Green Bay Packers

Active Roster No. Name Pos. Ht Wt Age Exp. College Acquired

4 Brett Favre QB 6-2 224 35 14 Southern Mississippi T-92 (Atl)
7 J.T. O'Sullivan QB 6-2 220 25 3 UC Davis T-04 (NO)
8 Ryan Longwell K 6-0 202 30 8 California W-97 (SF)
9 Bryan Barker P 6-1 205 40 15 Santa Clara FA-04
11 B.J. Sander P 6-4 217 24 R Ohio State D3c-04
16 Craig Nall QB 6-3 228 25 3 Northwestern (La.) St. D5b-02
21 Bhawoh Jue S 6-0 199 25 4 Penn State D3a-01
22 Nick Luchey FB 6-2 273 27 6 Miami (Fla.) UFA-03 (Cin)
23 Mark Roman S 5-11 200 27 5 Louisiana State UFA-04 (Cin)
24 Joey Thomas CB 6-1 195 24 R Montana State D3a-04
26 Jason Horton CB 6-0 193 24 1 North Carolina A&T FA-04
27 Michael Hawthorne S/CB 6-3 204 27 5 Purdue FA-03
28 Ahmad Carroll CB 5-10 185 21 R Arkansas D1-04
30 Ahman Green RB 6-0 218 27 7 Nebraska T-00 (Sea)
31 Al Harris CB 6-1 185 30 7 Texas A&M-Kingsville T-03 (Phil)
33 William Henderson FB 6-1 251 33 10 North Carolina D3b-95
37 Chris Johnson CB 5-11 197 25 2 Louisville D7a-03
40 Tony Fisher RB 6-1 222 25 3 Notre Dame FA-02
42 Darren Sharper S 6-2 210 29 8 William & Mary D2-97
44 Najeh Davenport RB 6-1 250 25 3 Miami (Fla.) D4-02
48 Vonta Leach FB 6-0 246 23 R East Carolina FA-04
50 Hannibal Navies LB 6-3 249 27 6 Colorado UFA-03 (Car)
53 Paris Lenon LB 6-2 245 27 3 Richmond FA-02
54 Steve Josue LB 6-2 230 24 1 Carson-Newman FA-04
56 Nick Barnett LB 6-2 233 23 2 Oregon State D1-03
59 Na'il Diggs LB 6-4 237 26 5 Ohio State D4a-00
60 Rob Davis LS 6-3 283 36 9 Shippensburg FA-97
62 Marco Rivera G 6-4 307 32 9 Penn State D6-96
63 Scott Wells C/G 6-2 300 24 R Tennessee FA-04 (D7-04)
65 Mark Tauscher T 6-4 320 27 5 Wisconsin D7a-00
67 Grey Ruegamer C/G 6-4 305 28 6 Arizona State UFA-03 (NE)
68 Mike Wahle G 6-6 304 27 7 Navy SD2-98
71 Kevin Barry T 6-4 335 25 3 Arizona FA-02
72 Brad Bedell T/G 6-4 306 27 4 Colorado T-04 (Mia)
74 Aaron Kampman DE 6-4 284 25 3 Iowa D5a-02
75 Grady Jackson DT 6-2 340 31 8 Knoxville W-03 (NO)
76 Chad Clifton T 6-5 330 28 5 Tennessee D2-00
77 Cullen Jenkins DT/DE 6-3 292 23 1 Central Michigan FA-04
78 Steve Morley G 6-7 332 23 1 St. Mary's (Canada) FA-04
80 Donald Driver WR 6-0 192 29 6 Alcorn State D7b-99
81 Andrae Thurman WR 5-11 192 24 R Southern Oregon
FA-04 82 Ben Steele TE 6-5 250 26 1 Mesa State FA-04
83 Antonio Chatman WR/KR 5-9 184 25 2 Cincinnati FA-03
84 Javon Walker WR 6-3 215 26 3 Florida State D1-02
85 Sean McHugh TE 6-5 262 22 R Penn State FA-04
88 Bubba Franks TE 6-6 265 27 5 Miami (Fla.) D1-00
89 Robert Ferguson WR 6-1 210 25 4 Texas A&M D2-01
90 Colin Cole DT 6-2 320 24 1 Iowa FA-04
91 R-Kal Truluck DE 6-4 260 30 3 SUNY Cortland T-04
(KC) 94 Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila DE 6-4 252 27 5 San Diego State FA-00 (D5a-00)
97 Cletidus Hunt DT 6-4 310 29 6 Kentucky State D3b-99
98 Kenny Peterson DT/DE 6-3 295 26 2 Ohio State D3-03
99 Corey Williams DE/DT 6-4 310 24 R Arkansas State D6-04







Birth of a Team and a Legend

On Aug. 11, 1919, a score or more husky young athletes, called together by Curly Lambeau and George Calhoun, gathered in the dingy editorial room of the old Green Bay Press-Gazette building on Cherry Street and organized a football team. They didn't know it, but that was the beginning of the incredible saga of the Green Bay Packers. Lambeau and Calhoun struck the initial spark a few weeks before, during a casual street-corner conversation. It was apparently a "Why not get up a football team?" remark, but once they were interested they wasted no time. First they talked Curly's employer -- a war-time industry called the Indian Packing Company, where he worked as a shipping clerk for $250/month -- into putting up money for jerseys.Because the company provided jerseys and permitted the use of its athletic field for practice, the club was identified in its early publicity as a project of the company. With this tie-in the name "Packers" was a natural, and Packers they have been ever since, although the Indian Packing Co. had practically faded out of the picture before that first season was half over. That first season the team won 10 and lost only one, against foes from Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Games were played in an open field with no fences or bleachers, and interested fans "passed the hat." But the team was so successful by 1921 that Lambeau was backed by two officials of the packing plant in obtaining a franchise (Aug. 27, 1921) in the new national pro football league that had been formed in 1920. Cash customers didn't quite pay the freight and the team had to be forfeited at year's end. This was the first in a long series of troubles that the now famous team overcame, for in 1922 Lambeau gained other backers and bought the franchise back for $250, including $50 of his own money. Troubles continued during that season. One game was rained out and the insurance company wouldn't pay off because the official amount of rain was one one-hundredth of an inch short of that required in the policy. However, another storm late in the season, when the Packers were scheduled to play the Duluth Kelleys, threatened to throw Lambeau further into debt. But A.B. Turnbull, Green Bay Press-Gazette general manager, advanced Lambeau the Duluth guarantee. He then lobbied town businessmen ("The Hungry Five") behind the team, and formed the Green Bay Football Corporation. From those modest and somewhat tenuous beginnings, the Packers have gone on to earn national stature and virtual world-wide recognition by winning more championships (12) over the intervening 80-plus years than any team in pro football. These achievements, while representing a town of just around 100,000 in competition with the country's largest markets, have endeared the Packers to the nation. The David vs. Goliath concept and the team's unique status as a publiclyowned corporation has intrigued generations. The Packers' colorful saga spans 84 years from the "Iron Man" period of the first decade under founder Curly Lambeau, to the present day, which finds Mike Sherman presiding as the team's 13th head coach.

The Iron Man Era

With good financial backing, Lambeau picked up college stars from all over the country, plus some unknowns who turned out to be "greats." In 1929, tiny Green Bay won the first of three straight national professional football championships, pacing stalwarts from New York and Chicago in league standings (the playoff system began in 1933). The 1929-31 title teams featured all-time pro greats like Red Dunn, Verne Lewellen, Cal Hubbard, Bo Molenda, Jug Earp, Mike Michalske, Johnny (Blood) McNally, Bill Kern, Arnie Herber, Clarke Hinkle, Lavvie Dilweg, Tom Nash, Milt Gantenbein and Hank Bruder. In many games, players would go for almost the full 60 minutes. These teams were hailed all over the country as some of the greatest ever.

The Hutson Period

Trouble flared again in 1934, when a fan fell from the stands, sued and won a $5,000 verdict. After their insurance company went bankrupt, the Packers went into receivership and were just about to fold when Green Bay businessmen came to the rescue again, raised $15,000 in new capital and reorganized the club. About this time (1935), a rather slight, lanky end by the name of Don Hutson came to the club. He actually signed two contracts, with Green Bay and the Brooklyn Dodgers. But commissioner Joe Carr awarded Hutson to the Packers, because Green Bay's postmark was earlier. From his first game on, Hutson became the terror of the league and the secret of Green Bay's next three championships. His arrival and corresponding attendance increases allowed the team to buy itself out of receivership in 1935. With Herber and Cecil Isbell pitching and Hutson catching anything they threw at him, despite any kind of a stop-Hutson defense, Green Bay won championships in 1936, 1939 and 1944. After Hutson's retirement, Packer fortunes again declined. The disastrous pro football war, between the NFL and the new All-America Football Conference, brought on another financial crisis after the 1949 season. From 1946-48, the financially strapped Packers lost two of their three No. 1 draft choices to the AAFC, unable to bid with the rival league. Desperate for new income, the Packers held an old-timers game and intra-squad scrimmage on Thanskgiving Day, 1949, and raised $50,000. In the midst of the turbulent times, Lambeau lost an internal power struggle -- which ultimately began when he used $25,000 to purchase Rockwood Lodge for training camp. Lambeau resigned, Jan. 31, 1950, ending his 31-year run in Green Bay, to become the Chicago Cardinals' head coach.

The Lombardi Era

The Packers took their time after McLean's resignation. Vainisi conducted Phase II of the '59 draft by himself, as the team debated whether to hire a general manager as well as a coach, or one person for both positions. The search spanned from the CFL to the college ranks, and even included a GM application from Curly Lambeau. On. Jan. 28, when team president Dominic Olejniczak recommended to the committee a little-known Giants assistant, longtime committee member John Torinus replied, "Who the hell is Vince Lombardi?" Dominic Olejniczak The committee, and the world, quickly found out. Within hours after his arrival on Feb. 2, Lombardi told the committee, "I want it understood that I am in complete command here." Two days later the Packers officially gave Lombardi both titles. In his first season, 1959, Lombardi lifted the Packers to a 7-5 record, netting unanimous 'Coach of the Year.' Then in 1960, the Packers captured the Western Division title, only to lose the NFL title game at Philadelphia. However, Lombardi rebounded to win world championships in 1961, '62, '65, '66, and '67. His teams, which finished no lower than second from 1960-67, became the standard of football excellence. Over a nine-year span as head coach, Lombardi went 98-30-4 (.758), including 9-1 in postseason, winning his final nine playoff games, a feat uncomparable in pro sports

The Starr Trek

The most successful field general in pro football history, who led the Packers to five world championships from 1961-67, Bart Starr accepted the challenge to lead the Packers out of the NFL wilderness, agreeing to a three-year contract as head coach and general manager, Dec. 24, 1974. Starr asked for "the prayers and patience of Packer fans everywhere...We will earn everything else." Although he had to settle for a 4-10 record in 1975, the baptismal season of a massive rebuilding project, Starr gave fans new hope by assembling a sound organization and restoring a positive attitude, underscored by three victories in the last five games of the '75 season. He continued the resurgent trend in 1976, leading the Packers to a 5-9 record, highlighted by a three-game, mid-season winning streak. Major and key injuries slowed the comeback in 1977 but a strong finish produced a 4-10 mark. Hopes soared in 1978 when the Packers posted their first winning slate since 1972, an 8-7-1 record, only to be temporarily dampened in '79 by a record rash of injuries which spawned a 5-11 mark. Another injury epidemic, one which saw 27 players on injured reserve during the course of the season, struck in 1980, forcing the Packers to settle for a 5-10-1 record. Rebounding strongly in 1981, they rallied from a disappointing 2-6 start to mount one of the most dramatic comebacks in Green Bay history, closing with a 6-2 rush (an 8-8 mark), one win shy of the playoffs. The Packers continued the upsurge in 1982, when they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1972 by going 5-3-1 during a strike-interrupted season. They then embellished that performance by routing St. Louis 41-16 in the first round of the NFL's Super Bowl Tournament, before bowing to Dallas (37-26) despite a record-setting, 466-yard offensive effort. Starr was relieved of his head coaching duties Dec. 19, 1983, after the Packers finished the season 8-8 and missed the NFL playoffs on the season's final week.

The Holmgren Era

Ron Wolf named Mike Holmgren, architect of San Francisco's four-time Super Bowl champions, to succeed Infante, Jan. 11, 1992. Holmgren, sought by five other NFL clubs, got a five-year contract. In his first season, 1992, the former USC field general directed the Packers to a 9-7 record and within sight of the playoffs. He became only the third Packers head coach with a winning record in his first season, punctuated by a six-game winning streak, the team's longest since 1965. Holmgren took his team to the playoffs in 1993 -- despite losing four starters to injury. Forging a second straight 9-7 record -- against a considerably more demanding schedule -- Green Bay got its first playoff berth in 10 years. In the first round, the Packers came from behind in the last minute to beat Detroit, 28-24. They then fell at Dallas, 27-17, in the divisional round. In 1994, the Packers registered a third consecutive 9-7 mark and second straight playoff trip -- the first time that had happened since the Titletown days of the '60s. Riding a three-game winning streak into the postseason, they parlayed a record defensive performance and a turnover-free offensive effort into a 16-12 victory over Detroit -- their first home playoff game since the '82 season -- holding the incomparable Barry Sanders to minus-1 yard in 13 attempts. The Packers advanced without the services of All-Pro receiver Sterling Sharpe, whose neck injury, diagnosed after the regular-season finale, ended his brilliant Green Bay career. For a second straight year, the Packers' run ended in Dallas, 35-9. Closing ranks with great results following Sharpe's loss, the 1995 Packers put together one of the hallmark seasons in their history. Winning six of their last seven games, they captured their first NFC Central Division crown since 1972, then made their best postseason showing in more than 28 years, forging all the way to the NFC Championship Game. En route, they closed the regular season 11-5 -- their best mark since the 1966 NFL championship club (12-2) -- and followed by dispatching the Falcons, 37-20, in a first-round playoff at Lambeau Field. Building on that triumph, the Packers mounted one of the premier performances in their postseason history, formally dethroning the defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers in their own 3Com Park, 27-17. Again, however, dreams of a Super Bowl floundered in Dallas, 38-27, in the NFC title game, after leading 27-24 at the end of three quarters. Putting nearly three decades of disappointment emphatically behind, the Packers rewarded their long-patient faithful in 1996. Shunting aside eight of their first nine foes, they swept to a 13-3 record and their second straight division championship. Then, they captured their first NFL title since 1967, dispatching New England, 35-21, in Super Bowl XXXI at the Superdome. Displaying impressive consistency on both sides of the ball, they documented their superiority, outscoring three opponents 100-48 in a postseason sweep. Appropriately, the first two wins were before their Lambeau loyalists -- a 35-14 divisional triumph over the 49ers and a 30-13 win over the upstart Carolina Panthers in the NFC title game. In annexing a 12th NFL championship, extending their own league record, the Packers joined an elite group of teams with three-or-more Super Bowls (Dallas, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Oakland and Washington). The Packers thus entered 1997 with an opportunity to win back-to-back Super Bowls for a second time -- and came breathtakingly close to achieving their objective. Sweeping to a second consecutive 13-3 mark, tying a club record with 13 wins, they primed for the playoffs ending the season with five straight wins. After a third consecutive division title, they launched their bid at Lambeau in workmanlike fashion, turning back Tampa Bay in the divisional playoff, 21-7. The win padded their all-time home-field, postseason record to 12-0, extending the longest such winning streak in pro football history. Forced to win on the road for a return to the ultimate game, the Packers smothered the 49ers on a soggy, rain-swept afternoon in San Francisco, 23-10. Garnering a berth in the Super Bowl, Green Bay held the Niners without an offensive touchdown. In a see-saw affair, Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego found the Packers trailing Denver at halftime, 17-14. Hopes of a repeat were high, however, when quarterback Brett Favre engineered an 85-yard drive, knotting the contest, 24-24, early in the fourth quarter. But the Broncos later scored with only 1:45 remaining and a last-minute Packers drive fell short when Favre's pass for tight end Mark Chmura fell incomplete inside the Denver 20, with only 28 seconds left, sealing the Broncos' 31-24 win. A third straight Super Bowl trip, a realistic goal at the outset, eluded the Packers in 1998, their 80th season. Historic accomplishment, however, did not as they advanced to the playoffs for the sixth year in a row, a team record, while posting a seventh consecutive winning season. Green Bay overcame multiple injuries, including the loss of Pro Bowl running back Dorsey Levens (out nine games) and center Frank Winters (stretch run and postseason), each with a broken leg. They set another team record by stretching their Lambeau Field winning streak to 25 games -- the second-longest in NFL history -- before falling to Minnesota Vikings Oct. 5. They finished 11-5, equaling another team standard by posting a double-digit victory total for the fourth consecutive year (11-5 in 1995, 13-3 in both 1996 and 1997). The only other time Green Bay had strung together four seasons of 10-plus wins was 67 years earlier -- Curly Lambeau's triple NFL champions of 1929-32 (12-0-1 in 1929, 10-3-1 in 1930, 12-2 in 1931 and 10-3-1 in 1932). In the wake of these considerable achievements, the Packers' season came to a dramatic and painful end in an NFC Wild Card game at San Francisco, when a 27-23 lead abruptly dissolved into a 30-27 49ers victory. Steve Young's 25-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens sealed the game with just three seconds left. Only five days later, Holmgren resigned to become head coach and direct football operations for the Seattle Seahawks.

The Present

After searching more than two weeks, Wolf surprised many NFL observers by naming Mike Sherman, the Seahawks' offensive coordinator and Green Bay's tight ends coach from 1997-98, as the Packers' 13th head coach, Jan. 18, 2000. A quietly confident, 21-year coaching veteran, Sherman immediately promised to bring structure, discipline and team chemistry to the 2000 Packers. He also shared his long-time love affair with the Green Bay Packers and their tradition, dating back to his Massachusetts childhood, when he would read Vince Lombardi's books on football each night before bed. To his considerable credit, Sherman in 2000 surmounted multiple injuries, including Favre's prolonged bout with elbow tendinitis, and finished 9-7, inches from the playoffs. Not easily turned aside, he persevered, through an 0-2 start, and even when the record slipped to 5-7 by the end of November. Sherman rallied his troops for a rousing finish, beating NFC Central rivals Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota and Tampa Bay (in overtime), to complete a December sweep. The only other Packers coach to win his last four games in his first year was Lombardi in 1959. The Packers defeated more teams with winning records (six) than anyone in the league, went 5-2 against playoff teams and rediscovered the Lambeau Field advantage by winning their last five in Green Bay. One month after that stirring finish, Wolf retired as the team's executive vice president and general manager, Feb. 1, and president Bob Harlan quickly named Sherman to replace Wolf. Sherman became the first head coach with the GM title since Bart Starr in 1980. Wolf's impressive nine-year tenure included the team's first Super Bowl (1996) in 29 years, back-to-back NFC titles (1996-97), 101 total victories (including eight in the playoffs), eight winning seasons (1992-98, 2000), six straight playoff appearances (1993-98) and the NFL's best regular-season record (83-45) since the 1993 advent of free agency. Harlan moved quickly to replace Wolf with Sherman. Now with full authority over football, Sherman answered in 2001 by returning the Packers to the playoffs, improving his winning percentage to .656 (21-11), best ever over a Packer coach's first two years. Behind Favre (first NFL player with 10 straight 3,000-yard seasons) and explosive Ahman Green (1,981 yards from scrimmage) the Packers went 12-4, but couldn't grasp the division title, despite sweeping the division champion Bears. The Packers knocked off the Niners in a Wild Card playoff, but couldn't get past eventual NFC champion St. Louis the next week. In 2002, Green Bay overcame its most injury-plagued season in recent memory to tie for the league's best record, 12-4. Despite injured starters missing 63 combined games, the Packers clinched their division, the inaugural NFC North title, on Dec. 1, earlier than any NFL team, and any other year in franchise history (four games remaining). On offense, the Packers for the first time in their history did not return a starting receiver, after releasing Antonio Freeman and allowing Bill Schroeder to leave in free agency. Nontheless, Favre finished two votes shy of a fourth MVP, and Donald Driver emerged to lead a young receiver corps. Defensively, behind Pro Bowler Darren Sharper, the team ranked third in the NFL against the pass and led the league with 45 takeaways, six more than any other team. What's more, for the first time since 1965, the Packers held at least a share of the league lead in turnover ratio (plus-17). Michael Vick and the Falcons became the first team ever to beat the Packers (13-1) at home in the playoffs. A return to the NFC Championship slipped painfully through the Packers' fingers in 2003. Donovan McNabb led the Eagles to a come-from-behind, 20-17 overtime win to end an emotional Packers run in the Divisional playoffs. The loss snapped a memorable five-game winning streak. The stretch included changes to three of the most revered records in Packers history (Forrest Gregg's 33-year-old consecutive-games streak, broken by Favre; Jim Taylor's 41-year-old season rushing record, Green; and Don Hutson's 58-year-old career scoring mark, Ryan Longwell). One day after the death of his father, Favre turned in the best game of his career, throwing for four TDs in a 41-7 win at Oakland. Then, Green Bay captured an improbable division title in the last two minutes of the season, when Arizona upset Minnesota and the Lambeau Field crowd broke the news to the Packers. Green Bay was in position to pass the Vikings thanks to its 7-2 record after the bye. Green spearheaded the best running offense in Packers history, as the club captured nearly every franchise rushing mark. Favre led the NFL in TD passes a fourth time to tie a league record, throwing 19 of his 32 scores with a broken right thumb. After the season, Sherman relieved defensive coordinator Ed Donatell of his position and promoted defensive backs coach Bob Slowik.

Green Bay Packers Pro Football Hall Of Fame

Championship Seasons

1929 Curly Lambeau 12-0-1 1.000 (League Standing)
1930 Curly Lambeau 10-3-1 .769 (League Standing)
1931 Curly Lambeau 12-2-0 .857 (League Standing)
1936 Curly Lambeau 10-1-1 .909 Boston Redskins 21-6 New York
1939 Curly Lambeau 9-2-0 .818 New York Giants 27-0 Milwaukee
1944 Curly Lambeau 8-2-0 .800 New York Giants 14-7 New York
1961 Vince Lombardi 11-3-0 .786 New York Giants 37-0 Green Bay
1962 Vince Lombardi 13-1-0 .929 New York Giants 16-7 New York
1965 Vince Lombardi 10-3-1 .769 Cleveland Browns 23-12 Green Bay
1966 Vince Lombardi 12-2-0 .857 Dallas Cowboys 34-27 Dallas
Kansas City Chiefs (Super Bowl I) 35-10 Los Angeles
1967 Vince Lombardi 9-4-1 .692 Dallas Cowboys 21-17 Green Bay
Oakland Raiders (Super Bowl II) 33-14 Miami 1996 Mike Holmgren 13-3-0 .813 New England Patriots (Super Bowl XXXI) 35-21 New Orleans



Fast Facts

Packers Nickname Origin In the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Aug. 29, 1919, two weeks before the team's first organized game, George Calhoun first publicly identified the team as the "Indian Packers." Curly Lambeau received $500 from his employer, the Indian Packing Co., for uniforms and equipment, and for use of the company's lot for practice. In exchange, Lambeau and Calhoun agreed to call the team "Packers." Early fans, many of whom were working-class citizens, immediately embraced the name, widely publicized by Calhoun. Calhoun also called them simply "Indians" briefly in 1919, but that moniker seemed to fold with the company, soon purchased --along with the team -- by Acme Packing Co. In 1921, the team's first season in what is now the NFL, its owners had "Acme Packers" put on the jersey, setting the name in stone. While "Packers" has served as the primary nickname since the team's embryonic stages, fans and sportswriters also have called them the Big Bay Blues, or the Bays. Lambeau in 1922 applied with the name "Blues," but public opinion quickly vetoed him. A packer is someone who works at a packing house, an establishment for slaughtering, processing and packing livestock into meat, meat products and byproducts. "Green Bay Packers" is the longest standing team name in NFL history.