, and Robbie (i.e., Robinson) and Wood and Adderley and so many of the guys in, and (Nitschke) was such a great pal, Forrest Gregg … we’ve had a lot of guys, 10, 12 guys in the Hall. Jimmy is here and that’s about it, Jimmy Taylor. But I miss those guys. I’ve shared so much with them over the years and it would be nice to share this with them.”
Kramer also is the 25th Hall inductee who spent most of his career with the Packers. That’s second most in league history, behind the Chicago Bears’ 27.
It has been a long road for Kramer to get to the Hall. He was a modern-era finalist (i.e., among the final 15 candidates) nine times in the 14-year period from 1974 through ’87 but never was voted in. Modern-era players and coaches have been retired anywhere from five to 25 years.
Then in 1997, he was the seniors committee nominee (for players who have been retired for more than 25 years) but failed to reach the 80 percent threshold among the selection committee for Hall induction.
But at long last, he’s in.
“I don’t think it can get sweeter,” Kramer said. “It’s the ultimate honor in the game, in our game. It’s the top of the heap. It’s the crown of the trail of this whole process, it’s here. If you make it here you’ve made it in professional football. So whenever you’ve made it here it’s a wonderful moment and a wonderful time and a wonderful event. … I told Mr. Baker that this is it, it doesn’t get any better than this. He goes, ‘Jerry, this is just the beginning.’ So I can’t wait to see how it turns out.”
Kramer is tied for fourth on the list of most times being a finalist before induction. Lynn Swann was a finalist 14 times before he was voted in, followed by Carl Eller (13) and Hornung (12).
Kramer joined the Packers as a fourth-round draft pick out of Idaho in 1958, the year before Lombardi took over as coach. He started all 12 games as a rookie and then when Lombardi took over became a key player as a pulling guard in the coach’s famed sweep.
Kramer achieved his greatest fame for his block on the Dallas Cowboys’ Jethro Pugh that helped open the way for Starr’s game-winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak in the Ice Bowl for the 1967 NFL championship. It’s perhaps the most famous block in NFL history.
Former Green Bay Packers guard Jerry Kramer shares memories from the Ice Bowl, which was played 50 years ago on Dec. 31, 1967. USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Kramer played all of his 11 seasons with the Packers. Along with being named to the league’s 50th anniversary team, he also was on the NFL’s all-decade team for the ‘60s. He was named first-team all-pro five times (1960, ’62, ’63, ’66 and ’67) and went to three Pro Bowls (’62, ’63 and ’67).
Besides playing right guard, Kramer doubled as the Packers’ kicker for parts or all of the 1962, ’63 and ’69 seasons.
In ’62 he made 81.8 percent of his field-goal attempts (9-for-11) and finished fourth in the league in scoring (91 points). Then in the Packers’ 16-7 win over the New York Giants in the NFL championship game that season, he scored 10 points (three field goals and an extra point).
This was almost surely the last time Kramer would get a shot at the Hall. Because he has been retired from the NFL for more than 25 years, he could become a nominee only through the seniors committee, and this year was his second time making it through as the senior candidate.
He was only the fourth nominee to twice come through the committee, and with many deserving seniors candidates in wait, there was no chance he’d get a third shot. So this essentially was his last opportunity to receive pro football’s highest individual honor.
Kramer and the rest of the Class of 2018 will be inducted Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio.
Aaron Nagler of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin contributed.”
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Man, I remember the “Icebowl” as if it were yesterday! I was home from college, following the first semester of my Sophomore year at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI. I was preparing to leave right after the New Year for a “Semester Abroad” program at the Lawrence Campus in Bonnigheim, Germany! A rather big deal since I had never before flown in an airplane, anywhere!
Our whole family was crowded around the 13″ GE color TV in our living-room on Revere Avenue in Wauwatosa, WI. Since there were only a few seconds left in the game, and the Pack had no timeouts left, I thought they would probably kick a field goal to send the game into overtime, or throw a short pass that if incomplete would have stopped the clock for a last second field goal (or course, a “sack” by the Cowboys would have ended the game.) I’ve watched lots of Packer games, but the Icebowl was probably the best victory ever!
Later in January, we listened on Armed Forces Radio in our dorm in Germany as the Packers beat the Raiders in the”Superbowl II.” Sort of anti-climactic after the “Icebowl!”
As noted in the article, Kramer is the 13th player from the “Lombardi Era” Packers to enter the Hall of Fame, and the 25th Packer overall!
Although, sadly, the Pack aren’t in this year’s Superbowl, there are still some Packer connections. Of course the “Lombardi Trophy,” awarded to the winner is named for legendary Green Bay Coach Vince Lombardi.
And, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Coach Doug Pederson, played a number of seasons as backup QB to recent Packer Hall of Fame QB Brett Farve. Of course, the backup job to Farve didn’t involve much “real game action,” since Farve was in the midst of a NFL record 297 consecutive starts as QB. However, Pederson appears to have been a “good learner” from a coaching and strategy standpoint. Apparently, those years of “holding the clipboard” behind Farve paid off. Big time!
