Hall of Fame Professional Football Coach. In the mid-1930s, he played college football for Fordham University's "Seven Blocks of Granite" in The Bronx, New York. Acclaimed as a National Football League (NFL) head coach in the 1960s, he began his distinguished NFL coaching career as offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, serving for five seasons, (1954-58). He gained a reputation with the Giants for his stylish, thorough, and imaginative craftsmanship on offense, and at age 45 in 1959, he accepted the head coaching job for the Green Bay Packers. For the next nine seasons (1959-67), he led the Packers to a record of 89 wins, 29 losses, 4 ties, five NFL Championship titles (1961-62, 1965-66, 1967), plus wins in Super Bowl I in 1967 and Super Bowl II in 1968. In 1968, he retired as the Packers' head coach but remained as General Manager. He found it boring to be out of coaching, so he moved to Washington, D.C. in 1969 and took the head coaching position with the Washington Redskins. He then led the Redskins to their first winning record in 14 years. Before he could build another dynasty, he died in 1970 of intestinal cancer at age 57. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. The Vince Lombardi Trophy, named in his honor, is the trophy awarded each year to the team that wins the Super Bowl.
Hall of Fame Professional Football Coach. In the mid-1930s, he played college football for Fordham University's "Seven Blocks of Granite" in The Bronx, New York. Acclaimed as a National Football League (NFL) head coach in the 1960s, he began his distinguished NFL coaching career as offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, serving for five seasons, (1954-58). He gained a reputation with the Giants for his stylish, thorough, and imaginative craftsmanship on offense, and at age 45 in 1959, he accepted the head coaching job for the Green Bay Packers. For the next nine seasons (1959-67), he led the Packers to a record of 89 wins, 29 losses, 4 ties, five NFL Championship titles (1961-62, 1965-66, 1967), plus wins in Super Bowl I in 1967 and Super Bowl II in 1968. In 1968, he retired as the Packers' head coach but remained as General Manager. He found it boring to be out of coaching, so he moved to Washington, D.C. in 1969 and took the head coaching position with the Washington Redskins. He then led the Redskins to their first winning record in 14 years. Before he could build another dynasty, he died in 1970 of intestinal cancer at age 57. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. The Vince Lombardi Trophy, named in his honor, is the trophy awarded each year to the team that wins the Super Bowl.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Lombardi memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
