Out of bounds

Alumni update: Those former Huskers

2009-07-13T18:46:00.002-05:00

Two players with ties to the Packers will be inducted into the University of Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in September.

Steve Warren and Kelly Saalfield are part of a class of five players being honored, according to the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader.

Warren, a defensive tackle, was the Packers' third-round draft pick in 2000. He played in 25 games for Green Bay in 2000 and 2002. He missed the 2001 season because of a torn quadriceps tendon. Small for a nose tackle at 6-foot-1 and 300 pounds, he was released at the end of training camp in 2003.

Saalfield, a center, was drafted by the Packers in the ninth round of the 1980 draft but didn't make the team.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Alumni update: Pat Peppler

2009-07-10T17:02:00.002-05:00

Do you remember Pat Peppler? He was the Packers' director of player personnel during the Glory Years of the 1960s.

He's still around, and at 87, he's still probably a better athlete than you are.

So says Wisconsin State Journal columnist Doug Moe, who caught up with Peppler as he visited family in Madison this week.

In 1963, Vince Lombardi hired Peppler to help negotiate contracts and evaluate college players.

After that season, the Packers traded center Jim Ringo. You think you know why? Because Ringo hired an agent and enraged Lombardi? Not so, Peppler says.

Rather, it was because Ringo was slowing down and Lombardi wanted someone better at center. So Lombardi traded Ringo and fullback Earl Gros to the Eagles for linebacker Lee Roy Caffey and a draft pick that brought halfback Donny Anderson to Green Bay.

Peppler also says Lombardi recommended him for the general manager's job that went to coach Phil Bengtson after Lombardi left the Packers to join the Washington Redskins in 1969.

Peppler stayed with the Packers until 1971. The next year, he joined the Miami Dolphins, who went 17-0 and won the Super Bowl. He also worked for the Falcons, Oilers and Saints.

Long a fitness buff -- he ran up to 30 miles a week when he worked for the Packers -- Peppler is in great shape. His daughter teaches in Florida, and when he visited her school, he challenged a bunch of high school juniors to a push-up contest. They quit at 31. Peppler did 56.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Photo: The Packers’ staff gathers in March 1967 to prepare for the draft. It was the first time they could work from the Packers’ offices instead of traveling to the draft site. From left are assistant coaches Dave Hanner and Tom McCormick, director of player personnel Pat Peppler and assistant coaches Jerry Burns and Phil Bengtson. Press-Gazette archives

Alumni update: Keith Uecker

2009-07-10T15:09:00.002-05:00

It's been pretty quiet on the alumni front, but here's one piece of news:

Keith Uecker, a guard and tackle for the Packers from 1984 to 1991, has been named offensive quality control coach at Ohio State University.

Uecker, 49, spent the last five seasons as offensive line coach at Wayne State University in Michigan. He also has coached at Akron.

He played in 64 games over six seasons in Green Bay, but missed the 1986 and 1989 seasons with injuries. He started his 10-year NFL career with two seasons in Denver.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Packers join us on Twitter, Facebook

2009-07-10T13:46:00.001-05:00

The Packers today announced they've added Twitter feeds and a Facebook fan page.

Follow their tweets here.

Become their Facebook fan here.

Don't forget that we're feeding Packers news to Twitter and Facebook, too.

Tom Pelissero tweets here.

Become a Green Bay Press-Gazette fan here.

You know you'll want to be fully wired when training camp starts Aug. 1.

-- Press-Gazette

Cheesecake for the Cheeseheads

2009-07-05T19:09:00.002-05:00

Saw this the other day on Atom-Bomb Bikini, the blog run by Richmond, Va., artist Rob Ullman.

It's a typical Ullman illustration: A pretty girl and a sports theme, just this close to being naughty. You'll find plenty of them on his blog and in his new book "Atom-Bomb Bikini: The Lurid Art of Robert Ullman."

Rob's wife, Brooke, is a Green Bay native. She was born here in April 1977 -- during a snowstorm, according to family lore -- but grew up in the Chicago suburbs. Her folks lived in Green Bay for only a couple of years in the late '70s.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Illustration by Robert Ullman, courtesy of atombombbikini.net

Lambeau the top stadium experience, ESPN says

2009-07-01T19:12:00.004-05:00

Lambeau Field, always ranked among top sporting venues, landed the No. 1 spot in ESPN The Magazine's Ultimate Standings 2009. It's the fourth time the Green Bay Packers' home field has captured the overall crown. Lambeau has led NFL stadiums every year of the standings.

Among other features unique to the Lambeau experience, ESPN attributes the ranking to the team's G-Force campaign and the Tundra Tailgate Zone. However, a 6-10 season took its toll on the Packers' ownership and coaching rankings, which dropped 27 and 37 places, respectively, from last year's standings.

ESPN The Magazine ranked every franchise from the four major sports leagues to determine which teams are most deserving of fans' hard-earned dollars.

-- Press-Gazette

Sort of a Viking funeral, eh?

2009-07-01T08:37:00.002-05:00

Saw this today on UniWatch, one of our favorite blogs:

"Ronald Covert is so outraged at the mere thought of Brett Favre signing with Minnesota that he held a jersey bonfire."

That's all we know about it. Don't know where Covert is from. If we find out, we'll update.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Aaron Rodgers moves well off the field, too

2009-06-28T11:00:00.003-05:00

Last time we saw Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers squiring a charming young lady, it was April and he was in Vegas, hanging with country singer Hillary Scott.

Now he's popped up in New York with Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Julie Henderson.

Here's what he's up to, according to today's Page Six, the New York Post's legendary gossip column:

"Grapefruit heiress Julie Henderson has rebounded from Russell Simmons. After the hip-hop mogul dropped the 23-year-old swimsuit model in favor of 29-year-old model Noemie Lenoir, a spy tells Page Six that Henderson has been cozying up with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. 'They were having a romantic dinner at La Esquina on Wednesday,' a spy tells us. 'They looked cute.'"

Cute? Judge for yourself. Here's the video from Henderson's photo shoot for this year's SI swimsuit issue.

In 2007, Henderson described what she likes in a man: "If they make me laugh and they are taller than me."

Henderson, a Houston native, is one of those tall Texans. She's 5-foot-10.

Rodgers is 6-2. He apparently makes good conversation, too.

Ah, it is good to be Aaron Rodgers.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

State bill allows police to escort visiting teams to Lambeau

2009-06-23T16:52:00.003-05:00

MADISON — The state Assembly has approved a bill that would allow processions to roll through red lights with a police escort.

Among others, the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton, where Green Bay Packers opponents stay, asked for the bill to ensure a smoother ride to Lambeau Field for those teams, in turn keeping their business.

Current state law allows funeral processions to go through red lights as long as the lead vehicle stops first. The bill would permit police to escort any processions through red lights.

Stephanie Wilson is a spokeswoman for the bill’s author, Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber, D-Appleton.

She says police asked for the measure to clarify whether they could escort processions through stoplights.

The bill goes to the state Senate.

-- The Associated Press

2009-06-12T11:00:00.003-05:00

If you happen to be in Chico, Calif., on July 1, head over to Nettleton Stadium for "Aaron Rodgers Tribute Night."

The Chico Outlaws, who play in baseball's independent Golden League, are honoring the Packers quarterback, who was born in Chico and starred at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico.

Rodgers will throw out a ceremonial first pitch before the game against the Edmonton Capitals. He has some experience on the mound. He pitched for Pleasant Valley as a senior.

"It is exciting that the Outlaws will be able to honor a local sports hero and at the same time be able to support a worthy charity," Outlaws general manager Curt Jacey said.

Indeed, the Outlaws will be wearing green-and-gold jerseys to salute Rodgers. The jerseys will be auctioned off during the game to benefit the local branch of Young Life.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Photo: Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers plays in the Brett Favre Celebrity Softball Game at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute in June 2007. File/Gannett Wisconsin Media

What might have been

2009-06-12T10:33:00.002-05:00

Every now and then we're reminded of the war between the NFL and the AFL for college players during the mid-1960s.

Today, Providence Journal columnist Jim Donaldson reminds us of one battle the Packers lost.

Green Bay selected Holy Cross center Jon Morris in the second round of the 1964 draft. Coach Vince Lombardi figured Morris would be the successor to Jim Ringo, whom he'd traded to the Eagles.

The Boston Patriots took Morris -- a player from their back yard -- in the fourth round of the AFL draft. Morris signed with the Patriots, and not the Packers.

Here's how Morris explained it to Donaldson:

“Honestly, I didn’t have the self-confidence to play for the Packers. I didn’t think I was good enough.

“Lombardi called me on the phone. He said he’d give me a two-year, no-cut contract and told me that Jim Ringo wasn’t going to be there. But I figured that was just coach talk. I knew (Patriots coach) Mike Holovak. There was a comfort factor involved.”

As it turned out, the Packers wound up replacing Ringo with another rookie. Ken Bowman, drafted out of Wisconsin in the eighth round, took over and started at center through the 1973 season.

It didn't turn out too badly for Morris, either. He was the Patriots' starting center from 1964 to 1974. That's why Donaldson was writing about him. Morris was passed over in fan voting for the Patriots Hall of Fame, and Donaldson thinks he ought to be in.

Morris was traded to the Lions in 1975 and started every game at center for three seasons. He wound up his career with the Bears in 1978.

Morris wasn't the only player Lombardi lost to the AFL in 1964.

Both of the Packers' third-round picks chose the newer league. Mississippi State halfback Ode Burrell signed with the Houston Oilers and Michigan guard Joe O'Donnell joined the Buffalo Bills. Notre Dame tight end Paul Costa, a fourth-round pick, also wound up with the Bills.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Speaking of confident receivers

2009-06-10T14:26:00.003-05:00

Perhaps Sterling Sharpe ought to be in the Andre Rison Hall of Fame, too.

Former Packers quarterback Mike Tomczak tells ESPNChicago.com how a supremely confident Sharpe helped put him at ease when he arrived in Green Bay in 1991.

"I'm always open," Sharpe told him. "Throw it and I'll catch it."

For the record, Sharpe had a team-high 69 catches for 961 yards and four touchdowns as the Packers went 4-12 that season.

Tomczak played in 12 games that season, starting the last six after Don Majkowski went down with a hamstring injury. He led the Packers in passing.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

The first inductee into the Andre Rison Hall of Fame

2009-06-09T16:16:00.002-05:00

Andre Rison does not lack confidence.

Whether he's in touch with reality, we'll let you decide.

Andre Rison is 42. He's been out of the NFL for nine years. He played in five games and the playoffs for the Packers in 1996. He last was an All-Pro selection 16 years ago.

That said, Rison believes he still can play.

“There’s no doubt about that," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I just came off the basketball court. But everybody doesn’t have a Brett Favre situation (where they’re allowed to play into their 40s). There’s 100 players that could still be playing."

Rison was just getting warmed up.

So, Andre, how good were you?

“Best receiver to ever play the game. I can’t show my highlights because I don’t own NFL Films, but all my coaches in college, in high school, in junior college, they all told me I could be the best. But they must’ve lied because that title was already given to Jerry Rice. Just because you have stats doesn’t mean you’re the best. Can’t nobody tell me that Andre Reed isn’t better than Jerry Rice. I’m seeing cornerbacks on the 75th anniversary team that I used to demolish. But I’m coming out with my own hall of fame.”

There you have it: Andre Rison, the "best receiver to ever play the game," with no doubt he still can play.

As always, you be the judge.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Photo: Andre Rison scores a touchdown on a 54-yard pass from Brett Favre in the first quarter of Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans on Jan. 26, 1997. File/Gannett Wisconsin Media

A rookie remembers Lombardi

2009-06-09T07:51:00.002-05:00

Stan Hochman went to work as a sports writer for the Philadelphia Daily News on June 9, 1959 -- 50 years ago today. He's still at it.

The paper is celebrating, and Hochman sat down with columnist Rich Hofmann to share some stories.

One of Hochman's favorite memories is of a surprising interview with Vince Lombardi:

"We're getting ready for Eagles-Green Bay, the championship game, 1960, and I'm in the office and (sports editor Larry) Merchant says, 'See what you can get from Lombardi.' I said, 'Vince Lombardi?' He said, 'Yeah, who else?' I said, 'Vince Lombardi doesn't know who I am.' He said, 'You'll identify yourself as the Philadelphia Daily News, here's the name of the PR guy, tell him you need a few minutes with Vince.'

"I'm the good soldier. I called the PR guy and asked. He said, 'Let me check,' and then he comes back and says, 'Here's Vince.' He's on the phone with me. I'm stuttering and fumfering, but I get the basics. I ask him how a guy from New York could find happiness in Green Bay and he gives me good stuff, how the fans own the team, invested emotionally and with their pocketbooks.

"I say, 'Coach, there's been a lot written about this, but can you give me your philosophy of coaching?' Now, he's dealing with a guy, a rookie Philadelphia Daily News reporter, and he says, 'Discipline with love.' Three words, sums it up. I can't believe I'm getting this. He says he might really chew out a guy at practice, but afterward he makes sure to go by the guy's locker and rumple his hair. What little I had read about Lombardi, he was a fascist, a total tyrant. Now I get this.

"What are the odds you could get that today? The week of a Super Bowl game, one-on-one? That's the way we operated back then. Get on the phone and see if you can get Lombardi."

Congratulations, Stan.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

The Deadspinners have their say on Favre

2009-06-08T17:29:00.002-05:00

Leave it to the embattled commenters on Deadspin to come up with a few good lines about the never-ending Brett Favre saga.

Here are some (we can print) from today's Deadspin post headlined "Only One Week Left In The Brett Favre Saga."

-- "Not since Elvis died has a Southerner's inability to (expletive) or get off the pot been so fascinating."

-- "If Brett Favre entered the Bass Master competition it would be breaking news, then as he's reeling in a gigantic fish it would get intercepted by a much younger more capable fisherman."

-- "I haven't see this kind of waffling since my obese aunt decided to challenge IHOP's 'all you can eat' policy."

-- "I now see the irony in Minnesota naming their state bird the common loon."

If you like your humor a bit darker and in memorably bad taste, you may enjoy the comments that invoke Favre and the late David Carradine.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Thanks for calling, Eddie

2009-06-06T15:40:00.003-05:00

We used to get a lot of phone calls about the Packers in the days before the Internet. Now, not so many.

But we still have some regulars. Louie calls from Boston. A guy calls from Georgia. A guy calls from Iowa. Still another guy calls from California, but not so much anymore now that Brett Favre -- whom he despised -- is gone.

Eddie Dennison was another of our regulars. He used to call from Cornwall, N.Y.

We got a call about Eddie the other day. His nephew, Brandon, called to tell us that Eddie died May 3 of a heart attack. He was 60.

"His father and his grandfather got him into watching football when he was probably 13 or 14," Brandon said. "He clicked with the Packers. That was the team back then (in the early '60s). The man bled green and gold."

Eddie outfitted his kids in Packers clothing and sent them to school with Packers lunch boxes and Packers school supplies, Brandon said.

"He'd go every Sunday to a little tavern by his house," Brandon said, "the Shamrock Tavern on Main Street" in Cornwall. "There were a lot of Packers fans there."

(That's the Shamrock at left.)

Eddie had a No. 4 jersey, partly for Favre -- whom he loved -- and partly because he wore No. 4 when he played high school football. Brandon, 23, of Plattekill, N.Y., says he's keeping that No. 4 jersey and his uncle's Packers helmet.

It's a nice way to remember Eddie, who was a stand-up guy. He served with the Marines in Vietnam. When he came home, he worked as an electrician at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., for 35 years.

Eddie was a stand-up guy in another way.

Dale O'Brien, who works on our sports copy desk, recalls that Eddie struck up a friendship with another guy who used to field his calls here at the Press-Gazette.

When Marty James got married -- and this had to be 20, 25 years ago -- Eddie drove out to Wisconsin to be the best man at Marty's wedding.

Peace, Eddie.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Don Hutson jersey sells for $70,500

2009-06-02T14:46:00.003-05:00

This is the quietest time of the year for off-the-field Packers news, but that's OK. Gotta take a break some time.

Here, then, a couple of notes:

-- Joe Proski, a Green Bay native, was given a game-worn Packers jersey as a birthday present when he turned 5 in 1945.

It came from Packers star Don Hutson -- Proski's father, John, was the one of the Packers' equipment managers at the time -- but that didn't keep Joe from wearing it while playing outside as a kid.

Proski recently sold Hutson's jersey at a sports memorabilia auction for $70,500. Proski spent 32 years as the trainer for the NBA's Phoenix Suns until he retired in 2001. (Antiques and the Arts Online)

-- Billy Cundiff, a kicker who was with the Packers during offseason workouts and the early part of training camp in 2006, has earned a master's degree in business administration from Arizona State University. He did it online. (Arizona State University)

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Photo: Joe Proski was inducted into the Phoenix Suns' Ring of Honor when he retired as the team's trainer in 2001. NBA Entertainment photo

Web site offers No. 4 armband to help mourn Favre

2009-05-22T13:38:00.004-05:00

For every person who's tired of hearing about Brett Favre, there's another fan who still hasn’t gotten over the fact that No. 4 is no longer is quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. For the latter, there’s a new Web site offering you a way to mourn the loss.

Especially if Favre ends up playing for the Minnesota Vikings this season.

Rob Sax of Madison has started his own online “support group” at mourn4.com that includes a Facebook page called Mourn 4: The Loss of Favre.

Sax, who e-mailed the Press-Gazette about the Web site and is a self-described Packers and Favre fan, asks other fans to band together this season to wear the armband to “mourn for the last second victories. Mourn for the passes that shouldn’t have gotten through. But somehow did. … Mourn for the green and gold becoming green and white.

“And maybe, heaven forbid, purple and gold.”

Of course, the “banding together” comes with a price – the Web site is selling a black “MOURN 4 Armband” for $5.

The site challenges Packers fans to “wear the band to Packer games. Wear it to Viking games. Wear it when you watch games at home or at the bar.

“Wear it for the way we’d all like to remember #4 – as one of the all-time green and gold greats.”

And do it on Nov. 1, if Brett Favre is at the helm of the Minnesota Vikings when they take on the Packers at Lambeau Field.

-- Julie Riebe, online editor, Press-Gazette

Getting caught up before vacation

2009-05-15T19:39:00.002-05:00

This is a quiet time in the NFL, so we're going to sneak away on vacation next week. Before we go, we'll leave you with a few Packers-related tidbits:

-- Retired Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan has been elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in Milwaukee. He's the only Packers representative in a class of six inductees heavy on big names from the University of Wisconsin. They'll be inducted Nov. 20 at the Milwaukee Theater.

-- Retired LB John Anderson (1978-89) has been named linebackers coach at Carroll University in Waukesha. He's been a middle school science teacher at Brookfield Academy in Brookfield since 1998. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1996.

-- Retired G Joe Andruzzi (1998-99) was a guest on WEEI radio in Boston on Tuesday, talking about his recovery from Burkitt's lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He's doing well. He also talked about how he's helping raise money for cancer research. (WEEI)

-- Retired DT Esera Tuaolo (1991-92) booked a Minneapolis nightclub last Saturday night for the release of his new CD, "Esera," and Star Tribune gossip columnist C.J. was there with her video camera. You get to go backstage with Tuaolo, then see and hear him on stage. He's into dance pop. (Star Tribune)

-- Tough times for retired CB Tyrone Williams (1996-2002). He was arrested earlier this month after a fight at his ex-wife's home in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)

--Retired RB Kenneth Davis (1986-88) was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame earlier this month. He starred at Temple High School from 1978 to 1980, then at Texas Christian University. He's the first African-American player from Temple to go into the hall. (Temple Daily Telegram)

-- Homer Jones, a Texan who starred at wide receiver for the Giants in the 1960s, says Packers CB Bob Jeter was the toughest competitor he ever played against. It's just one line in a long blog entry, though. (Sporting News)

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

David Letterman has his say on Brett Favre

2009-05-08T14:49:00.003-05:00

Here's David Letterman's take on Brett Favre, from Thursday night's "Late Night" show on CBS:

"Brett Favre played all of his career for the Green Bay Packers. He started in Atlanta, played for the Falcons and they traded him to Green Bay. He’s a tremendous Super Bowl champion, an icon, Hall of Famer. Then, he quits the Green Bay Packers and goes to the New York Jets. Then, he quits the New York Jets. Said, 'That is it, I'm done.' Oh no, he is not done. Apparently, he is going to the Minnesota Vikings."

Letterman then aired an "announcement" on Favre’s plans:

"Hey, football fans, Brett Favre is coming to the Vikings. This is your last chance to see Brett play before he goes to Jacksonville next year. Then, you won't want to miss Favre's 2011 stint with the Raiders. Then, it's back to the Jets before an emotional reunion in Green Bay. Did someone say Winnipeg? That's right. In 2014, Brett's going to Canada, and then what the hell? He'll pour out another year with the Jets. Brett Favre, take it to the bank!"

It's not among the online clips from Thursday night's show, so this will have to do.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Want a chance to cover the Packers?

2009-05-07T14:35:00.002-05:00

If you've ever dreamed of being an NFL reporter -- and you have the talent to do so -- this may be for you.

CBSSports.com and Bleacher Report, a sports blog written by fans, are putting together what they're calling the NFL Correspondent Network, and they're looking for someone to cover the Packers.

That person, they say, will be among the "fully credentialed members of the press corps."

One writer will be chosen to cover the Packers' training camp and practices, regular-season and playoff games. If the Packers make it to Super Bowl XLIV, that person will cover them for CBSSports.com and Bleacher Report.

As they sort through the qualified applicants, they'll look at their written work and consider their educational background and journalism experience.

For more information, click here.

See you in the press box.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

How the Packers fought swine flu in 1976

2009-05-05T19:04:00.004-05:00

This, quite simply, is classic in so many ways.

Watch as the Packers' Johnnie Gray and Steve Luke encourage Wisconsin residents to get the swine flu vaccine in 1976.

Props to AOL Fanhouse for digging up this gem.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Remembering Jack Kemp vs. the Packers

2009-05-03T15:26:00.005-05:00

Jack Kemp, who died Saturday at 73, is most often remembered as a Republican presidential candidate in 1988 and Bob Dole's running mate in 1996.

To football fans of a certain age, Kemp is remembered as the star quarterback for the Buffalo Bills when they played in the old American Football League in the '60s.

But do you remember the day Kemp played against the Packers?

Alan Steinberg does. Writing on PolitickerNJ.com, the former EPA administrator begins an appreciation of Kemp's life with this memory:

"I grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. The first time I ever saw the name 'Jack Kemp' was when my father took me to a Pittsburgh Steelers football game at the late, lamented Forbes Field in 1957 against the Green Bay Packers.

"Kemp was listed in the program that day as the third string quarterback behind the starter, Earl Morrall and his backup, the Steelers' first-round draft pick, Len Dawson. Prior to reading the program, I did not even know that the Steelers had a third-string quarterback.

"I actually remember that game, because it was the first National Football League game I ever saw in person, and the two teams, the pre-Lombardi Packers and the hapless 'same old Steelers' of the 1950s, were exemplars of futility on the gridiron."

Going into that game on Nov. 24, 1957, the Packers were 2-6 and on a three-game losing streak. The Steelers were an inconsistent 4-3.

The Packers won 27-10, cashing in on seven Steelers turnovers -- four interceptions and three fumbles. Howie Ferguson, filling in for an injured Paul Hornung, ran for a touchdown. So did quarterbacks Bart Starr and Babe Parilli. Fred Cone added a couple of field goals.

Kemp -- and not Dawson -- got into the game when Steelers coach Buddy Parker apparently had seen enough of Morrall, who threw all four interceptions.

Kemp, then just 22, completed one of four passes for 6 yards. He lost 3 yards on his only carry. The Packers' defense roughed up both Steelers quarterbacks, sacking them for a combined 47 yards in losses.

It was the Packers' last win in a 3-9 season. Four days later, they lost to the Lions in the annual Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit. Then they lost to the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers on the West Coast. The Packers had those tough road games at the end of the season every year from 1950 to 1963.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Photo: Jack Kemp as a Buffalo Bills quarterback in 1964. File/AP

A Packers fan goes out in style

2009-05-03T15:06:00.002-05:00

Bill Platts, the judge they called "Grumpy," always said he'd dance on the day he retired. A Packers fan living in Pasco, Wash., he did just that last week.

The story, according to the Tri-City Herald newspaper:

Platts was a court commissioner in Benton County District Court. So when he hopped up on the bench and boogied to Gloria Estefan's "Conga," he wore his black judicial robe and a cheesehead.

That's about the extent of Packers-related news, but the rest is too good to ignore.

Platts' court reporter, Anna Clarke, then entertained the crowd of well-wishers with his most memorable quotes from the bench:

-- "Sir, do you tell these women about your criminal history before you impregnate them? You should."

-- "I'm always baffled, is there somebody running around Moses Lake telling people to come up to the Tri-Cities to shoplift?"

-- "I don't care if she stands naked on the table wanting you to come over. 'No contact' means just that."

-- "Let me give you a little advice, sir. Keep your pants zipped."

-- "Oh, and I suppose the marijuana fairy put that marijuana in your pocket? Well, I'd sure like to get my hands on that marijuana fairy."

Which is when a man dressed in a pink tutu and fairy wings entered the courtroom and handed Platts a baggie full of ... strawberry leaves.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

The Coffmans: Like father, like son?

2009-05-03T14:46:00.005-05:00

Last weekend was nerve-wracking, then thrilling, for former Packers TE Paul Coffman as he waited at his home in Peculiar, Mo., near Kansas City, to learn where his son, Chase, would be selected in the NFL draft.

Here's what Paul told the Cass County Democrat Missourian newspaper: “We were hoping that it would keep going on Saturday so that at least we could go to bed and know where he was going to be. Went to bed on Saturday night, just didn’t sleep very well. Got up on Sunday and kind of at first was hoping the Chiefs with the third pick of the third round would take him. But then again, just sitting there through the whole third round.”

Chase, a tight end from Missouri, finally was taken near the end of the third round by the Bengals with the 98th overall pick.

“We gave a lot of hugs and shed a few tears and had a lot of high fives and slaps on the back after that,” Paul said.

Chase, a 6-foot-6, 244-pounder, is wearing No. 80 for the Bengals. His dad, who went 6-3 and 225, wore No. 82 for the Packers from 1978 to 1985.

“I think we’re very similar,” Chase told Bengals.com. “I’m a little bit bigger than him and a little bit heavier, but as far as everything else goes, we’re both very hard workers and we’re going to get the job done. He had great hands and was one of the better pass-catching tight ends in the NFL when he played and I hope to do the same thing."

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Photo: Bengals tight end Chase Coffman (80) stretches during rookie minicamp at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati on Friday, May 1, 2009. David Kohl/AP