Lombardi before he became a legend

Posted Oct 14, 2009 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Oct 14, 2009 at 07:40 PM

It’s difficult to add to the legend of Vince Lombardi. That was established years ago with Jerry Kramer’s diary of the 1967 NFL season, “Instant Replay” — a book that remains one of the best sports books ever published.

Thanks to Kramer and other Packers from the five championship teams of the 1960s (including two Super Bowl champions), Lombardi has been painted as a perfectionist, a stern taskmaster who squeezed every ounce of talent from the players he coached.

“He’s fair. He treats us all the same — like dogs,” is the quote (or a variation of it) uttered by Henry Jordan about Lombardi.

Those players, while resentful and even frightened of their coach while they played for him, had nothing but admiration for him when they looked back upon their careers.

That’s pretty heavy stuff.

But how did Lombardi bring the Packers to that point? The year before Lombardi game to Green Bay, the Packers were 1-10-1, the culmination of a decade of futility. Was it magic or hard work? Or was Lombardi simply in the right place at the right time?

Former Baltimore Sun columnist John Eisenberg answers all of those questions — and more — in his interesting look at the 1959 season, Lombardi’s first in Green Bay.

“That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, hardback $25) not only adds to the Lombardi legacy, it also shows how he did it. It was a simple, yet highly effective blueprint.

Eisenberg interviewed 18 of the 24 surviving members of the 1959 Packers, including quarterback Bart Starr, halfback Paul Hornung and Kramer. He also did extensive research through books and newspaper clips. What emerges is a narrative that details the foundation Lombardi built, a swift yet painful process that led to a decade of glory

Lombardi took charge of the team from the day he was hired. He simplified the Packers’ playbook and drilled his squad on the basics (“What we’re doing,” he told them, “is throwing out the garbage.”) Attention to detail was paramount. Repetition trumped trickery. Mistakes were not tolerated.

“We are going to do things right until everyone is doing them right,” Eisenberg quotes Lombardi bellowing at his players.

“If you block well, execute and eliminate mistakes, this is all you need. It doesn’t matter that the other team knows what is coming.”

Sounds a lot like the Packers sweep that was so devastatingly effective during Green Bay’s run to five NFL titles in the 1960s.

Lombardi realized that Jim Taylor could be a power fullback, and by midseason in 1959, he discovered that the mild-mannered Starr could not only break down film, but also could run Lombardi’s power offense and adjust when necessary.

The ’59 season was a year of streaks for the Packers. Green Bay opened with three straight wins, then lost five in a row. Lombardi never eased up, and the Packers won their last four games to finish 7-5.

What Lombardi told his team during training camp was revealing — and prophetic.

“Gentlemen, we are going to have a football team here, and we’re going to win some games,” Eisenberg quotes Lombardi. “Do you know why? You are going to have confidence in me and my system. By being alert, you are going to make fewer mistakes than your opponents. By working harder, you are going to out-execute, out-block, and out-tackle every team that comes your way.”

Eisenberg provides new and fresh perspective, peeling back the legend of Lombardi to reveal a coach — and an NFL franchise — on the cusp of greatness.