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| Notre Dame Connections |
- Curly Lambeau enrolled at Notre Dame, and made varsity as freshman under Knute Rockne in 1918; Lambeau chose Notre Dame blue and gold as Packers' first uniform colors.
- Three of Green Bay's 11 starters, and four of its 16 overall players in its first official game had played at Notre Dame. More than 80 years later, no other college has produced more Packers players (51, including Carlyle Holiday in 2006).
- Lambeau, credited with pioneering and evolving forward pass in NFL, adopted some philosophy from Rockne, who'd introduced the pass earlier at collegiate level.
- Lambeau also coached at East High School from 1919-21, and sent one of his prep stars, halfback Jimmy Crowley, to South Bend. Crowley, one of the Four Horsemen, returned and played for Packers in 1925 before entering coaching.
- Crowley coached at Fordham, where one of his linemen was Vince Lombardi, one of the Seven Blocks of Granite.
- George Strickler, Green Bay's publicity director from 1947-49, previously worked at Notre Dame (he once placed the Four Horsemen on horses for a photo shoot).
- After the 1921 season, the Packers used two active Notre Dame players in a non-league game against the Chicago Supremes; the league made an example of the Packers, and revoked the franchise (Lambeau reapplied successfully in 1922).
- Green Bay has drafted 27 players from Notre Dame, including Heisman winner Paul Hornung (first overall) in 1957.
- Jack Vainisi, credited with providing key scouting reports on pro and college players that stocked most of Lombardi's teams, played at Notre Dame. A congenital heart problem cut short his playing career, but he stayed in South Bend as a football manager, making several contacts at college level. Gene Ronzani knew those contacts would be of great value when he brought Vainisi to Green Bay.
- Dan Devine left the Packers in 1974 to coach at Notre Dame, where he won the 1977 national championship.
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Last Updated: 12/31/07
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