During the month of June, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will construct a Mount Rushmore for each team. For this series, we will only consider players. Today, the Green Bay Packers are the focus.
Green Bay Packers Mount Rushmore
Curly Lambeau
This list can’t start with anyone other than Earl “Curly” Lambeau. While five of his six championships came during his time as coach, he played and coached from 1919 to 1929 before assuming coaching duties full time. The team won its first NFL championship in 1929. During his playing career he was a halfback and kicker and throughout his career he scored 35 total touchdowns (24 passing, eight rushing, and three receiving).
Not only was he the team’s first standout player and coach, he is also credited with founding the team after an illness forced him to leave Notre Dame back in his sophomore year. After his playing career, he went on to coach and manage the team for three decades, winning five more league championships and creating what is currently the last small town team in professional sports.
Bart Starr
Bart Starr was the Packers starting quarterback from 1959 until his retirement in 1971. He led the team to five NFL Championships and victories in Super Bowls I and II. He was named MVP of both of those Super Bowls after throwing for 250 yards and two touchdown passes in Super Bowl I and 203 yards and a single scoring pass in Super Bowl II (significantly more impressive numbers back in the late 60’s than they are now). He is remembered not only as a gifted athlete, but also the epitome of what leadership qualities are needed in an NFL quarterback.
Don Hutson
Don Hutson was the best receiver in the history of the league when he retired and held just about every record. While Jerry Rice is now the greatest of all-time (among receivers or overall, depending who you talk to), Hutson is widely credited as being the receiver who created receiving as we know it today. Hutson threw the entire league for a loop during his career, creating many of the routes that are still used by wide receivers to this day. He also served as the kicker and played safety for several years, intercepting 30 passes between 1940 and 1945, which was the year of his retirement. In 1940, he led the league with six interceptions. He led the Packers to three NFL championships in 1936, 1939, and 1944.
Hutson still holds many records to this day, and many of these won’t be topped anytime soon. These records include most seasons leading the league in receptions, most seasons leading the league in receiving yards, most seasons leading the league in receiving touchdowns and most seasons leading the league in total touchdowns.
Brett Favre
This was a very tough choice, as many now consider Aaron Rodgers to be the superior Packers quarterback. However, Rodgers’ legacy is still being built while Favre’s is set in stone. He played sixteen years as the team’s starting quarterback, and at the time of his retirement, he held the record for most touchdown passes, pass attempts, completions, wins by a quarterback and consecutive starts. Only one of these records has been passed so far, as Peyton Manning passed Favre in career touchdown passes in 2014.
The eleven-time Pro Bowl selection and six time All-Pro was chosen as the NFL MVP three times in a row between 1995 and 1997, and while many cheeseheads are still infuriated by his leaving the team, he remains one of the most important names in franchise history.
For those upset by the exclusion of names like Paul Hornung, Ray Nitschke and Jim Taylor (among many others), I offer you this explanation: with nearly 100 years of history and the most championships of any team in league history, the Packers clearly need a larger mountain.
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