On This Date in Sports September 27, 1959: Vince
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
It is a successful debut for Vince Lombardi, the new coach of the Green Bay Packers, as they beat the Chicago Bears 9-6 at City Stadium in Green Bay. The Packers had posted a 1-10-1 record in 1958 and had not had a winning season since 1947. Green Bay would have their growing pains under Lombardi but finished strong with four straight wins to go 7-5 on the year.
Vincent Thomas Lombardi was born on July 11, 1913, in Brooklyn, New York. A devout catholic, Lombardi’s family were Italian Immigrants; his father was a successful butcher in New York’s meatpacking district. Vince Lombardi would play college football at Fordham University coached by Jim Crowley, one of Notre Dame’s famed four horsemen. Though considered undersized, Lombardi was part of the Rams seven blocks of granite on the offensive line.
After graduating, Vince Lombardi played semipro football and became a teacher in Englewood, New Jersey. He also served as assistant football coach at St. Cecilia High School. During the war, Lombardi gained a deferment due to his position as a teacher and having family. He would become head coach at St. Cecilia in 1943, turning the school into one of the top-rated football programs in the county. Lombardi would serve as President of the Bergen County Coaching Association before leaving 1947 to coach the freshman team at his alma mater.
After two seasons at Fordham, Vince Lombardi became an assistant coach at West Point. From there he got his first NFL job in 1954 as an assistant coach with the New York Giants. Under head coach Steve Owens, the Giants became one of the top teams in the NFL, winning the 1956 championship. The coaching staff saw Vince Lombardi serve as offensive coordinator, while Tom Landry served as defensive coordinator. Many felt Lombard deserved an opportunity to become a head coach, but he had trouble even getting an interview, as there was a substantial prejudice against Italians.
Finally, in 1959 at the recommendation of Giants President Wellington Mara, Vince Lombardi got an interview with the Green Bay Packers. The Packers had once been one of the NFL’s top teams, winning six NFL Championships under Curley Lambeau, but had fallen on hard times. The Packers who at the time split their games with Milwaukee were the NFL’s last small-town team. Green Bay was able to secure the Packers future, by building a new stadium in 1957. The Packers still struggled in new City Stadium, going 3-9 in 1957 and 1-10-1 in 1958 under Scooter McLean.
Not much was expected for the Green Bay Packers after they hired Vince Lombardi. When they beat the rival Chicago Bears 9-6 in Week 1, it was clear that things were changing in Green Bay as the team carried their new coach off the field following the win. The Packers would win their first three games, but hit a midseason slump, losing five straight games. The losses served as lessons for the young teams, who by the end of the year had gotten stronger, as they won their last four to go 7-5, earning Vince Lombardi the NFL’s Coach of the Year Award.
The Packers would go on to play in the NFL Championship in 1960 and won five NFL Championships in seven years starting in 1961 and ending with victories in the first two Super Bowls. In ten years with Vince Lombardi at the helm, the Green Bay Packers would post a record of 89-29-4.
After a year on the sidelines, Vince Lombardi became coach of the Washington Redskins in 1969. That season he led the Redskins to its first winning season in 13 years, at 7-5-2. It would be Lombardi’s only season in Washington, as he succumbed to stomach cancer on September 3, 1970. In tribute, the NFL would name the Super Bowl trophy in his honor.