49 Fun Facts About Green Bay Packers

The Packers are unique among major US pro sports teams for being what?

The Packers are a non-profit, community-owned corporation: more than five million shares are held by some 537,000 fans, the stock pays no dividends and cannot be resold for profit.

What kind of business paid for the Packers' first uniforms in 1919?

Curly Lambeau's employer, the Indian Packing Company, was a meat packer whose $500 for uniforms gave the team its name; Acme Packing later bought it and 'ACME PACKERS' went on the jerseys.

How many NFL championships, pre-Super Bowl titles included, had the Packers won by 2011?

The Packers' 13 titles combine nine pre-Super Bowl championships, starting with Lambeau's 1929 team, plus Super Bowl wins I, II, XXXI and XLV.

The Packers' first NFL title, in 1929, came with what regular-season record?

The 1929 Packers went 12–0–1, the only blemish a scoreless tie with the Frankford Yellow Jackets, while allowing just 22 points all season.

Green Bay picked up the nickname 'Titletown' in which year?

Green Bay became 'Titletown USA' after hosting and winning the 1961 NFL Championship Game 37–0, the first of Lombardi's five titles in seven seasons.

What was Lambeau Field informally called during its first eight seasons?

It opened in 1957 as City Stadium, informally 'New City Stadium' to distinguish it from the old one at East High School, and was renamed Lambeau Field in 1965 shortly after Curly Lambeau's death.

Lambeau Field holds what distinction among NFL venues?

Lambeau Field is the oldest continually operating NFL stadium, home to the Packers every season since it opened in 1957 at a cost of $960,000.

The Packers have sold out every home game since which year?

Every Packers home game has sold out since 1960, the year after Lombardi arrived; by the 2010s the season-ticket waiting list had passed 100,000 names, a wait measured in decades.

Roughly what was the kickoff temperature at the 1967 'Ice Bowl' NFL Championship Game against Dallas?

The temperature at kickoff on 31 December 1967 was about −13 °F, with wind chill near −48 °F; the field's underground heating system failed and the turf froze solid.

The Ice Bowl was won on what play with 13 seconds left?

The quarterback sneak, run behind Jerry Kramer's block on Jethro Pugh, gave the Packers a 21–17 win and their third straight NFL title.

Which Packers quarterback was MVP of both Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II?

Bart Starr was MVP of both of the first two Super Bowls, throwing for 250 yards in the 35–10 win over Kansas City in the first.

The Packers' Super Bowl I and II MVP quarterback was drafted in 1956 in which round?

The future two-time Super Bowl MVP went in the 17th round, 200th overall, of the 1956 draft after barely playing as a senior at Alabama.

Super Bowl II, Vince Lombardi's last game as Packers coach, was a 33–14 win over which AFL champion?

The Packers beat the Oakland Raiders 33–14 at Miami's Orange Bowl on 14 January 1968; Lombardi stepped down as coach weeks later, staying a year as general manager.

Before Green Bay, Vince Lombardi was an assistant with which NFL team?

He came to the Giants after five seasons at Army under Red Blaik.

As a Fordham guard in 1936, Lombardi was one of the offensive linemen nicknamed what?

Lombardi was a guard in Fordham's 'Seven Blocks of Granite', the 1936 line whose nickname was popularised by the university's publicist Tim Cohane.

After leaving Green Bay, Lombardi coached one final season for which team before his death in 1970?

Lombardi coached the Washington Redskins to a 7–5–2 record in 1969, their first winning season since 1955, and died of cancer the following September; he never had a losing season.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy design was first sketched by a Tiffany & Co. executive on what?

Tiffany's Oscar Riedner sketched the design on a cocktail napkin during a 1966 lunch with Pete Rozelle: a regulation-size football in kicking position atop a triangular stand.

Paul Hornung, the 'Golden Boy', missed the 1963 season for what reason?

He was the first Heisman winner to be named NFL MVP.

Fullback Jim Taylor won the NFL MVP in 1962 after doing what?

He had led the SEC in scoring at LSU in 1956 and 1957.

Don Hutson, the 1930s Packers end nicknamed 'the Alabama Antelope', is credited with inventing what?

Hutson is credited with inventing modern pass patterns, the timed routes that made him the first great receiver; he led the league in receptions in eight seasons and won NFL titles in 1936, 1939 and 1944.

Where did Packers linebacker Ray Nitschke play college football?

Nitschke played fullback and linebacker at Illinois before the Packers drafted him in 1958; the team's outdoor practice field across from Lambeau was named Ray Nitschke Field in his honour.

General manager Ron Wolf's first big moves in 1992 included trading for which backup quarterback?

Wolf sent a first-round pick to Atlanta for Brett Favre, then a little-used backup, weeks after firing Lindy Infante and hiring Mike Holmgren from the 49ers.

Which team did the Packers beat in the NFC Championship Game to reach Super Bowl XXXI?

The Packers beat the Carolina Panthers at a frozen Lambeau Field in the January 1997 NFC Championship Game, scoring 30 points, to earn their first Super Bowl trip in 29 years.

The quarterback Ron Wolf traded for in 1992 played college football for which programme?

The Kiln, Mississippi native played at Southern Miss, where he started as a freshman, before Atlanta drafted him in the second round in 1991.

How many consecutive AP MVP awards did Green Bay's 1990s quarterback win?

He won the AP MVP in 1995, 1996 and 1997 (the last shared with Barry Sanders), three straight, a feat no other player had matched through the 2024 season.

The Packers signed which prized free agent defensive end in 1993, nicknamed 'the Minister of Defense'?

Reggie White, an ordained minister who had starred for the Eagles, signed a $17 million deal in April 1993 and became the face of NFL free agency.

The Lambeau Leap was popularised in December 1993 by which safety after a fumble-return touchdown?

LeRoy Butler took a lateral from a teammate's fumble recovery against the Los Angeles Raiders and jumped into the stands; the NFL later exempted the leap from its celebration crackdown.

Who returned a kickoff a then-record 99 yards for a touchdown to seal Super Bowl XXXI?

Desmond Howard's 99-yard return came right after the opposition had cut the lead to six, and made him the first special-teams player named Super Bowl MVP; he totalled 244 return yards.

Super Bowl XXXI was a 35–21 win over which team?

The Packers beat the New England Patriots 35–21 in New Orleans on 26 January 1997, ending a 29-year title drought stretching back to Super Bowl II.

Mike Holmgren later spent a decade as head coach of which team after leaving the Packers?

Holmgren coached the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to 2008, taking them to Super Bowl XL, after leaving Green Bay following the 1998 season.

The Eagles converted what unlikely down and distance to beat the Packers in the 2003 playoffs?

On 4th and 26 from their own 26, Donovan McNabb hit Freddie Mitchell for 28 yards to set up a tying field goal; an overtime interception of Green Bay's quarterback then ended the season.

Packers all-time receptions leader Donald Driver was drafted in 1999 out of which school?

Driver, a seventh-round pick out of Alcorn State in 1999, caught 743 passes for Green Bay and later won season 14 of Dancing with the Stars.

Which Packers receiver of the early 1990s is the older brother of Hall of Fame tight end Shannon?

Both brothers ended up in Canton, Sterling being inducted in 2025.

Aaron Rodgers slid to which pick in the 2005 draft after the 49ers passed on him?

Rodgers, a 49ers fan from Chico, waited in the green room for hours before Green Bay took him 24th overall; San Francisco had chosen Alex Smith first.

At which Oroville junior college did Aaron Rodgers play before transferring to Cal?

Rodgers spent 2002 at Butte College in Oroville, where Cal coach Jeff Tedford spotted him while scouting a tight end teammate and offered him a scholarship.

How many AP NFL MVP awards did Aaron Rodgers win with the Packers?

Rodgers won four AP MVP awards with the Packers, in 2011, 2014, 2020 and 2021, second only to Peyton Manning's five overall.

What five-letter message did Rodgers spell out to worried fans during the slow start to the 2014 season?

After a 1–2 start Rodgers told fans on his radio show to 'R-E-L-A-X'; the Packers went 12–4, won the NFC North and reached the NFC Championship Game.

In 2015 Rodgers won $50,000 for charity on which TV show, beating Kevin O'Leary and Mark Kelly?

Rodgers won Celebrity Jeopardy! in May 2015, taking $50,000 for charity against Kevin O'Leary and astronaut Mark Kelly, and returned to guest-host the regular show in 2021.

The Packers reached Super Bowl XLV as which playoff seed, a first for the NFC?

Green Bay was the NFC's sixth seed, the first from that conference to reach a Super Bowl, winning road games at Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago before beating Pittsburgh 31–25.

Which Packers safety returned a Ben Roethlisberger interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLV?

Nick Collins returned the interception 37 yards for a score that put Green Bay up 14–0 in the first quarter at Cowboys Stadium.

Which Packers receiver caught two touchdown passes in Super Bowl XLV?

Greg Jennings caught touchdown passes of 21 and 8 yards in Super Bowl XLV; Jordy Nelson had nine catches for 140 yards and the other Packers touchdown pass.

Jordan Love, drafted 26th overall in 2020, played college football where?

Love starred at Utah State, throwing 32 touchdowns in 2018, before the Packers traded up to take him 26th in 2020; he backed up Rodgers from 2020 to 2022 and became the starter in 2023.

The Packers–Bears rivalry, the NFL's most-played matchup, dates to which season?

The first meeting came in 1921, the year Green Bay joined the APFA, forerunner of the NFL; the Chicago Staleys, soon renamed the Bears, won 20–0.

The foam cheesehead hat was created by which company, later bought by the Packers themselves in 2023?

Ralph Bruno founded Foamation in 1987 after cutting the first cheesehead from his mother's couch cushion; the Packers bought the Milwaukee-area company in 2023.

During training camp, Packers players ride young fans' what from the locker room to practice?

Players have ridden young fans' bicycles from the locker room to Ray Nitschke Field since the Lombardi era, with the child jogging alongside, a training-camp ritual unique to Green Bay.

What is Lambeau Field's well-known nickname?

Lambeau Field is 'The Frozen Tundra', a phrase popularised by NFL Films' coverage of the 1967 Ice Bowl, when the field's heating system failed and the turf froze.

The Packers' 1990s Hall of Fame quarterback ended his career with which team?

He retired after two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, 2009 and 2010, beating Green Bay twice in 2009, including 38–26 at Lambeau Field in his first return there.

The 'Minister of Defense' came to the NFL after two seasons in which rival league?

He spent 1984 and 1985 with the USFL's Memphis Showboats before joining the Eagles, who had taken him in the 1984 supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players.

Aaron Rodgers was traded in 2023 to which team?

The Packers traded Rodgers to the New York Jets in April 2023 for a package of draft picks; he tore his Achilles minutes into his Jets debut that September.