NAME NO POS HGT WGT COLLEGE YR PR AG G HOW ACQUIRED
Bob Adkins 55 E 6- 0 211 Marshall 1 1 23 11
Frank Balazs 35 B 6- 2 215 Iowa 2 2 22 7 1939 Draft-18th round
Connie Berry 37 E 6- 3 210 N. Carolina St 1 2 25 1 FA-Detroit (1939)
Charley Brock 29 C 6- 1 205 Nebraska 2 2 24 11 1939 Draft-3rd round
Lou Brock 15 B 6- 0 195 Purdue 1 1 22 11 1940 Draft-3rd round
Larry Buhler 52 B 6- 2 210 Minnesota 2 2 23 8 1939 Draft-1st round
Larry Craig 54 E 6- 0 205 S. Carolina 2 2 24 11 1939 Draft-6th round
Leo Disend 18 T 6- 2 225 Albright 1 3 24 5 FA-Brooklyn (1939)
Tiny Engebretsen 34 G 6- 1 245 Northwestern 7 9 30 FA-Brooklyn (1934)
Dick Evans 53 E 6- 3 195 Iowa 1 1 22
Beattie Feathers 3 B 5-11 180 Tennessee 1 7 32 1 FA-Brooklyn (1939)
Milt Gantenbein 22 E 6- 0 200 Wisconsin 10 10 30 5
Buckets Goldenberg 43 G 5-10 225 Wisconsin 8 8 28 11
Tom Greenfield 56 C 6- 4 218 Arizona 2 2 22 9 1939 Draft-15th round
Arnie Herber 38 B 5-11 208 Regis 11 11 30 10
Clarke Hinkle 30 FB 5-11 200 Bucknell 9 9 31 11
Don Hutson 14 E 6- 1 185 Alabama 6 6 27 11
Cecil Isbell 17 B 6- 1 190 Purdue 3 3 25 10 1938 Draft-1st round
Harry Jacunski 48 E 6- 2 198 Fordham 2 2 24 10
Ed Jankowski 7 B 5-10 205 Wisconsin 4 4 27 7 1937 Draft-1st round
Smiley Johnson 64 G 5-10 200 Georgia 1 1 23 11
Paul Kell 41 T 6- 2 217 Notre Dame 2 2 25 11
Joe Laws 24 B 5- 9 186 Iowa 7 7 29 3
Bill Lee 40 T 6- 3 235 Alabama 4 6 28 11 FA-Brooklyn (1937)
Russ Letlow 46 G 6- 0 215 San Francisco 5 5 26 11 1936 Draft-1st round
Lou Midler 27 T-G 6- 1 220 Minnesota 1 2 25 7 FA-Pittsburgh (1939)
Carl Mulleneaux 19 E 6- 4 205 Utah St 3 3 23 10
Baby Ray 44 T 6- 6 248 Vanderbilt 3 3 24 11
Ray Riddick 5 E 6- 0 225 Fordham 1 1 22 10
Charles Schultz 60 T 6- 3 230 Minnesota 2 2 23 2 1939 Draft-20th round
George Seeman 68 E 6- 0 194 Nebraska 1 1 24 1 1940 Draft-6th round
Champ Seibold 57 T 6- 4 246 Wisconsin 6 6 27 1
Fred Shirey 18 T 6- 2 220 Nebraska 1 1 24 10
1940 IN REVIEW
When the Chicago Bears crushed the Packers, 41-10, to open their season, Green Bay fans knew that when 1941 rolled around, their team would no longer be World Champions. The Packers were still a rugged team, but, unfortunately, not as rugged as George Halas' powerhouse. After losses to the Lions, the Bears again, and the Giants, head coach Curly Lambeau became convinced that his team needed a body-building course before they could overtake the Bears. But nothing was wrong with Don Hutson, as he bounced back from his knee injury to lead the NFL in scoring. The quick end found most of his passes coming from Cecil Isbell, with Arnie Herber getting less playing time at tailback. The same solid supporting cast filled the Green Bay line and backfield, with Clarke Hinkle and Russ Letlow shining especially bright to give the Packers a respectable but frustrating role as runner-up.
THE MILWAUKEE CHIEFS
(SOURCE: Wikipedia) In 1940 and 1941, Green Bay found itself in a competition for football attention in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Chiefs of the AFL played its home games in the Dairy Bowl. Originally formed as an expansion team for the minor league formerly known as the American Professional Football Association for the 1940 season, the new team joined fellow AFL members Cincinnati Bengals and Columbus Bullies in becoming charter members of a new major-league AFL. In the two seasons of the league’s existence, the Chiefs fielded a competitive team. In 1940, the team scored the most points and gave up the fewest over the course of the season, but lost to Columbus in the final game to give the league title to the Bullies. The following year, the Chiefs and the Bullies were joined by the New York Americans in a three-way race for the championship, with the Chiefs' continuing inability to defeat the Bullies (losing in Columbus and tying in Milwaukee) led to Columbus repeating as AFL champions and Milwaukee finishing third. For the two years of the league’s existence, the Chiefs were a popular draw as they played in Wisconsin’s largest stadium. The AFL had accepted the 1941 entrance of a new Detroit team and deferred it until 1942, but the Pearl Harbor attack and the subsequent U.S. entry into World War II put all plans for football to a halt. In September 1942, league president William B. Cox announced the suspension of league activities until after the war, but the league – and the Chiefs – never returned.
1940 AFL W L T Pct PF PA 1941 AFL W L T Pct PF PA
Columbus Bullies 8 1 1 .889 134 69 Columbus Bullies 5 1 2 .833 142 55
MILWAUKEE CHIEFS 7 2 0 .778 180 59 New York Americans 5 2 1 .714 116 73
Boston Bears 5 4 1 .556 120 79 MILWAUKEE CHIEFS 4 3 1 .571 105 84
New York Yankees 4 5 0 .444 138 138 Buffalo Tigers 2 6 0 .250 72 172
Buffalo Indians 2 8 0 .200 45 138 Cincinnati Bengals 1 5 2 .167 69 120
Cincinnati Bengals 1 7 0 .125 53 187
NAME NO POS HGT WGT COLLEGE YR PR AG G HOW ACQUIRED
George Svendsen 66 C 6- 4 240 Minnesota 4 4 27 3
Pete Tinsley 21 G 5- 8 205 Georgia 3 3 27 7 1938 Draft-9th round
Andy Uram 42 B 5-10 188 Minnesota 3 3 25 11 1938 Draft-4th round
Hal Van Every 36 B 6- 0 195 Minnesota 1 1 22 10 1940 Draft-1st round
Dick Weisberger 33 B 5-10 194 Williamette 3 3 25 10
Bobby Wood 29 T 6- 1 235 Alabama 1 1 24 2 FA-Chi Cards (1940)
Gus Zarnas 63 G 5-10 225 Ohio State 2 3 26 9 FA-Brooklyn (1939)
NO - Jersey Number POS - Position HGT - Height WGT - Weight YR - Years with Packers PR - Years of Professional Football AGE - Age at Start of Season G - Games Played
1940 PACKERS DRAFT (December 9, 1939)
RND SEL NAME POS COLLEGE
1 9 Hal Van Every B Minnesota
3 24 Lou Brock B Purdue
5 39 Esco Sarkkinen E Ohio State
6 49 Dick Cassiano B Pittsburgh
7 59 Millard White T Tulane
8 69 George Seeman E Nebraska
9 79 J.R. Manley G Oklahoma
10 89 Jack Brown B Purdue
11 99 Don Guritz G Northwestern
12 109 Phil Gaspar B Southern California
13 119 Ambrose Schindler B Southern California
14 129 Bill Kerr E Notre Dame
15 139 Mel Brewer G Illinois
16 149 Ray Andrus B Vanderbilt
17 159 Archie Kodros C Michigan
18 169 Jimm Gillette B Virginia
19 179 Al Matuza C Georgetown
20 189 Jim Reeder T Illinois
21 194 Vince Eichler B Cornell
22 199 Henry Luebcke T Iowa
BOLD ITALICS - Played for the Packers
1940 PRE-SEASON RESULTS (3-0)
AUGUST (1-0)
29 College All-Stars at Chicago W 45-28 1-0-0 84,567
SEPTEMBER (1-0)
2 M-WASHINGTON REDSKINS W 28-20 2-0-0 14,798
7 KENOSHA CARDINALS W 17- 0 3-0-0
1940 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS (6-4-1)
SEPTEMBER (2-1)
15 G-PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (0-0-0) W 27-20 1-0-0 11,657
22 G-CHICAGO BEARS (0-0-0) L 10-41 1-1-0 22,557
29 M-CHICAGO CARDINALS (1-0-2) W 31- 6 2-1-0 20,234
OCTOBER (2-1)
13 G-CLEVELAND RAMS (1-2-0) W 31-14 3-1-0 16,299
20 G-DETROIT LIONS (2-2-1) L 14-23 3-2-0 21,001
27 M-PITTSBURGH STEELERS (1-4-2) W 24- 3 4-2-0 13,703
NOVEMBER (2-2)
3 at Chicago Bears (5-1-0) L 7-14 4-3-0 45,434
10 at Chicago Cardinals (2-4-2) W 28- 7 5-3-0 11,364
17 at New York Giants (4-3-1) L 3- 7 5-4-0 28,262
24 at Detroit Lions (5-4-1) W 50- 7 6-4-0 26,019
DECEMBER (0-0-1)
1 at Cleveland Rams (4-6-0) T 13-13 6-4-1 16,249
G - GREEN BAY M - MILWAUKEE
holds up. Louis C. Boochever, Cornell's director of publicity, termed Eichler one of the best fullbacks in that section of the country in 1938. "While we managed to get along without him in 1939," the director wrote, "his presence on the team would have made some of the games a whole lot easier for us. Eichler is 21 years old, weighs 201 (when in condition) and stands six feet tall. He is a resident of Utica and was graduated from the Utica Free academy. He is enrolled in the Arts college and intends going into law following his graduation." All of which would seem to indicate that the Packers had better not county too strong on Mr. Eichler's services in the future seasons.
KERR OF IRISH ON BAYS' LIST
JAN 3 (Notre Dame) - Notre Dame men in professional football are rare, bu there are may be a notable representative next season if William Howard (Bud) Kerr, Irish senior left end, comes to terms with the Green Bay Packers. Kerr was drafted by Green Bay at the NFL meeting Dec. 9 at Milwaukee. He has not indicated whether or not he will enter the professional game. Kerr is cast in the All-American mold of Wayne Millner, 1935 Notre Dame end who now is with the Washington Redskins, and like Millner, is a non-Catholic. The only other Notre Dame man now in the National league is Paul Kell of the Packers. Kerr came to Notre Dame, he says, "on the high recommendation of friends." He certainly didn't come as an outstanding football prospect, for he was anything but a star in high school...PLAYED IN BAND: "They figured there that I was of more use to the band than the football team," says Bud, "and they were right." Bud played trumpet in the band for three years at Newburgh, N.Y., Free academy, and never did make the first team in football, although he won a monogram as a senior. "But you know how high school letters are," Bud allows modestly. "I wasn't too good on the trumpet, but I was really punk in football." Music still holds a prominent place in Bud's heart, but he confines himself to the quieter guitar, as accompanist for Mike Corgan, his roommate and saxophonist. Like Earl Brown, his successor, Kerr failed to make a monogram as a sophomore, but he advanced to the second team as a junior and made his letter. He did play for 40 minutes against Army as a soph. The Army game was the setting for one of his outstanding feats in 1938 - a circus catch of a long pass from Bob Saggau during the course of an Irish touchdown march...HE'S TALL WINGMAN: Last fall they compared Bud's defensive play to that of Chuck Sweeney, 1937 all-American right end. Bud has the size - 190 pounds and 6 feet one inch - to fight off blockers, and Sweeney's knack of drifting through interference to make costly tackles. They are comparing him, too, with Brown and Millner as a pass catcher, although he is a trifle behind them in speed. Kerr won the 1939 Carnegie Tech game for Notre Dame, stealing the ball from Merlyn Condit and running 21 yards for a touchdown. He was out of the Army game because of an infection, and then turned in great performances against Iowa, Northwestern and Southern California. Iowa players said he was the best defensive end they met all year. He kept a touchdown march alive against the Hawks, and caught two passes at important stages against U.S.C. Although he didn't grab a touchdown pass all season, Kerr was such a fine all-around end that he made most of the all-America teams, including the A.P. and all-American broad selections...POPULAR WITH MATES: The son of an English father and a French-Canadian mother, Bud has brown eyes and blond hair. His even teeth and quick smile, as well as his confidence and friendliness, make him one of the most popular men on the squad. He doesn't worry much about football, but he plays for keeps every time. Local fans think he looks better trying for a pass he can't reach than most ends do catching them. Bud is preparing for a coaching career in the department of physical education, in which he is an honor student ranking - the usual mark of a boy who has sacrificed to get to college. Bud worked for four years in college before saving up enough for college, but he's only 23 now. His biggest thrill came not only from football, but from rolling completely over twice while alone in a car and escaping uninjured. He spent last summer driving on the "Road of Tomorrow" at the New York World's fair. He was born in Tarrytown, N.Y., but has made his home in Newburgh since 1918, when he was was thee years old. End coach Joe Benda ranks Bud on a par with Sweeney and Brown.
IT'S A TOUGH JOB OWEN HAS PICKING MEN TO FACE BAYS
JAN 3 (Los Angeles) - Steve Owen has worries about his national professional all-star grid aggregation, but they are all nice worries. Owen, the New York Giants football coach, has to decide which 11 of 25 picked players from National pro league clubs will start the game Sunday against the champion Green Bay Packers. "Take the quarterback post, as an example," said Owen with a grin. "I have Davey O'Brien, Parker Hall and Frank Filchock. I'll have to toss a coin to see which one goes in the starting lineup." Owen has a similar problem at end, with Jim Poole, Perry Schwartz, Jim Benton and Jim Smith awaiting action. Curly Lambeau, Green Bay Packer coach, will use his regular forces. Both teams are working out daily.
of days, this being Southern California's damp season. Coach Curly Lambeau was all smiles after talking to Bernie Bierman of Minnesota and Andy Kerr of Colgate, who stopped here on their way back from the East-West game at San Francisco. Here's what made the Packer chief happy: Bierman said Harold Van Every will make the Packers a great back. He revealed Van Every is a fine passer, this ability being somewhat veiled because the Gophers lacked skillful receivers...TWO POLISHED STARS: Kerr stamped Dick Cassiano of Pitt and Bill Kerr, Notre Dame end, as two polished performers who will fit into the Packer picture. Thus, Lambeau is pretty certain that these three, along with Ambrose Schindler, Phil Gasper and Lou Brock are sure possibilities. He will interview Schindler and Gasper before leaving California, then take off for Nebraska to see George Seeman. From there he will go to Oklahoma to talk with J.R. Manley, then back to Green Bay. Due to the rain neither team worked out yesterday. The All-Americans held a meeting and elected Mel Hein and Ki Aldrich as co-captains for Sunday's game. The Packers indulged in a blackboard drill and quiz.
GOPHER HAD UNUSUAL START, BUT HAS GREAT COLLEGIATE CAREER
JAN 5 (Minneapolis) - Maybe there is something in this business of learning to play football by unusual methods. At any rate, versatile Harold Van Every, who has completed three seasons as an outstanding halfback at the University of Minnesota, is convinced that his odd introduction to football was no handicap. As a youngster in the resort center of Minnetonka Beach, near Minneapolis, young Harold has plenty of playmates in the summer. But in the fall, the summer visitors moved back to town and Harold, needing a teammate and opposition to play football, drafted his sister and a neighbor's daughter...STAR WOMAN GOLFER: The scene of these early football endeavors that were to form the ground work for Van Every's later career at the University of Minnesota was a gold course, and the neighbor's daughter was Bea Barrett, now a nationally ranked woman golfer. From this beginning, Harold progressed to a starting role on the Wyzeta, Minn., high school team., and from there to the university, where he spent the customary year on the freshman squad. As a sophomore, he was rated as one of the season's outstanding first-year men, turning in consistently fine performances in the necessary halfback arts of kicking, passing and running...VICTIM OF INJURY: At the outset of his second season, Van Every was the victim of a stubborn injury that took several weeks to respond the treatment and he was on the sidelines most of that year. However, he did come into the Michigan game with the Gophers trailing by six points and with only a few minutes left to play. In three key plays, he recovered a fumble and threw two sharp passes, the second good for a touchdown. Minnesota won, 7-6. The 1939 season saw Van Every improve on the form that had stamped him as an outstanding sophomore. In addition to his triple-threat duties as the key spot at left halfback, he was given the assignment of calling the signals. Burdened by these "quadruple threat" duties, he performed each of them efficiently, but it was in that ball-carrying department that he shone, leading the squad in ground gaining. In all, Van Every carried the ball a total of 667 yards in eight games. In December, he was selected on the draft list of the Green Bay Packers. Also a valuable basketball player, the Gopher senior now is spending his third season on the Minnesota quintet as a forward.
PACKERS BATTLE PROFESSIONAL ALL-STARS ON SUNDAY
JAN 6 (Los Angeles) - Four of the best football teams in the nation will take the field at Gilmore stadium Sunday for the professional bowl battle between Green Bay, National league champions, and the All-Americans coached by Steve Owen. The Packers can produce at least two teams from its squad of 32 that rank near the top of the football ladder. Likewise, Owen can select two teams with outstanding men in every position from his all-star aggregation. It will be a battle of the giants, with every one an expert...EXPECT GOOD WEATHER: The weather forecast is good, and this means that a capacity crowd of almost 20,000 will be on hand to see the real McCoy so far as football goes. In the game Coach E.L. Lambeau sees an opportunity to give his new men their greatest test, and from the results determine how many draftees he will need next season. In the regular National league season, the new men with the exception of Larry Craig and Charley Brock were used for little more than replacements when the regulars needed a rest. In the pro league, a third stringer may spend a lot of time on the bench while the veterans are gunning for a title. There is no time for experimenting. But Sunday will provide a real test for the freshmen as they will work mostly with new plays which have been perfected since arriving here...LOOKING FOR REVENGE: To Coach Owen the game means a chance to avenge the defeat his New York Giants suffered at the hands of the Packers in Milwaukee. Although Steve has no alibis for that blasting - that 27 to 0 beating can be called nothing else - he is happy over the prospect of showing what he can do against the mighty men of Green Bay. Owen, a conservative, is none too confident despite the fact that he has a sparkling array of passers, kickers and runners. To the fans of Los Angeles it means a chance to see professional football at its best. And this will be a welcome relief after some of the woozy exhibitions that have been staged around here by pickup teams and castoffs...PACKERS ARE FAVORED: The Packers are 9 to 5 favorites in the betting, of which there will be considerable before the last pistol shot rings out. The first year men who will start in the Green Bay line are Harry Jacunski at left end, Charles Schultz at left tackle, Gus Zarnas at left guard, Tom Greenfield at center, Paul Kell at right tackle and Allan Moore at right end. The line's only veteran will be Pete Tinsley, who gets the call at right guard. This is Pete's second year with the Packers. Dick Weisgerber will start at blocking back for Green Bay. While this is Weisgerber's second year with the Packers, a wealth of veteran backfield talent has kept him in the background. One real "name player" is on the list. He is Arnold Herber, who will direct the team from his usual right halfback position.
FAVOR PRO ALL-STARS TO OUTPOINT PACKERS
JAN 7 (Los Angeles) - The citizens of this vicinity are in for a rude shock. Right now they feel that Southern California, which trampled Tennessee, 14 to 0, in the Rose Bowl, is the best football team in the country. On Sunday afternoon, in rain-soaked Gilmore stadium, they will see two football teams, either of which could take the Rose bowl Trojans and chase 'em to the hills. The two clubs are the National professional league champions, the Green Bay Packers, and the National league all-stars, chosen from the other teams in the fastest, biggest, smartest and toughest football circuit in existence. This game, which probably will be played before a capacity crowd of 19,000, amounts to the pro bowl. It is the only postseason game sanctioned by the professional fathers and will field, at one time, more gridiron greats than ever stepped on a field before. The lineups of the two teams read like a roll call of the all-Americans and should produce the most brilliantly played game of the year. Southern Californians like to think of the Trojans as a power team, a team of giants. Wait until the all-stars, coached by Steve Owen, lumber on the field. This outfit, chosen by a poll, is without question the heaviest in history. The starting line will average 219 pounds a man, and the backfield will come in at 212. In reserve will be such dinosaurs as George Musso, 270 pound guard from the Chicago Bears; Tony Blazine, 230 pound Chicago Card tackle and 256 pound Turk Edwards of the Washington Redskins. Even so, the all-stars won't dwarf the regular team of the Green Bay Packers. The men from Wisconsin will field a team averaging 216 pounds in the front line and 200 in the backfield. Curly Lambeau, coach of the champions, will start Don Hutson and Milt Gantenbein at ends, Baby Ray and Bill Lee at the tackles, Paul Engebretsen and Chuck Goldenberg at guards, Tom Greenfield at center, and Joe Laws, Cecil Isbell, Arnold Herber and Clark Hinkle in the backfield. Coach Owen of the all-stars, with more talent than any one coach could imagine at his disposal, has not decided on the 11 men he'll start. It is believed that he will use Jim Poole and Perry Schwartz, ends; Joe Stydahar and Ray George, tackles; Byron Gentry and Bruiser Kinard, guards; Mel Hein, center, and Fred Vanzo, Parker Hall, Erny Pinckert and Johnny Drake in the backfield. The all-stars, despite the fact that they have never played together as a unit, are favored. There is a general belief that the all-stars, with the game's two greatest passers in Hall and Davey O'Brien, the best field goal kicker in Ward Cuff, and two of the greatest along with the ground gainers in Andy Farkas and Drake, won't be stopped. The two teams have not trained for the game as if they were just on an outing that provided a vacation in California. They have been working hard and will go out for the kickoff as hard as nails and ready to give Los Angeles the outstanding football game of the year.
PACKER TILT HELD UP BY THREATENING SKIES
JAN 8 (Los Angeles) - Sunny California failed to live up to its reputation for fine weather over the weekend, and threatening skies plus a sloppy gridiron caused postponement of the annual Pro Bowl football game between the champion Green Bay Packers and the National league All-Stars. Showers fell Saturday night and Sunday with the skies threatening to let loose a steady downpour at any time. The game will be played next Sunday...CARD GAMES PLAYED: As the players of both teams stuck pretty close to quarters while the California "dew" settled, bridge, rummy, hearts and pinochle were favorite pastimes. The prospect of another week on the coast met with practically no opposition in the group. It prolonged the honeymoon for the Packer newlyweds. Shortly before the postponement was announced, Coach Curly Lambeau of the Packers listed a veteran lineup which probably will be used as a single substitution when the starting freshmen get weary next week. This team has Bud Svensen at center, Buckets Goldenberg and Tiny Engebretsen at guards, Bill Lee and Baby Ray at tackles, and Don Hutson and Milt Gantenbein at ends. The backs are Larry Craig, Andy Uram, Cecil Isbell and Clarke HInkle...PROBLEM FOR OWEN: Coach Steve Owen of the All-Stars was faced with tough assignment of keeping his team keyed up for another week. An assortment of players with several different allegiances during the league season, the Stars have little in common but the fact that for one game the Packers are their common foe. More than any other single thing at this moment, Owen fears a letdown in spirit. Arrangements for the game next Sunday are the same as they had been before the postponement. Sponsors look for a capacity crowd of near 20,000.
LOOKING UP IN THE REALM OF SPORTS
JAN 9 (Green Bay) - The Green Bay Packers next March 1, will dip into an extended savings plan idea in an effort to step up the annual sale of season tickets to a new high point. As you know, the funds from the season ticket sale provide a neat and sizable kitty with which the corporation starts its schedule. Were this money not available, the Packers would have to draw upon their reserves and otherwise retrench, to provide the cash necessary to start rolling the ponderous machinery of a professional football team. Before the playoff game turmoil came onto the Green Bay sports scene, the Packers were playing with the idea of issuing a special Christmas ticket, properly decorated, which could be purchase locally and given away during the holidays, but the deluge of work which swamped the officer after the team won the Western championship forced that project temporarily into the background. But the extended, or monthly, purchase payment idea has persisted, and starting March 1 it will be tried out. Briefly, it means that Packer fans may purchase their 1940 home game tickets by paying any amount they wish each month. E.A. (Spike) Spachmann, director of ticket sales, believes that quite a few people are forced to forego the pleasure of seeing the Packers in action every game every fall just because they find the total amount for a season ticket or tickets hard to locate. They can scrape together the money for a single game, perhaps, but they'd indefinitely prefer to see all the games. Spachmann thinks that if the same loyal fans, a bit short on cash in large chunks but possessing a steady income, is given an opportunity once a month to pay a certain amount to the corporation, he will be able to clean up his obligation by September, when the guns start firing. Or at least he will reduce the amount so that when the balance must be paid, it won't react as such a kick in the pants. The Washington Redskins go farther than any club in the National league in the matter of greasing the slides for season ticket sales. The Redskins sell not only for one season, but for two or three seasons. You can put down your currency on the line and receive tickets which will guarantee you your game seat for a three-year span, covering all home games, and that idea is building up fans. The Packers haven't come to that idea yet, although they do make it possible for fans to have the same seats at City stadium year after year. The Green Bay corporation sold 2,345 season tickets last year, which netted some $19,000 before the season opened. Under the extended saving plan operating after March 1, the corporation hopes that the 1940 sale will exceed 3,000, and the 1941 sale, perhaps, 4,000.
1940 Photograph of NFL Head Coaches huddling up as they meet to discuss rules and officials for the upcoming season. Led by Packers coach Curly Lambeau and Bears Coach George Halas along with Potsy Clark (Detroit), Dutch Clark (Cleveland) and Jim Conzelman (Cardinals).
submit at the pro circuit's annual meeting here this month a new rule to improve the runback of punts. "The return of punts should be one of the game's most valuable and spectacular plays," says Potsy, former Illinois star quarterback and one of the country's outstanding veteran coaches, in town for the meeting. "But check on our league's 1939 statistics shows that punts were brought back for average gains of only five yards. On many such plays the receiving team didn't have even the chance to touch the ball."..PROVIDE MORE THRILLS: "Much better balance between the two sides could be quickly made on punts if the kicking team was prevented from touching the ball before the receiving eleven had an opportunity to first handle the pigskin. This situation would encourage more runbacks of punts and more thrills." Under Clark's proposed rule the kicking side would be penalized five yards for touching the ball before it was first handled by the receiving team. The penalty would be imposed at the spot where the kicking team illegally touched the ball..STOP GROUNDED PUNTS: The Clark rule would quickly stop ends of kicking teams from grounding rolling punts deep in their opponents' territory, to the chagrin of the receiving team and its supporters. It is unlikely that radical rule changes will be attempted at the league's annual meeting. Club owners are confident the pro game now is the most spectacular and satisfactory type of football played anywhere in the country. Rule changes made the meeting here will be chiefly for the purpose of eliminating possible "dead" spots.
JOE LAWS SIGNS CONTRACT FOR HIS SEVENTH GREEN BAY SEASON
APR 3 (Iowa City) - Joe Laws, once voted the most valuable player in the Wisconsin conference, is ready for his seventh season in the NFL. Coach Curly Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers, here during a swing of Big Ten campus athletic centers, announced today that he had signed the veteran right halfback at Colfax, Laws' hometown, en route to the University of Iowa. Lambeau spent most of his time before leaving for Illinois in a huddle with Henry Luebcke, giant Hawkeye tackle, whose coaches regard him as a hot prospect for pro football. Luebcke expressed interest and Lambeau believes he may come to terms. He was on the Green Bay 1939 draft list. Laws has proved his worth so often that the stocky 185-pounder needs no buildup to Packer fans. An occasional passer, a determination ball carrier, veteran field general and hard blocker, he has been one of the most valuable men on the roster of the current world champions. Laws tried to line up a job in Green Bay at the close of last football season, but the matter fell through and he returned to Iowa. With the All-Star game at Soldier field ahead, Laws is expected back at the Wisconsin gridiron capital by mid-summer. He is married and the father of two children, a boy and a girl...GREAT HAWKEYE CENTER: Joe entered the National league after a great career at Iowa, as a member of the Packers, and he never has played for another team. He is a fine pass receiver, and Bay fans never will forget the last-minute snatch he took from Cecil Isbell at Cleveland last fall, when the Packers triumphed 7 to 6. Laws is a high scoring back. He ranks eighth on the Packer all-time scoring list with 90 points, and is a good bet to pass 100 next fall. He has accounted for all his points on touchdowns, getting 15 of them, and he stands nine points behind seventh place Bobby Monnett.
FORMER BACKFIELD ACE PICKS CHICAGO BEARS TO WIN TITLE
APR 6 (Green Bay) - Friendly and relaxed as he sat across the table chatting about football, there was little of the menacing Chicago Bear of a few years ago about the man. True, he looked the athlete, every inch of him, and it would be difficult to forget his record, but the Gene Ronzani who talked of the past and predicted the future seemed different from the hard, competitive, money player who cavorted in George Halas' backfield for seven seasons. Ronzani visited Green Bay this week in the role of wine salesman, but football and Tuesday's election were the only subjects treated in lengthy conversaion of a late afternoon. The election was mentioned incidentally because Milwaukee's new mayor, Carl Ziedler, is a fellow Marquette university alumnus who was in some classes with the gridder, although he (Ziedler) graduated earlier...YEAR FOR HALAS: But football - about the present, past and future of the sport Ronzani had stories, views and theories without limit. At least one is of particular interest to Green Bay. Speaking of next season he declared: "I believe the (National) league next season will see the greatest number of stars it ever had. I think it is the Bears' year to win, but Halas will find the Packers the team to beat, as usual." Coming from a man who still was classed as a regular in 1938, his last year with the Bears, and who last season as player-coach led the Newark Bears to an American league championship, the words carried a little more weight than if they had been dropped by some sideline quarterback over his fifth Scotch and soda. That isn't all the one-time Iron Mountain boy had to say about coming gridiron events. Ronzani looks for the Packers to beat the College All-Stars at Soldiers field in the season's opener...THINKS OF OTHERS: "The experience and knowledge of the older players plus some fine talent among the younger men should give the Packers the edge," Gene said as his mind went back over other All-Star games. "That All-Star team never is a pushover," he mused. "This kids may look like a disorganized ball club two days before the game, but they're all good players and when they get out there in front of the crowd and hear the old college song, something comes over them. Still, I think the Packers will take them this year." Ronzani has a tremendous respect for the Packers and Green Bay as a football town. He speaks in glowing terms of Arnie Herber, Clarke Hinkle, Don Hutson, Buckets Goldenberg, Hank Bruder and others who have been some of his bitterest opponents on the playing field. He cites the football enthusiasm of Packer fans as almost a sports world phenomenon, and he thinks very highly of the men who have guided the destinies of the team. "It seems to me that the Packers never forgot the ordinary customer at the gate," Ronzani observed as the talk shifted to the rise in popularity of professional football. "Maybe that's why a town this size can support the pro league champs." "You know," he continued, "that is one of the things Halas told me when I went out to take charge of his Newark team. He said you have to give the fellow who pays for the bleacher seat just as much show and respect as the fan in the boxseat."...FINISHED IN BLACK: Gene was Halas' personal representative as secretary of the Newark club as well as player-coach. It appears to have been a wise choice by the Bears' owner, for besides beating Paterson, N.J., 27 to 7, in the championship playoff, Newark finished on the black side of the ledger. Gene was disheartened when the opening game was played before only 2,300, and the season started in the red. Hard work, a good show and a championship ball team changed all that. Crowds steadily increased, and for the playoff game, at Newark, the turnstiles showed 15,000 customers. Nevertheless, Gene still refers to the American league as "out there" and the National loop as the "pro league". Ronzani may not play at all next season. "The way I feel now, I won't," he smiled, "but when fall rolls around I may feel differently. Look what happened to Hank Bruder every year. I've heard a lot of guys sat that they'll quit after the All-Star game, but they never do." In Gene's opinion, the type of player who really makes the grade in professional football likes the game too well to pull out without a struggle. He admits a few exceptions, but points to the general practice to support his theory. Furthermore, he discounts stories of dirty play in the league with the contention that a real dirty player cannot last over a period of time.
GEORGE SEEMAN, STAR END OF NEBRASKA, SIGNS WITH PACKERS
APR 9 (Green Bay) - George Seeman, powerfully built University of Nebraska end with a flair for defensive tactics, has been signed by the Green Bay Packers, Coach Curly Lambeau announced today as he prepared to leave for the annual meeting of the NFL in New York. Seeman, a prominent member of the Packer draft list, is the first wingman to be signed for the 1940 campaign. He carries 195 pounds, and was a letterman at end for two seasons at Nebraska, after winning his sophomore letter as a guard. In addition, Seeman is university heavyweight wrestling champion, and formerly was a high school mat champion in Nebraska, as a competitor for Omaha Central high school. A standout in Nebraska's victory over Minnesota and Pittsburgh, Seeman is the rugged, smashing type of end who stars particularly upon defense. He played left end with the Cornhuskers, but will be used at the right flank here. Lambeau plans to leave here in time to attend the opening sessions of the league meeting Friday. He will be accompanied by Leland H. Joannes, Packer corporation president.
BOSTON IS ANXIOUS TO GET SQUAD BACK IN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
APR 9 (Boston) - Although warned that the NFL is opposed to enlarging its circuit, a group of Boston sportsmen, including Francis Ouimet, former national golf champion, plans to apply for a franchise for Boston tomorrow at the annual meeting in New York. The official announcement of the group, made public today, also included the names of Joseph Conway, Boston sporting good magnate; Daniel Lyne; former Judge John J. Burns and William Shea of New York. It also was announced that Bill McCarthy, football director at Fenway park, would be named business manager. In the event the franchise is granted, immediate steps would be taken to obtain the services of a national prominent football coach and enough players to put a strong team in league competition next fall.
HOVLAND WILL BE COACH AT ASHLAND HIGH
APR 11 (Ashland) - Lynn Hovland, All-Conference guard at the University of Wisconsin eleven of 1938, was named head football coach at the Ashland, Wis., high school Wednesday by the Ashland school board. Hovland, who starred for three seasons for the Badgers, was the outstanding lineman on the 1939 College All-Star team and was sought by numerous pro elevens, particularly the Green Bay Packers. Lynn refused to turn pro last season and returned to the U.W. to finish work in physical education and to assist in coaching the Badger line. Recently he was again approached by E.L. "Curly" Lambeau regarding a job with the Packers for the 1940 season but failed to reach a decision. He will probably confine his activities to coaching, although he has received a handsome offer from Lambeau. Hovland will take up his new duties early next September.
The 1940 Green Bay Packers - 6-4-1 (2nd-Western Division)
Head Coach: Curly Lambeau
other first-team members, but there were sharp differences in naming the second team. Jim Poole of New York was picked as Hutson's first-team end running mate. Jim Barber of Washington was assigned a tackle position, along with Stydahar, and Johnny Dell Isola of the Giants was paired with Fortmann. Mel Hein of the Giants, who was named center on the second team last year, regained a place on the first team. A terrific battle, involving Ki Aldrich, Chicago Cardinal rookie, and Alex Woljciechowicz of Detroit, for second place, with Charles Brock, Green Bay recruit, also getting stout support, split the votes in such a manner that Hein won, with plenty to spare...DISAGREE WITH COACHES: The writers agreed with the coaches on on five second team positions, with Perry Schwartz, Brooklyn end; George Musso, Bear guard; John Drake, Cleveland fullback; Kinard, tackle, and Aldrich, center, the players involved. The scribes picked Dick Plasman of the Bears at end, instead of Jim Benton, Cleveland; John Wiethe of Detroit was selected as a guard, in place of Orville Tuttle of the Giants, and John Mellus of the Giants displaced his tackle teammate, Ed Widseth, in the line. The scribes placed Davey O'Brien, Philadelphia's mighty atom at quarterback; Tuffy Leemans and Ward Cuff of the Giants at the halfbacks, and Drake at fullback in their second team backfield. The coaches named O'Brien and Leemans on their first team. They also picked Lloyd Cardwell of Detroit at right halfback, instead of Cuff...NINE CLUBS REPRESENTED: Nine of the league's 10 clubs are represented on the writers' first two teams. Pittsburgh is the only team not represented. The Bears and Giants placed three men each on the first team. Stydahar, Fortmann and Osmanski were the Bears named and Hein, Poole and Del Isola were the honored Giants. Washington was awarded two places, Farkas and Barber being the Redskins picked. Green Bay, Brooklyn and Cleveland placed one man each on the first team, Hutson, Parker and Hall, respectively.
ALL-STARS WILL BEAT GREEN BAY'S PACKERS IN LOS ANGELES GAME
JAN 13 (Los Angeles) - The football battle between the Green Bay Packers, champions of the NFL, and the picked stars from every club at the Gilmore stadium, Los Angeles, Sunday is something more than just a football game. It is the old, old contest of team play against individual brilliancy, one of the oldest stories in all sport. Curly Lambeau's powerful Packers, a squad that has played together since the middle of last August, a squad that has fought its way to the top against such teams as the New York Giants, the Chicago Bears, the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions, a compact mass welded under a magnificent system, must move against one of the greatest football galaxies that ever adorned a gridiron. Lambeau of the Packers is banking on the team play of an able squad...THROW UP BARRIER: Steve Owen of the All-Stars, the picked group from every other pro club, is out to prove that individual excellence can break its way through any team-play quality that might be thrown up as a barrier. "We have the team - a team that has played together as a unit." Lambeau told me. "Every man on my squad knows his assignment. Every man knows exactly what to do when the occasion arises. I can't believe any gathering of All-Stars, no matter who they are, can beat the top essential of football - which is team play, rhythm." "No one has to tell me anything about Curly Lambeau's Green Bay Packers," Owen said. "You may remember what they did to my unbeaten New York Giants, but I hope you don't. All I can say is that it was more than enough. They had too much power and speed for my Giants when we met at Milwaukee. But this game on Sunday here is entirely different. I have the pick of the league - outside of the Packers. I'll admit that through weather conditions, supposed to be quite unusual in Los Angeles, that we haven't had quite the chance. I needed to weld my bunch together as a team. But to me football is largely material - by that I mean players who can handle their jobs."...BELIEVES IN TEAM PLAY: "I am also a great believer in team play. But I am also a great believer in brilliant individual effort. I am a great believer in the man who can handle his assignment. And I have my full share of these men. If the weather is good, and it has been terrible here for twelve days, I'll not only have a line that can meet anything the Packers have to throw against me, but I'll also have the best passing combination any one football team has ever known. I have Dave O'Brien, football's marvel midget, Parker Hall, one of the star sophomores, and Filchock. But we'll have something more than a passing attack. We'll have our share of running and blocking. These boys in the pro ranks know their football. It doesn't take any long to whip them into a pretty fair team, on the side of team play. It should be a terrific game, for I can tell you honestly that both sides are just as keen to win as they ever were during the regular season." After talking with both Curly Lambeau and Steve Owen, I am sure this should be one of the best and most interesting games that football ever has known. Certainly no game ever has seen as much speed, power, savvy and reserve strength in the confines of one football field. I'm playing the All Stars on a hunch.
LOOKING UP IN THE REALM OF SPORTS
JAN 13 (Green Bay) - Hank Bruder, one of the most popular players ever to appear in the livery of the Green Bay Packers, is back from California, with a few side remarks concerning the well-publicized California climate which seems to indicate that once in awhile that area experiences something less than sunny weather. Hank added, with emphasis, that he is glad to be home. "If that game had been scheduled for Green Bay last Sunday," he said, "they would have played it. Out there, if things look like they might be the least bit damp, everyone stays home. The game could have been played, all right." The men are enjoying their West coast trip a lot, Hank said, although some of the married men are a bit anxious to get home. "The unmarried boys are different," he added. "They have nothing to lose by staying, what with all expenses paid and everything." Hank gloomily continued with the observation that the extra week of expenses probably would raise cain with the players' cut. "We attended the Burns and Allen broadcast at Hollywood," he went on, "and visited the R.K.O. movie studio, where we were shown the ropes by Nate Barragar." Nate is a former Packer who now works as assistant director on the coast. "We met Cary Grant, and had our pictures taken with him and some "coming star' actress - I forget her name. Our wives got a big kick out of visiting the studios, and so did we. They played polo every Sunday at Riviera Country club, and we watched the game. Spencer Tracy, the movie actor, played on one of the teams, and Big Boy Williams on another. One Sunday they scheduled a Packer touch football game between periods of the polo game. I had sprained my ankle the previous day and Russ Letlow also was hurt. So we sat in the stands and watched both the polo game and the football. The Packers did some hot passing. They tried a lot of those real long once and they didn't miss a one. It had the crowd gasping, particularly when Hutson caught 'em." Hank looks at football philosophically. "I haven't any illusions about my own rating with the club," he continued. "I know I can't do better than ten minutes a game any more, and I'm perfectly willing to admit it. But I want to get in one more All-Star game before I'm through, and now I'm going to have the chance." The Bruders drove back from California via Nevada, Salt Lake City, Nebraska, and Iowa with the Paul Kells, a newly married couple. The Kells left them at Dixon, Ill., going into Chicago, where Paul starts work next week. They have a bit of apartment hunting to do first.
we probably won't need, but this is an annual occurrence and to be expected. We feel that we shall make a much better showing against the All-Americans next August. When we played them before we had a squad limit of only 25, requiring several of our men to do 60 minutes of football on an unbearably hot night. This year we'll face them three deep."
PARKER HALL IS MOST VALUABLE
JAN 20 (New York) - Parker (Bullet) Hall, triple-threat spark plug rookie of the Cleveland Rams, today was named the NFL's most valuable player for 1939 by the Professional Football Writers' association of America. Hall, a former University of Mississippi All-American, will receive the second annual Joe F. Carr Memorial award, placed in competition last year by the league to perpetuate the memory of its founder and late president. Mel Hein, veteran New York Giant center, received the first award. Announcement of Hall's selection was made by Ken Smith of the New York Mirror, president of the writers' association, following tabulation of votes from a committee of 40 active professional football reporters in the nine league cities...WINNER DEFEATS HUTSON: Fourteen players received votes in the poll in which the sensational Cleveland rookie defeated Don Hutson, Green Bay end, by a margin of 21 points. Hall received 16 first place and 11 second place votes, a total of 11 points. Hutson was named first on 13 ballots and second on nine, giving him a total of 92 points. Davey O'Brien, Philadelphia's mighty midget, was third, with 37 points. Only four other players, three of them backs, polled first place votes. Ace Parker of Brooklyn received three and Fred Vanzo of Detroit and Tuffy Leemans and Hein of the Giants polled one apiece.
LEAGUE HEADS MET
JAN 20 (Dayton) - The executive committee of the NFL will meet in special session here Sunday to ratify or reject the transfer of the Detroit Lions' franchise to a group of businessmen from Chicago and New York, Carl L. Storck, league president, announced. The executive committee is composed of Storck, Lee Joannes of the Green Bay Packers, Charles Bidwill of the Chicago Cardinals, Bert Bell of the Philadelphia Eagles and Dan Topping of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
TAKE NO ACTION ON LIONS' SALE
JAN 22 (Dayton) - A meeting of the executive committee of the NFL to pass on the changes in ownership of the Detroit Lions was adjourned Sunday without final action. Carl Storck, league president, said he wanted to discuss a "few minor details" with George A. Richards, who last week sold the Lions to Frederic L. Mandel, Jr., Chicago, for a reported $200,000. He promised a decision within ten days. Dan Topping of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Bert Bell of the Philadelphia Eagles attended the meeting. Stock said Charles Bidwill of the Chicago Cardinals and Lee Joannes of the Green Bay Packers, the remaining members of the executive committee, were in accord with the action although unable to be present.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE'S RULE CHANGES TO BE SET
JAN 27 (Chicago) - The NFL contemplates no radical change in rules this year, George Halas, owner-coach of the Chicago Bears and chairman of the league's rules committee, said today. In the main, the present code meets every requirement and all that Halas expects the committee to do at its next meeting in April is to simplify the phraseology of several rules and sanction a few minor changes. The chief suggestion thus far has urged adoption of a rule to eliminate intentional punts out of bounds as an effort to keep the game moving. A survey conducted last season on 12 college and 12 professional games revealed that 50 percent of all punts either are kicked out of bounds, into the end zone or illegally downed. Of the remaining 50 percent, the receiver is dropped in his tracks with one-third of the kicks. The ratio was found to be the same in college as in professional football, although the pros averaged only 14 punts per game against 17 in college football...ONE-THIRD ADVANCED: This survey reveals that only one-third of the punts by both sides in a game are advanced by receivers. Return of punts is regarded as one of the more spectacular aspects of the game. To preserve it, several rule changes have been suggested. One would make a punt fumbled dead at the spot of the fumble, where the ball would be given to the receiving team. Another suggestion urges adoption of the Canadian football rule. Canadian football is a combination of the American game and rugby, and Canadian receivers are protected by a five-yard zone into which members of the kicking team are not allowed to penetrate until after the ball has been touched. The professional rule makers, however, are interested mostly in the proposal of Bert Bell, owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, who would assess a 15-yard penalty for every punt kicked out of bounds on the fly. A punt going out of bounds on the five yard line, for instance, would be brought in 15 yards and put in play on the 20-yard line. Punts rolling out of bounds would not be penalized. Bell's proposal is popular with the committee..ON EQUAL BASIS: Halas said the committee considered officiating in professional games had improved immeasurably during the last season. This was due, he said, to the league's action in placing all officials on an equal basis with equal remuneration; to the compulsory rules' interpretation meeting to which the league paid officials' expenses; to the written and physical examinations the officials underwent last fall and to the league's action in making officials responsible only to the president. Commenting on the rules changes adopted by the National Collegiate Football association earlier in the month, Halas said the professional probably would adopt the new college legislation on cleats. The pros did not adopt the college rile last year when the diameter of the cleats was set at half an inch, deciding that these cleats were unsatisfactory. The college rule chieftains decided against the half inch cleats this year, adopting the 3/8 inch cleat, and the pros are ready to follow suit. The new college rule on roughing the passer, in which the 15-yard penalty will be invoked from the spot of the preceding down instead of the spot of the foul, is the same as the professional rule, Halas pointed out, and the pros will not alter it this year.
NATIONAL LEAGUE'S PLAYS NOT ILLEGAL, LAMBEAU EXPLAINS
JAN 31 (South Milwaukee) - Coach Earl L. (Curly) Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers denied last night that coaches in the NFL resorted to the teaching of illegal plays. Certain formations which appear to be illegal to the fans, he said, were made so by mistakes in carrying out assignments. "Many so-called screen passes were screened merely because the passer was rushed, or because of a bad pass from center, getting the passer off timing and delaying the pass enough so that the linemen screened or blocked with the ball in the air," he explained. Lambeau talked before more than 200 persons at a dinner sponsored by the Lions club. He showed movies of the championship game last December between the Packers and New York Giants in Milwaukee.
DUFORD CHOSEN ST. LOUIS COACH
FEB 1 (St. Louis) - Wilfred J. (Dukes) Duford of St. Ambrose college, Davenport, Ia., whose football teams have a nine-year record of 60 victories, 7 ties and 10 defeats, was appointed head coach at St. Louis university today. His assistants at st. Ambrose, Robert G. Klenck and Don W. Geyer, were also named to the university's coaching staff. Terms of Duford's contract were not disclosed, but it was understood to cover a long period. Duford succeeds Cecil E. Muellerleile, whose resignation was announced Jan. 14....LONG VICTORY STRING: St. Ambrose teams under Duford went through 31 consecutive games without defeat and have suffered by one loss in their last 39 starts. They won the Iowa intercollegiate conference championship in 1934, 1935, 1937 and 1938. Duford, a 1924 graduate of Marquette university, played professional football with the Green Bay Packers and then became the coach at St. Mary's college, St. Mary's, Kan., in 1929 before going to St. Ambrose two years later. He is 40 years old.
CLAIM GREEN BAY CAN'T BLOCK MILWAUKEE CLUB
FEB 1 (Milwaukee) - George M. Harris, backer of Milwaukee's new professional football team in the American league, stoutly denied today that there was any agreement between the National and American Football Leagues which reserves the area for the Green Bay Packers. "Somebody has been grossly misinformed," declared Harris. "There is no such agreement, and our president, Mr. George J. Heitzler of Cincinnati, Ohio, assured me that there wasn't." Heitzler declared in a telegram that "the American League has the sole right to determine what cities are to be awarded franchises in its league regardless of proximity to cities in the National league." Harris said the only "territory agreement" is the American league rule which prohibits establishing another team within 50 miles of a league member. "In our particular case," he said, "Kenosha had the right to fight our admission, but it waived that right and moved that the league accept our application for membership." There were reports that the National League's executive board, which meets at New York, would act on the alleged agreement between the leagues and force the American League to withdraw its charter from the Milwaukee club. Coach Earl L. Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers said the question would come before National League directors but that the Green Bay club did not wish to press the matter. He said he felt there was room for both teams and that the Packers' prestige as world champions would not be impaired in Milwaukee by an American League club.
LAMBEAU SEES PACKERS WIN OVER COLLEGIANS
FEB 9 (Green Bay) - Coach E.L. Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers, champions of the National Pro Football league, is looking forward to the date with the college all-stars at Chicago August 29 with no little confidence. Mindful of the 6-0 defeat handed the Packers in the same classic in 1937, Lambeau declared: "I am sure we will make a better showing in this year's all-star game. When we played at Soldiers' field before, we had a squad limit of 25 players, requiring several of the men to do 60 minutes of football on an unbearably hot night. This year we will face them three deep at every position."
PACKER TRAINER DIES SUDDENLY
FEB 10 (Green Bay) - Death came suddenly about midnight Friday to David Woodward, trainer of the Green Bay Packers. Woodward succumbed to a heart attack shortly after going to bed at the rooming house of Mrs. Edward Turek, 615 Cherry street, where he resided. His condition was discovered by his roommate, Everett Lindstrom, and a physician was summoned immediately, but Woodward died before he arrived. The Packer trainer was 57 years old last Dec. 15. He was born in Rochester, N.Y., and his survivors include two sisters, Mrs. Charles Stevens and Mrs. Charles Walker, and a brother, Colin, there. Another brother, Harry Woodward, lives in Chicago. Dave - the name by which he was known to all his associates - was highly regarded in athletic circles everywhere as one of the outstanding trainers in the nation. He was with the Packers for the last six years, and for 16 years before that served at the University of Minnesota. At the time of his death he was engaged in practice as an associate in the offices of the Francar Foot clinic. Dr. W.W. Kelly, member of the Packer executive board and club private physician, said this morning, "The death of Dave Woodward leaves me with a sense of personal loss. He was one of the outstanding men in his field, probably the greatest athletic trainer in the country."...LOSS KEENLY FELT: "Woodward' loss to the football team will be keenly felt, not only for his cooperation, but as a faithful worker. Loyalty and a tremendous capacity for work abounded in Dave. The players will miss him greatly. He had a deep personal, almost paternal, interest in each individual on the team. They reciprocated with faith and affection. He was more than a mere trainer," Dr. Kelly concluded. "He had a fine understanding of injuries and strains and the treatment they required. He was a student of his profession." Much the same sentiment was expressed by Coach E.L. Lambeau who has looked to Dave to keep his players in shape for the past half-dozen seasons...IMPORTANT PACKER COG: "Dave was a very important cog in the Packer machine," Lambeau said. "We shall miss him. In no small way he was responsible for a share of the Packer successes of recent years. He will be hard to replace." Woodward apparently was in good health up to the time of the fatal heart attack. He was at work all day Friday. Aside from passing comment on a pain in his chest, in the vicinity of his heart, about 6:30 last night, he had said nothing to friends about feeling ill. Death came as a shock to Lindstrom, and to all others with whom he had been associated.
500 FANS HEAR LAMBEAU TALK TO PACKER THRONG IN MADISON
FEB 15 (Madison) - Team spirit and willingness to make personal sacrifices to achieve an end were what made the Green Bay Packers the professional football champions of America, Coach E.L. "Curly" Lambeau old a capacity crowd of about 450 Tuesday night at the Park hotel. "We knew at the start of the season that we had good enough material to win the NFL championship," Coach Lambeau declared. "But," he added, "we also knew that there were four other teams that also had good enough material to win the title; they were the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions, the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. That being the case it became a question of which team showed the greatest desire to win, and you can imagine that it was very gratifying for us that our Packers came through," he said. Prior to showing movies of the NFL championship playoff between the Giants and Packers in Milwaukee, Coach Lambeau offered to answer any questions. Roundy Coughlin, State Journal columnist, was master of ceremonies and led off with a few and then closed with a few more. "I can't put you on the spot," said Roundy, "because you had a pretty good season, Curly." Lambeau laughed: "You wouldn't catch me down here if I'd had a bad season," he declared. "You're telling me?" retorted Roundy, "if you'd had a poor season I wouldn't have asked you." At another point where Lambeau was telling about the eating schedule made out for the players, no potatoes for those overweight, no fried foods, no rich deserts, etc., Roundy grabbed the microphone and interjected: "Looks to me like you better change that schedule. I see plenty of 250-pounders on that squad and if they don't have potatoes then what the hell do they eat?" Of particular interest was Lambeau's statement that he heartily agreed with Coach Harry Stuhldreher of Wisconsin about the advantage of calling signals direct over using the huddle. "We always like to call signals," said Lambeau, "and the only time we use a huddle is when we are forced to it." Why do punters in professional football kick 20 or 25 yards better than they did in college? "I don't know that they do," Lambeau said. "In fact, I don't think they punt any better. However, I, for instance, have a wide selection than, say, Harry Stuhldreher would have at Wisconsin. We had nine boys last fall that punted in college, yet seven of them didn't punt for us. It was just a case of Clark Hinkle and Arnold Herber being better than the others." Had Don Hutson improved greatly as a pass receiver in professional football? Lambeau disclaimed any credit for Hutson's amazing ability to snare a football. "He was a great receiver in college," said Lambeau. "I don't think we can take any credit for his ability there." The Green Bay Packers' coach said the three finest games his team ever had played were the championship playoff of 1929, where they defeated the Giants in the New York Polo Grounds, the 1938 game at Green Bay where the Packers crushed the Detroit Lions, and the 1939 title playoff where Green Bay crushed the Giants in Milwaukee. "Those," said Lambeau, "were the best three games the Packers ever had played. I hope we can play another such game in Chicago this summer." Lambeau was referring to the game the Packers as NFL champions will play against the college all-stars. They played such a game in 1937 and lose; they want revenge. And how they want revenge!
MANLEY TO JOIN PACKERS IN 1940
FEB 15 (Green Bay) - The first signed Green Bay Packer contract for 1940 was announced by Coach Curly Lambeau today, as J.R. Manley, University of Oklahoma guard, turned in his agreement with the team. Manley, who weighs 210 pounds and stands one inch over six feet, starred for three seasons at Oklahoma. He was a tackle in his sophomore season, and switched to guard thereafter. Although he was known particularly as a tower of strength on defense, he also gained note as a shifty offensive player. Manley was the seventh choice on the 1940 Green Bay draft list, and immediately came to terms when contacted by Lambeau. He is mostly Choctaw Indian.
FOUR BADGER GRIDMEN CONFER WITH LAMBEAU
FEB 15 (Madison) - The bids of four former University of Wisconsin football players for tryouts next fall with the Green Bay Packers were discussed by sports fans here. The group, representing some of the best talent on Badger squads of the past two years, talked with Coach E.L. (Curly) Lambeau at a dinner honoring the Packer mentor and his aides. They were John Doyle, center of Plymouth, Pa., Ralph Moeller, end of Watertown, Bill Schmitz, halfback of Madison, all of the 1939 team, and Vince Gavre, quarterback of Port Washington, who finished his collegiate grid career in 1938. Neither Lambeau nor the players, it was understood, made any definite commitments, but the Packer coach indicated he would notify them soon if he could use them.
PACKERS COACH SEES TROUBLES FOR '40 TEAM
FEB 17 (Green Bay) - There is no rest for a champion, according to Earl L. (Curly) Lambeau, coach of the Green Bay Packers. And Curly should know. He has piloted the Packers to five world titles during his 20 years as coach and player. However, he's not wasting any time preparing for the 1940 campaign. "We know we must be 15 percent better than our opposition to repeat for the title," said Lambeau. "When you're the champion, they are set for you and the margin of victory and defeat depends upon the attitude of your players." He said the Packers needed replacements at several positions. "If we have success in signing our new men, we should have another good team," he said.
PACKER PRODUCTS
MAR 1 (Windom, MN) - Larry Buehler, former Minnesota star now playing with the Green Bay Packers, has purchased a produce business.
STEELERS NEW NAME
MAR 4 (Pittsburgh) - Taking their cue from this city's industrial fame, the Pittsburgh pro football Pirates have adopted a new name - the Steelers.
RUMOR HINKLE HEADING WEST
MAR 8 (Green Bay) - Clarke Hinkle, fullback of the Green Bay Packers for the past eight seasons, is considering acceptance of the post of backfield coach at Leland Stanford university, he revealed today. During his recent stay in California, Hinkle was interviewed by Clark Shaughnessy, Stanford's new head coach, and the Packer veteran expects to get definite word from the west today or tomorrow. Hinkle did not divulge the salary terms, but admitted that he is "very interested" in the offer. "I talked with Shaughnessy at length," he said, "and I feel that the Stanford job would be a real break for me." Hinkle has been one of the greatest football players ever to don a Green Bay Packer uniform. He ranks second on the all-time scoring list with 274, topped only by Verne Lewellen. He had made all-league teams consistently. During his eight-year stay with the Packers he has scored 37 touchdowns, kicked 27 extra points and booted 13 field goal, against league opponents only. Hinkle performed at Bucknell university before entering the professional ranks, and during his college days was the nation's high scorer.
LAMBEAU TO SEEK NEW PRO RULING
MAR 9 (Green Bay) - Curly Lambeau, coach of the world champion Green Bay Packers, will sponsor a professional football league rule which will make goose-neck goal posts compulsory. This would do away with the present goal post rule which credits a ball carrier with a touchdown provided he comes in contact with the posts even though he does not carry the ball over the line.
GAVRE TO SIGN WITH PACKERS
MAR 10 (Green Bay) - Vince Gavre, former University of Wisconsin quarterback, may join the Green Bay Packers in the fall, it was reported here Saturday. Picked by Coach E.L. "Curly" Lambeau in the 1938 draft, Gavre declined to sign with the Packers because he still had some work to complete at the university. Gavre played with the Kenosha Cardinals in the American League last fall.
HINKLE WON'T COACH
MAR 12 (Green Bay) - Clarke Hinkle will not serve as backfield coach at Stanford university next fall, he said today in response to queries caused by recent rumors of that shift in gridiron talent. As far as it is known now, the veteran Packer fullback will be back in uniform for Green Bay next season.
ZUD SCHAMMEL SHOW IMPROVEMENT
MAR 20 (Milwaukee) - The condition of Francis (Zud) Schammel, former University of Iowa and Green Bay Packer football star, ill with pneumonia, was reported yesterday by his physician as "very satisfactory". Dr. Webber Hermann said Schammel was admitted to the Deaconess hospital here a week ago and was critically ill for several days but now appeared to be recovering.
GRID CHIEFS ENGINEER DEALS
MAR 23 (New York) - NFL owners and coaches are quite likely to consummate some of the most important trades in the pro circuit's history when they convene here for their 21st annual meeting here at the Biltmore hotel April 12, 13 and 14. The major deals, involving the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cleveland Rams and the Chicago Bears, have been closed since the 1939 championship race ended, which is a tipoff that the trading mart will be exceedingly brisk at the meeting. Bert Bell, owner-coach of the Eagles, has made no attempt to conceal the fact that he is coming to the meeting prepared to deal for experienced and talented linemen. Since the season closed, Bell traded his draft rights on George McAfee, Duke back, and Joe Mihal, Purdue tackle, to the Bears for Russ Thompson and Milt Trost, a pair of seasoned tackle campaigners. Also, he traded his negotiation rights on Dick Favor, Oklahoma backing back, to Cleveland for Chuck Cherundolo, a standout center. Bell's object, of course, is to provide his brilliant passing star - Davey O'Brien - with protection which will enable him to operate with maximum efficiency...CLARK WANTS TALENT: Earl (Dutch) Clark, able young Cleveland coach and the David Harum of the circuit, is also expected to transact several important trades during the confab. Last year, Clark consummated six separate deals during the meeting. Reserve strength in the line is Dutch's chief problem and he may sacrifice one of his star backs to obtain high class forward wall replacements. Steve Owen, wily mentor of the New York Giants, probably will be willing and anxious to listen to any sort of proposition. It is rumored that Owen may trade on a wholesale basis because of the 1938 champions showing signs of disintegrating a bit in the title playoff with Green Bay. Owner Charles W. Bidwill of the Chicago Cardinals is badly in need of a standout passer and a top flight quarterback. Thus, he will be vulnerable to any rival owner's proposition, who is prepared to part with a back of proven ability...BACK AT DETROIT: Potsy Clark, who has returned to Detroit as head coach, after two seasons in Brooklyn, is in the same boat with his former star pupil, Dutch Clark. The Lions need able line reserves and Potsy can afford to yield one, or more, of his star backs in a deal which will bolster his front line decision. Walter Kiesling, starting his first season as the Pittsburgh Steelers' head man, plans to shake up his personnel somewhat and, of course, is ready to make any deal which he thinks will add strength to his team. Dr. John (Jock) Sutherland will make his official debut as the new coach of the Brooklyn Dodgers at the meeting, and although he has not indicated his training plans, it is a good bet that the former University of Pittsburgh tactician will swing a deal, or two, if he can. He is desperately in need of standout linemen and he could also use a first-class, hard-hitting fullback...PRETTY WELL SET: The world's champion Green Bay Packers, the Bears and the Washington Redskins appear to be pretty well set. Still, Coach Curly Lambeau of the Packers could use a talented fullback replacement, as the great Clarke Hinkle cannot go on indefinitely. Coach George Halas of the Bears is ready for a deal for another top flight end. He has plenty of bait and he probably will get his man. Coach Ray Flaherty of the Redskins picked up some great players, developed some more last year, and was able to practically rebuild his team. But, he will have to add reserve strength in order to make the Redskins a championship factor again this year.
LAMBEAU DIVORCE GRANTED MONDAY
MAR 26 (Green Bay) - Mrs. Sue Lambeau, wife of E.L. "Curly" Lambeau, was granted after a hearing before Judge Henry Graass in circuit court here late Monday afternoon. Her husband had brought the action, but she was granted the divorce on her counterclaim. Under a stipulation whose terms were announced in court, Mrs. Lambeau will receive $6,750, plus $125 already paid to her attorney. Out of this sum she must pay all bills contracted since her arrival in Green Bay last October, totaling $975, and the balance of her attorney's fees. She also is to receive $25 a month for the care of a child, two years old last January. In a brief complaint filed Monday, Lambeau alleged that incompatibility of temperament made it impossible for the two to live together. Mrs. Lambeau charged that her husband refused to live with her, and refused to recognize her as his wife. They were married in Waukegan, Ill., June 26, 1935, and have been separated since Sept. 11, 1937. Mrs. Lambeau returned to Green Bay last October, and has lived her since. At a hearing a week ago to fix temporary alimony, it was intimated that the case would be heard by a jury at the April term, but an agreement and stipulation were reached Saturday between the principals and their counsel.
KODROS MAY HELP COACH WOLVES' FROSH
MAR 30 (Ann Arbor, MI) - Archie Kodros, who captained the University of Michigan's 1939 football team, is considering a position as assistant freshmen grid coach at Michigan, it was learned today. Kodros, a 200-pound center from Alton, Ill., has been discussing the job offer with Coach Fritz Crisler but is awaiting an offer from the Green Bay Packers, who drafted him last winter.
PACKER NOTES
MAR 31 (Wisconsin State Journal) - Curly Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers was in Minneapolis Wednesday. He is trying to get Van Every to sign with the Packers. The Bays got him in the draft. If Van Every signs up that will be four Minnesota men with the Packers. They are: Warren Kilbourne, tackle; Charles Schultz, tackle; Bud Svendsen, center, and Andy Uram, tackle.
Uram soon developed into a sensational backfield man. He was one of the best in the circuit last year, and was particularly outstanding in his work late in the season against Detroit and Cleveland and in the playoff game with the New York Giants. Uram plays a flash type of ball, and was with his alma mater for three seasons. His weight is around 187 pounds, making him a compact football player since his height is only five feet, ten. Should Lambeau be able to get Van Every to sign a contract, he will fill another important spot in the drive toward another - the sixth - NFL pennant. He put in three years as a gridder at Minnesota, and improved consistently . He is also a valuable basketball player.
MARSHALL HUSKY SIGNS CONTRACT
MAR 30 (Green Bay) - The signing of Bob Adkins, fullback and end of Marshall college, Huntington, West Virginia, by the Green Bay Packers was announced today by Coach Curly Lambeau. In Adkins, Lambeau hopes he has found another Larry Craig, the South Carolina product who broke in sensationally with Green Bay last season. Advance information on the Marshall veteran appear to place him very close to Craig's type. Adkins weighs 205 pounds, and is six feet tall. He won three letters in as many seasons at Marshall, playing at both of his positions, and never was injured in his entire football career. He was known as a hard worker, and in addition to his gridiron activities was a member of the Marshall basketball squad. Adkins is a native of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Lambeau expects to use him at end, probably as relief for Craig, whom he resembled in physique. The new Packer was not drafted, but was sought by several National league teams...PLANS RECRUITING TRIP: Next week the Packer coach plans a Midwestern recruiting swing which will take him to the campuses of Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois universities. By Tuesday he expects to know whether or not Hal Van Every, the Minnesota halfback who is a Green Bay draftee, has decided to cast his lot with professional football. Lambeau conferred with Van Every yesterday, and the ex-Gopher star, a fine ball carrier and forward passer, promises his answer by early in the week. Adkins is the sixth man to sign his 1940 Packer contract.
KODROS MAY COACH
MAR 30 (Ann Arbor, MI) - Archie Kodros, who captained University of Michigan's 1939 football team, is considered a position as assistant freshman grid coach at Michigan, it was learned today. Kodros, a 200-pound center from Alton, Ill., has been discussing the job offer with Coach Fritz Crisler but is awaiting an offer from the Green Bay Packers of the National league, who drafted him last winter.
NATIONAL LEAGUE IS APT TO RETAIN ITS PERSONNEL
MAR 30 (New York) - NFL owners are not expected to depart from procedures, which have become traditional in recent years, when they convene for their 21st annual meeting at the Biltmore hotel here April 12, 13 and 14. Several cities are expected to make application for membership, with Los Angeles being the most persistent applicant. However, present indications are that the league will continue as a 10-club circuit, with the same teams operating which have for the past three years. The personnel of the league has not changed since Cleveland rejoined the circuit in 1937 to become the 10th team in the loop...WANT LONGER SCHEDULES: Some of the owners have indicated they favor longer schedules than the 11-game chart. The successful introduction of night games during the pat two seasons is responsible, to some extent, makes it possible for teams to play more than 11 games, without extending the actual playing period for the season. The owners advocating longer seasons, however, are decidedly in the minority, and the league probably will adopt a 55-game championship schedule again for the 1940 season. The majority of the owners seem to be sold on the idea that 11 games are enough for one season, particularly for those teams which have won championships. The championship team, of course, is a principal in the playoff for the title and also engages in one postseason game in Los Angeles and the preseason classic in Chicago 14 games in all. Owner-Coach George Halas of the Chicago Bears, chairman of the rules committee, asserts that there have been no suggestions for radical changes in the code. Thus, the big news of the meeting figures to be generated by important player trades and the annual election.
face the Bears at Chicago, Nov. 10 the Cardinals at Chicago, Nov. 17 they are at New York opposing the Giants, Nov. 24 they travel to Detroit, and Dec. 1 they will be at Cleveland. The No. 1 early season engagement, of course, will be that at Soldier field, Chicago, Aug. 28, when the Packers meet the College All-Stars for the second time in their gridiron history.
BACK STORCK FOR HEAD OF LEAGUE
APR 13 (New York) - With practically all opposition to his election elimination, Acting President Carl Storck of the NFL was expected to return to office by a unanimous vote today as the 21st annual meeting of the football magnates entered its second session. George Preston Marshall, owner of the Washington Redskins, expected to assume the role of chief belligerent in a reported attempt to oust Storck and present another candidate, was as quiet as a timid man's footsteps as the meeting opened yesterday. He neither offered a new candidate for the presidency not suggested Storck's removal...ACCEPTS VICTORY QUIETLY: Tim Mara, owner of the New York Giants, was all for reelecting Stock and figured to furnish most of the opposition to Marshall. While Mara accepted his apparent victory quietly, Marshall left the closed meeting for a few moments to announce blithely that "all was harmony amongst the boys. We've done more on the first day of this meeting than any I ever attended before. We are even lining up a tentative schedule for 1941." While he had nothing by praise for the rapid manner in which the meeting so far had been conducted, the ebullient Marshall cast no orchids in the direction of presiding chairman Storck, When asked about the several reports that he had given Storck the "bird", Marshall said: "I think Storck is a fine executive, but I can name a better one. However, I know of no available candidate now and I think Storck will be elected."...SUCCESSOR TO CARR: The portly Storck has reigned since the death of Joe Carr nine months ago. There may be one hitch in Stock's seemingly smooth road to the president's chair. The owners may offer him a short term, which Storck would probably decline. The mounting of the dove of peace in the meeting room by "Taxidermist" Marshall was the most important piece of work accomplished during the initial session. Only one trade was carried through, the Giants sending Ox Parry, 230-pound tackle to the Pittsburgh Steelers (nee Pirates) for the draft rights to Kay Eakin, triple-threat halfback from Arkansas.
MILWAUKEE PRO GRIDDERS TO PLAY AT FAIR PARK
APR 14 (Milwaukee) - The Milwaukee entry in the American Professional Football league will have State Fair park as its home field and will play six league games there, plus two or three exhibitions. Announcement to that effect was made Saturday by George M. Harris, president and general manager, who will represent the Milwaukee group at the American League meeting in Cincinnati next Saturday and Sunday. The schedule, tentatively adopted at a preliminary session at Columbus, will be formally adopted and league officers elected during the two day conclave. Milwaukee's home games will be arranged to avoid conflict with the Green Bay Packers, who have booked two tilts at State Fair park for next fall. President Harris plans to reveal the identity of the coach at the time of the meeting. Negotiations have been completed with a well known former college player and National Pro league star who, in turn, will release the roster of the players already under contract.
FORDHAM ENDS IS SIGNED BY BAYS
APR 16 (Green Bay) - Raymond Riddick, who played three seasons of tackle and end at Fordham university, has been signed to a Green Bay Packer contract for 1940, a wire received today from Coach Curly Lambeau at New York revealed. Riddick, a former teammate of Harry Jacunski, Fordham end who made a fine debut of with the champions last year, is a giant, standing an inch over six feet and weighing 225 ounds. Like Jacunski, he was overlooked in the National league draft. "Riddick should make a great professional end," Lambeau wired. "He is highly recommended by Crowley." (Jim Crowley, former Green Bay resident, who is head coach at Fordham.) Riddick's home is at Lowell, Mass. He is the second end to sign for the 1940 campaign.
JIM GILLETTE, VIRGINIA U. BACK, AGREES TO TERMS WITH COACH
APR 17 (Green Bay) - Jim Gillette, triple-threat backfield man at the University of Virginia for three years, is ready to sign a Packer contract for 1940, Coach Curly Lambeau announced in a telegram today. Since he is playing baseball for the university this spring, Gillette is not permitted to sign a contract at this time. He has agreed on terms, however, and will sign as soon as regulations permit, which will be about the middle of May...HE'S BIG HALFBACK: Gillette weighs 190 pounds, stands some six feet high. He passes left-handed, and kicks with his right foot. He is the fifth back to sign for the 1940 season.
RUSS LETLOW SIGNS CONTRACT FOR HIS FIFTH SEASON WITH PACKERS
APR 18 (Green Bay) - Russell Letlow, one of the greatest guards in NFL history, has signed for his fifth season with the Green Bay Packers, Coach Curly Lambeau announced today. Letlow, who is employed at the Hoberg paper mill, is the 12th Packer to sign for the 1940 season, scheduled to get an early start because of Green Bay's participation in the All-Star game at Chicago in August. Letlow was an all-league selection in 1938 and played highly effective football during the Packers' championship drive last fall. He is one of he best-known linemen in the National league, and also one of the most-feared by opponents. The big guard weighs 212 pounds and is six feet tall. He is extremely strong and thoroughly schooled in professional football. Russ had his undergraduate experience at the University of San Francisco, is 26 years old and married. He is a native of Taft, Calif.
HAL VAN EVERY SIGNS HIS CONTRACT WITH GREEN BAY
APR 20 (Green Bay) - Hal Van Every, one of the greatest ball-toting halfbacks in the University of Minnesota's history, will tote the leather for the Green Bay Packers next fall. Announcement that Van Every has signed to play with Green Bay was made today by Coach Curly Lambeau. Van Every, loaded with gridiron assignments his senior year with the Gophers, showed enough class to cause his coach, Bernie Bierman, to predict for him a brilliant professional career. He is heavier than Cecil Isbell, weighing 192 pounds, and is about the same height. He is a harder runner than that Packer veteran, and drew rave notices from all coaches who saw him in action. As a sophomore in 1937, Van Every was rated as one of the Big Ten's outstanding first year men, turning in consistently fine kicking, passing and running performances. In his junior year he was plagued by an injury which kept him on the sidelines most of the season. He had his moments of brilliance, however. With a few minutes left to play in the Michigan game, the Gophers trailing by six points, he was tossed into the contest. On the next play he recovered a fumble, and on the next two he hurled two successive completed forward passes, the second for a touchdown. Minnesota won, 7 to 6...RETURNED TO FORM: In 1939, he improved upon the form which had stamped him a promising sophomore. In addition to carrying the triple-threat duties at left halfback, he was given the assignment of calling signals, and performed each of his duties effectively. He was the team's leading ground gainer, hauling the apple for 667 yards in eight games. In December, he was chosen on the Packer draft list. Van Every has great talent as a passer. He received little use at that spot, however, because of Minnesota's dearth of receivers. Time after time Hal would drop the pigskin into the hands of ends and backs, only to have them lose the ball, so Coach Bierman soon switched his strategy to extensive use of the ground game. Van Every just has completed his third season for a regular forward on the Minnesota cage team.
LOOKING UP IN THE REALM OF SPORTS
APR 20 (Green Bay) - There is quite a gap between the time that the NFL draft is drawn in December, and the time the many players come to terms, some of them many months later. During that period there is a constant parade of interviews, offers and counter-offers, discussions of terms and eventually either an acceptance or a refusal for the coming season. Here are a few angles on the current engagement involving the Green Bay Packer management and its several draftees, most of them still unsigned. In an appreciative letter, halfback Dick Cassiano of Pittsburgh informed Coach Curly Lambeau that he has accepted a job in New York City and will be unable to play with the Packers. He would like to hook up with either Brooklyn or the Giants, and it is possible that a trade can be arranged to the Packers' advantage. Cassiano's decision doesn't bother Lambeau nearly as much as it might have had Hal Van Every not come to terms. Van Every is considerably more versatile than the hard-running Panther back. Don Guritz, Northwestern guard who weighs 225 pounds, has been interviewed and is interested. Married and the father of one child, he probably will play pro football and his decision is expected next month. Jim Reeder, Illinois tackle, also was the subject of a personal visit by Lambeau. He is also married and a a papa. He's a 235-pounder who stands three inches above six feet. He indicated that if he and the Packers can get together on terms, he'll sign. Lambeau explained the swap with the Philadelphia Eagles which involved Tulane's Millard White and Nebraska's Fred Shirey as follows: White has failed to answer several letters written to him by the Packers, and is believed to be uninterested. Through a roundabout source, the Packers learned that Shirey, a great All-America tackle of 1938, would like to get into the professional game. At present he is coaching at Beatrice, Neb., which is the home of Pid Purdy, former Packer back. So the rights to Shirey were obtained for Philadelphia for the rights to White. While at New York, Curly talked over possible deals with New York and Pittsburgh, but nothing was decided. However, Coach Walt Kiesling of the Steelers is due here in two weeks, and one or two exchanges may be arranged. Steve Owen of New York has a man he'd like to trade to the Packers, and vice versa. Ambrose Schindler, halfback, and Phil Gaspar, tackle, U.S.C. stars of the Rose Bowl game. seemed agreeable to terms when they were interviewed in California, but since have appeared shy. Both were made good offers and Lambeau hopes to land them. Bud Kerr, Notre Dame end, definitely has decided to coach and will not play pro football. Lambeau heard good words about J.R. Manley, his 215-pound guard from Oklahoma. Both the Giants and Steelers were hot after him, but it was no dice, as the Packers decided they want him most. Ray Riddick, Fordham end, was said to be the defensive powerhouse of the same Ram line which had Harry Jacunski at the other end. Riddick was the fastest lineman in the east and is an honor student.
SEVEN GAMES BOOKED HERE
APR 22 (Milwaukee) - Seven home games were given the new Milwaukee professional football team at the American league meeting held over the weekend at Cincinnati. George Harris, president of the club, said Monday that he had a contract for the State Fair park field for all home dates. The team will play five league games on the road and an eighth home game as an exhibition. The Columbus Bullies, 1939 champions, traded Regis Monahan, formerly of the Detroit Lions, to the Milwaukee club for three players who were not names. Joe F. Carr, son of the late Joe Carr, president of the NFL, applied for a franchise at Hollywood, Calif., and action was postponed until June 2 to ascertain the attitude of the Los Angeles club. Carr is said to be backed by Bing Crosby. Applications for franchises at Ashland, Ky., and Kansas City were deferred until June 2. An application from Miami was rejected because the city was too far from other members. The uniform player contract in use by the National league was adopted. George J. Heitzler was re-elected president and James C. Hogan was retained as secretary-treasurer.
BUHLER IS SET FOR 1940 PLAY
APR 25 (Green Bay) - Larry Buhler, the big back from Minnesota who saw his first professional football service with the Green Bay Packers last fall, was in town yesterday and signed his contract for 1940. Buhler, who saw service only occasionally as a halfback last fall, will be used as a blocking back and fullback during the next National league campaign, Coach Curly Lambeau indicated. "Upon orders of Minneapolis physicians, following an automobile accident which nearly took Buhler's life, we used him sparingly during 1939," Lambeau said, "but he is back to his normal weight of 215 now and looks ready for a great season. He formerly played with Hal Van Every, our new halfback from Minnesota, and it is probable that we shall work out a combination which will include both of those men." Buhler did some effective blocking during the Packers' winter trip to the Pacific coast...LEAVE FOR PURDUE: Lambeau left today for Lafayette, Ind., where tomorrow he will visit spring practice at the Purdue university campus. After the drill he will interview three former Boilermakers who are on the Packer draft list - backs Jack Brown and Lou Brock, and guard Frank Bykowski. En route back to Green Bay, he will meet Fred Shirey, former Nebraska tackle, in Chicago.
EX-LION TO TRY FOR PLACE HERE
APR 26 (Green Bay) - Connie Mack Berry, a big end with two seasons of professional football experience, will try for a berth on the Green Bay Packer squad next fall. Coach Curly Lambeau announced the signing of Barry yesterday, just before he left for a visit to the Purdue university campus, where he will talk terms with Lou Brock, Jack Brown and Frank Bykowski. Berry weighs 210 pounds and stands four inches above six feet. His home is Spartanburg, S.C., some 30 miles from the residence of his good friend, Larry Craig, who made a sensational debut with the Packers last season...PLAYED UNDER ANDERSON: The new Packer starred for three years at a wing position with North Carolina State under Coach Hunk Anderson, and in 1938 he joined the Cincinnati Bengals. He was the mainstay of that team, and was instrumental in the defeats the Bengals handed the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Pirates of the National league. Last year he was with the Detroit Lions, and saw action against the Packers. He played with Detroit in eight league games. After that period, the Lions were out of the championship picture and the club, desiring to try out new men for next season, lopped off several players, including Barry. The former North Carolina State is 24 years old, in fine condition, and believes he can make the grade in professional football.
MILWAUKEE PRO ELEVEN PICKS CAHOON AS COACH
APR 28 (Milwaukee) - Ivan (Tiny) Cahoon, athletic director and football coach at Monmouth (Ill.) college, Saturday was named head coach of Milwaukee's entry in the American football league. Announcement of the selection was made by George Harris, president of the club, at a cocktail party in Cahoon's honor at the Schroeder hotel. Cahoon, who is married and the father of five children, was selected from a score of applicants. The salary was not disclosed. The coach comes to his job with wide experience in all phases of athletics. A native of Baraboo, Wis., he had three years of football and basketball at Baraboo high school, three years of the same sports and track at Gonzaga university and the, starting in 1926, four years of professional football as a tackle with the Green Bay Packers. A knee injury halted his playing career in midseason of 1929, Green Bay's first championship season. Cahoon started his coaching career at West De Pere high school in 1928 while still with the Packers. He went to Green Bay West in 1933 and to Monmouth as athletic director and coach in 1938. In 12 years of coaching he has maintained the unusually high winning average of .810. His teams in this period have averaged 18 points a game while holding opponents to an average of 6 and have held opponents scoreless in 43 games while suffering the same fate in only 5. At West De Pere he won one conference title in football and two in track, at Green Bay West he turned out consistently good football teams and lost only one dual track meet; and at Monmouth he developed six all-conference players and one little All-American guard. In all his coaching, Cahoon has always stressed wide open football. He learned the Notre Dame system at Gonzaga under Gus Dorais and played it at Green Bay under Curly Lambeau, but has used the system himself only when he felt the material permitted. He has often switched to ordinary single wing, to a flanker or to a creation of his own which he calls the "triple wing". He said Saturday that he hopes he might be able to use a flanker of some sort here. Cahoon will start at scratch in his new job. He has no holdover squad. To provide a working basis, questionnaires have been sent to several hundred graduating college seniors and from the replies, already pouring into the office in the Plankinton Arcade, he will select most of his squad. The American league recognizes contracts which college players have signed, but does not recognize the National league draft. As a small nucleus around which to build, Cahoon will have four players either bought or obtained in trades last week. They are Regis Monahan, former Ohio State all-American, a guard; Joe Zimmerman, former Centenary guard who was named on the Jewish All-American team last fall; Obbie Novakofsky, star Lawrence halfback, who had a tryout with the Packers last season and wound up with Kenosha, and Carl Buck, former Carroll college star, also a halfback, also with Kenosha last fall. Novakofsky and Buck were bought outright from Kenosha, and Monahan and Zimmerman obtained in a trade with Columbus for three unnamed players to be turned over by August 15. The Milwaukee club will operate along the same lines followed by the Packers in obtaining off season work for its players. The team will pitch camp in the north woods August 15. Cahoon will establish his home here at once.
LOU BROCK, PURDUE HALFBACK, SIGNS CONTRACT WITH PACKERS
APR 29 (Green Bay) - One of the greatest names in American college football for the last three seasons was entered on the roster of the Green Bay Packers today, as Coach Curly Lambeau returned from Lafayette, Ind., with the signed contract of right halfback Lou Brock. Lambeau openly expressed his pleasure at the signing of the great Purdue veteran, and expressed the opinion that Brock will become one of the greatest backs in professional football. He is a giant, weighing 205 pounds and standing two inches over six feet. He is no relation to Charley Brock, the Packers' sophomore center from Nebraska. Brock had a sensational collegiate career, although he was handicapped by injuries during his senior season. He ran wild as a sophomore and continued his great work as a junior. He always has been particularly effective against Wisconsin. "The people around the Purdue campus think Brock can't miss in the National league," Lambeau continued. "He is a fine passer, a powerful runner, and he blocks like everything."...SIMILAR TO SAUER: In type, Brock is similar to George Henry Sauer, once of the Packers and now coach at the University of New Hampshire. He is a better passer than Sauer. He resembles Ernie Caddel, late of the Detroit Lions, to an extent although he is built more powerfully. As a sophomore Brock paired with Cecil Isbell, now of the Packers, and the two made a magnificent team, carving a wide path through the Western conference football. He was the No. 2 choice on the Packer drat list last December. "We had a hard time deciding between Brock and Harold Van Every of Minnesota as as our first choice," Lambeau said. "Finally we decided to take a chance and pick Van Every, hoping that Brock's injuries of last season would cause the other clubs to overlook him until our turn came around again. This was the way it worked out, and we grabbed Brock as our No. 2 choice." Van Every signed last week...TALKS WITH BYKOWSKI: While at Purdue Coach Lambeau interviewed Frank Bykowski, Boilermaker guard, and at Chicago he talked with Fred Shirey, Nebraska tackle, both on the Packer draft list. The interviews were favorable, and he expects to come to terms with both within a few weeks. The Packer squad list, with the season still months away, is growing rapidly.
SMILEY JOHNSON, LINEMAN FROM GEORGIA, SIGNS WITH PACKERS
APR 30 (Green Bay) - The addition of a stocky, experienced guard to the Green Bay Packer roster was announced today by Coach Curly Lambeau, recently returned from a successful recruiting expedition. The new Packer is Howard (Smiley) Johnson, who has completed three seasons of line play at the University of Georgia, where he served under ex-Packer Rex Enright. "Enright rarely leans over backwards in describing a player," Lambeau reported, "but when he visited us in California last January he couldn't say enough about this man." Johnson, a 210-pounder who measures an inch under six feet, is a self-made athlete. He is an orphan, and worked his way through the university. He was not drawn in the NFL's 1940 draft. Seventeen men already have signed their Packer contracts for the coming season.
TINSLEY BACK WITH PACKERS
MAY 1 (Green Bay) - The stocky form of Pete Tinsley, guard, will be seen in the Green Bay Packer line again next fall, Coach Curly Lambeau said today in announcing that Tinsley has signed his contract for 1940. Although the Packers still are nearly four months way from their revenge game at Soldier field, the squad is growing rapidly, as Lambeau completed his contracts with both old and new men. Already some of the best first year players in Packer history appear on the roster, and many more names will be added before the team swings into action again. Tinsley will be appearing with the Packers for the third time. He is a powerfully built lineman, standing five feet eight inches in height and clearing 200 pounds. He formerly played with University of Georgia teams. The Packer squad list now totals 18.
start the regular team training period at playing weight. With Goldenberg, he plans daily roadwork, handball and calisthenics. Buckets has been playing daily handball for some time, and supplements these workouts with softball...CAME IN TRADE: Bill came to the Packers in the middle of the 1936 season from Brooklyn in a trade which sent Averill Daniell to the Dodgers. Since leaving the University of Alabama where he was the captain of the great Rose Bowl victor of 1934 and a teammate of Packer end Don Hutson, Lee has played six seasons of football. All were with the Dodgers and Packers. Highly regarded by Lambeau and Assistant Coach Richard (Red) Smith for his fine play last season, Lee received honorable mention on the all-league team. Many believed he deserved a higher rating. Mentioned as a holdout along with Lee, Larry Craig, end and back, will arrive from South Carolina Aug. 1 to discuss terms with Lambeau. He too has expressed a desire to play if a contract satisfactory to him is arranged. Neither the Packers' offer nor his demands have been specifically mentioned.
AMERICAN GRID LOOP TO OPEN SEPTEMBER 15
JUL 22 (Chicago) - The American Football League announced at a schedule-making meeting Sunday that its season would open September 15 with at least six teams in the circuit. The league, as set up now, consists of the St. Louis Gunners, Kenosha Cardinals, Milwaukee Chiefs, Chicago Indians, Dayton Bombers and Cincinnati. All of these cities except Milwaukee had teams in last year's league. Columbus, Louisville and Los Angeles were represented a year ago but will have no team in the circuit this season. Several club owners attending the meeting were present a recent conference here to consider formation of a "new" American league. League officials said, however, that this plan had apparently fallen through.
CHAMP SEIBOLD SIGNS CONTRACT
JUL 23 (Green Bay) - Champ Seibold ended a year of voluntary retirement from professional football Monday afternoon when he signed a Packer contract after a brief conference with Coach E.L. Lambeau in the latter's Northern building office. The husky tackle of five seasons' pro experience left the game a year ago when he and Lambeau failed to come to terms. The year before Champ had worked his way to a starting position on the left side of the Packer line. In quitting the game, Champ was the most persistent Packer holdout of recent years. He spent the year furthering his education at Oshkosh State Teachers college. Before his debut in the play-for-pay circles, he had a year at Ripon and two years at the University of Wisconsin. Seibold is one of the biggest Packers, standing 6 feet 4 inches and packing a playing weight of 240 pounds. Despite his vast experience, he still is only 25 years old. "There is nothing particularly unusual about Champ coming back," Lambeau said in announcing his latest acquisition. "Last year we just couldn't get together. This year we did. Champ has been working out, and I believe that he is in better condition now than when he reported last August." Seibold "reported" when the others did, but when Lambeau refused to meet his contract demands, he did not turn out for practice. After a week of fruitless negotiations, he packed up and checked out...FARMED TO MEMPHIS: Packer property since 1934, that year Champ was farmed out to Memphis of the Southern association. There he was an all-conference choice at tackle. For three seasons he understudied the great Ernie Smith in the Green Bay forward wall, and when Ernie stayed away in 1938, Seibold stepped in as starting left tackle. This year Seibold will find the picture changed. Baby Ray in his second year of pro football became the first string left tackle when Ernie Smith broke two fingers in a practice tilt against Pittsburgh and spent almost half the season on the bench. Smith returned to share the starting responsibility. Charlie Schultz, big rookie from Minnesota, was in reserve. On the other side of the line the veteran Bill Lee and yearling Paul Kell held forth. Warren Kilbourne, a rookie from Minnesota, was a right tackle reserve until he was loaned to Kenosha of the American league. All but Kell have already signed for this season, and with an excellent center corps coming up, it is highly probable that George Svendsen may be tried at tackle. He played that position up to his senior year at Minnesota when he transferred to center. Seibold's size and experience should assure him a position on the squad if he is in shape, but the competition for tackle berths will be keen - as it also will be for all other positions this year.
Balazs are ready for heavy duty with the Packers," Lambeau commented. "Both looked good during our Pacific coast invasion, and both are hard workers." The second year fullback and center both pack generous amounts of weight upon husky frames. Balazs hit the scales at 215 pounds, and stands two inches above six feet. He is 22 years old. Greenfield is the same height and weighs about 210.
PACKERS, WASHINGTON REDSKINS MEET AT MILWAUKEE LABOR DAY
MAY 11 (Green Bay) - The Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins will collide in a professional football game at State Fair park, either Labor day afternoon or night, Sept. 2, Coach Curly Lambeau announced today. Arrangements for the contest, which will not count in the National league standings, have been completed and permission received from the league, Lambeau said. "We anticipate an excellent game as the Packers will be fresh from the All-Star game, the Redskins will be ready to open their league schedule, and both will have squads totaling 40 men or more. The players, old and new alike, will be working hard to secure their positions, and they should produce a fine brand of football." Washington had planned to appear in a game on the Pacific coast Labor day, but broke off the arrangements when the Milwaukee contest was suggested.
RECALLS O'BRIEN'S GRID FEATS AS RAIN DROPS BALK BASEBALL
MAY 15 (Green Bay) - David O'Brien, the little man who gives them all a busy day, will dig his cleats into the turf that has felt the tread of many gridiron immortals when he makes his first appearance at City stadium here against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 15. O'Brien, the atom that defies physical disintegration, returns to professional football very shortly for his second year with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles open the National league season here. Why this seemingly unseasonal chatter? Because rain balked baseball here, and our though naturally drifted to football. Once seen in football, O'Brien is not forgotten. With no reflection on the ability and prowess of the Green Bay players, and no feeling of disloyalty to the boys in Green and Gold, it would be unjust to pass by L'il Davey without some mention of his marked ability and his great courage. Fans who never have seen Davey in action have a real treat in store...LED ALL-STAR POLL: Idol of the southwest and particularly Fort Worth and Dallas, the wee one was almost unanimous choice for all-America honors as a Texas Christian back in 1938. He received 1,204,516 votes in the Chicago Tribune All-Star poll for last fall's eleven that met the New York Giants at Soldier's field. His total was the largest of any member of the squad, and he started at quarterback. The big boys of football were inclined to take David lightly (no pun intended). The Texas Christian flash admittedly had been a great college forward passer, but most followers of the game doubted that his 150 pounds and 5 feet 7 would stand the bruising play of postgraduate ball. David had some ideas of his own about that. On Aug. 20 of last year he took the field against the Giants and had his first taste of what he later was to encounter in the National league. His start was inauspicious, and the skeptics began to smile knowingly. But Davey was just warming' up. Five days later, on Labor day, he was in the Southwest All-Star lineup against the Green Bay Packers at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Subsequently the Packers were to prove that they were the best the National league could offer in 1939. That night of Sept. 4 they were as hot as the torrid Texas temperature. Thirty-one points were rolled up in such rapid fashion that the highly partisan southwesterners hardly could believe their own eyes. But if there was one man on the field in the All-Star lineup who added to the prestige of an all-America rating, it was little David...ALWAYS BOUNCED BACK: Later, in league play, fans and players were to learn that O'Brien found every setback stimulus for greater effort the next time. No quitter, this mighty mite. He has what the sport's world without apology calls "guts", and fans and players alike love him for it. Besides, he can really play the game of football. In the last quarter against the Packers at Dallas he passed to Dick Todd and Billy Dewell for touchdowns. In one march he completed three in a row to get the tally. He kicked both points after touchdowns, and earned the respect of everyone in the Cotton Bowl that night including the opposition. As a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, he was with a club that won only one game, lost nine, and tied one to share the eastern division cellar with Pittsburgh. Nevertheless, he was selected as quarterback on the official all-National league team over some pretty fancy performers on higher rated teams. In his first pro year O'Brien broke three forward passing record. He complete 99 out of 201 passes for 1,324 yards and six touchdowns. His yardage broke the 11 game mark of 1,127, and also the 12 game mark of 1,239. Against the extremely tough Chicago Bears he completed 21 for a new one-game mark. Likewise he starred against the Packers...HAD 19 COMPLETIONS: At Philadelphia against Green Bay last Nov. 12, David tried the air 37 times and complete 19 times, twice for touchdowns. Once he returned a punt to the Packer 31, and right after that passed for a score. O'Brien's official league average in punting last season was 40 yards, although he was used little in this department. He made one touchdown on a running play for the lowly Eagle. O'Brien's home is in Dallas, and he is regarded as a sort of deity there. A football halo can be seen above the little Irishman's head at other points on the map by the chosen who have seen him play. His record proves that his selection as the nation's outstanding college player in 1938 and all-pro quarterback in 1939 was well merited. He was the highest paid player in the league last season, and he was worth all $15,000 Bert Bell paid out to him. Bert's return was the best season's gate he ever had had at Philadelphia, including one gate of 33,258. All this is nothing more than rainy day reminiscing about one of the greatest little - or any size - performers we have ever seen in our favorite spectator sport. It is pleasant to reflect that we shall enjoy his work right here in Green Bay in the not so distant future, even though he will be playing his heart and hide out to beat the home club.
MULLENEAUX, STELLAR WINGMAN, SIGNS CONTRACT FOR 1940 SEASON
MAY 21 (Green Bay) - Carl Mulleneaux, one of the biggest, toughest ends in professional football, today sent in his 1940 contract to the Green Bay Packers, according to Coach Curly Lambeau. Lambeau said that the arrival of Mulleneaux's contract brings the announcements up to date, no more documents having been received as yet. "We are having our usual discussions with some of the veterans regarding terms," the coach said, "and a few of the boys seem a bit out of line. However we have had an unusually early start in rounding up our squad this season, and we expect the largest Packer squad in history to report before the All-Star game." Mulleneaux came close to being classified as a holdout last year, but this season he is back under the wire with plenty of time to spare. His name is added to those of several highly promising ends already on the Packer roster...DANGEROUS IN AIR: The former Utah State star, who stands three inches above six feet and weighs 206 pounds, is a crashing, powerful type of wingman who has completed two seasons of National league competition with the Packers. He has received forward passes for four league touchdowns, and is a dangerous man when the aerials start flying. He is the 26th man to sign his 1940 contract.
ZARNAS RETURNS FOR 1940 SQUAD
MAY 25 (Green Bay) - Two more contracts dropped today into the office of Curly Lambeau, coach of the Green Bay Packers, adding a guard and a blocking back to the 1940 roster and bringing the total of men signed thus far to 28. Gus Zarnas, who joined the Packers in mid-season last year and finished out the year, seeing service in the playoff game, is the guard. The back is Bob Temple, former teammate of Tom Greenfield at the University of Arizona. Zarnas, a 200-plus lineman, was drafted and signed by the Chicago Bears after a great career at Ohio State university, during which he attained all-America honors. The Brooklyn Dodgers obtained him from the Bears, and in October of last fall he was added to the Green Bay roster. Zarnas plays either right or left guard. Temple will be used in the same way as was Larry Craig last year, playing end on defense and blocking quarterback on offense. He is a big fellow, weighing 205 pounds and standing 2 inches above 6 feet. Temple already is in town and will be employed here until the start of the football season. The Packers have made a faster start in signing up men both old and new than ever before. Coach Lambeau expects to have four full teams - approximately 44 men - in uniform for the All-Star game at Soldier field Aug. 29.
BERT BELL ISN'T KIDDING; HE SAYS EAGLES ARE HEADING UP
MAY 25 (Green Bay) - While Hitler's forward passing game has the western front All-Stars with their backs against the goal posts, things are comparatively quiet along the National league football front. In fact, they are so quiet in most quarters that even the boys in section ZZ can hear the infrequent contracts drop. Don't be deceived by the lack of fanfare. The sun is beginning to shine, and that is the time wide-awake football coaches, like other industrious humans, are about making hay - according to the same authority that promised health and wealth and wisdom with a few happy dreams thrown in for the fellows who hit the mattress early and rise with the sun. Coach E.L. Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers is one of the coaches who is reaping an early harvest. Twenty-eight men have been signed, sealed and all but delivered already. And while he gathers the early grain, another coach many miles away is getting to bed early and setting his alarm clock to catch early trains for a grid roundup that may be the best Philadelphia ever has seen...SEES SILVER LINING: Dismal season followed right on the heels of the dismal season that preceded it in recent years for Bert Bell, the Eagles' owner. At long last the clouds give some promise of a silver lining, and Bert makes no bones about expecting a pretty fair prize at the end of the rainbow. Bert speaks of the coming season as "the Eagles' drive for Eastern division honors", and when he signs players he talks about "additions to the highly improved Eagles team, which will be a pennant contender this year." On the surface it sounds as if Bert might be too greatly inspired by spring fantasy. A peek behind the scenes, however, reveals that he may not be talking through his chapeau. About a week ago an Associated Press squib announced that Ray George, former Southern California tackle, was headed for Philadelphia in a deal that sent Dave Smukler to Detroit. It was of the little stories that may have gone unnoticed, even among football fans, but it carried a lot of weight. More often than not the tackles make or break a football team, and Mr. George is no dime-a-dozen type at that position...STARTED BOTH GAMES: Ray George started in both Detroit games against the Packers last season. He played the entire 60 minutes in a game against the New York Giants, and duplicated this performance when the Lions handed the Chicago Bears a surprise setback - which didn't hurt the Packers' title race at all. The big fellow (6 feet and 220 pounds) was all-Pacific coast tackle at USC in 1938, and last season received honorable mention in the official all-National league selections which is not bad for a rookie. He plays on the right side of the line. The trade was a happy one all way around for Bell. Besides George, he acquired Bob Wendlick, former all-Pacific coast end from Oregon State who should have been with the Detroit Lions last year, but chose an assignment with the United States Army engineers instead. It was a reserve tour that is now over, and Wendlick returned a signed contract to Bell early last week. Wendlick is a pass receiving artist whose dimensions are the same as those of George - 6 feet and 220 pounds. He was a college teammate of Elmer Kolberg, Philadelphia rookie of last season, who persuaded Bell to grab rights to Wendlick as part of the Smukler swap. Potsy Clark almost threw a wrench into the trade, especially where George was concerned, when he took over at Detroit. The transaction was made between Bell and Potsy's predecessors at Detroit, and it was only after he saw some chance of landing Harry Smith, all-America guard from USC, Bob Haas of Missouri, John Bowers of Oklahoma, Jack Hackenbrook of Oregon State and Bud Partin of Centenary, all tackles, that he acquiesced...HAD DIFFERENT VIEWS: As far as Bell was concerned, he realized that he had a still valuable piece of football material in Smukler, but he and the former Temple star fullback couldn't see things the same way. Like the rest of the National league coaches, Bert is strict on training. Although it never has been highly publicized, Dave has had lapses that caused sporadic flareups between him and the coach. He has voiced a desire to be elsewhere and probably will toe the line under Potsy. He'll have to. So as Bert continues his early to bed and early to rise policy, and collects players with the same ideas of living, there may be something to it after all. Sept. 15 will show to some extent, for that is the day his rebuilt Eagles, under new coach Heinie Miller, meet the Packers at City stadium in the league opener here.
succeeds Palmer Mickelson and will begin his new duties on September 3. Vince also will teach chemistry, biology and general science. Mickelson was promoted to the post of director of athletics. Gavre recently signed a professional football contract with the world champion Packers, but Coach Curly Lambeau already had informed the ex-Badger he will not be bound by the signature. The Port Edwards ace played a year of pro football with the Kenosha Coopers last fall.
FRED SHIREY, GIANT EX-NEBRASKA TACKLE, SIGNS WITH PACKER TEAM
JUN 1 (Green Bay) - The Green Bay Packer tackle corps received a big boost today with the announcement by Coach Curly Lambeau that Fred Shirey, giant Nebraska lineman, has agreed to terms for the 1940 season. The signing of Shirey brings the total of Packers under contract to 20. After three brilliant years at Nebraska, he graduated to the College All-Star squad of 1938, and made a great showing in that contest as a teammate of Cecil Isbell and Gus Zarnas. It was his rushing of Sammy Baugh's forward passing attempts which contributed largely to the downfall of the Redskins, and a fine future for him in professional football was predicted...TURNED DOWN OFFER: Shirey thought otherwise at the time, and turned down an offer from the Philadelphia Eagles, who had drafted him, to accept a coaching position at Beatrice, Neb., high school. Within the past few months, Lambeau completed a deal with the Eagles for his services, and the Packer coach interviewed him at Chicago recently. Shirey, mentioned on many all-American teams during his tenure with the Cornhuskers, weighs 228 pounds and stands three inches above six feet. He is extremely aggressive and powerful, playing the left side of the line. "Shirey should do our line a lot of good," Lambeau commented upon receiving his contract. Previously only two tackles had been signed for this season, and neither was a regular in 1939.
RESERVE SEATS FOR STAR GAME
JUN 2 (Green Bay) - With the ticket sale for the 1940 All-Star football game opening officially today, Leland H. Joannes, president of the Green Bay Packers, Inc., urged Wisconsin fans of the Packers to waste no time in making their reservations. Already some 3,000 tickets have been reserved in the bloc of 5,300 set aside for the Packers, Joannes said. He added: "Our seats run in the first section from the 50-yard line north at Soldier field. We expect no trouble in disposing of our tickets among Packer fans in Wisconsin, but we urge all persons to lose no time in getting their seats reserved. All of our tickets are priced at $4.40."....PAYABLE TO PACKERS: Checks or money orders, made payable to Green Bay Packers, Inc., Legion building, Green Bay, may be sent in at any time and the reservations will be held. Twenty cents must be added to the order for mail registration fee. Joannes and Coach Curly Lambeau will be in Chicago tomorrow, attending a meeting of the Western division concerning officials.
FRANK BYKOWSKI JOINS PACKERS
JUN 5 (Green Bay) - The signing of Frank Bykowski, husky Purdue university guard who was chosen in the National league draft by the Green Bay Packers, was announced today by Coach Curly Lambeau. Bykowski was voted the most valuable player on the Boilermaker team last season, after completing three seasons with the Purdue varsity. Never a spectacular player, he rarely received mention on mythical teams, but he always was noted for his aggressiveness, hard play and intelligence. The new Packer is highly recommended by Cecil Isbell, Green Bay halfback, who played with him at Purdue. Bykowski weighs 198 pounds and stands six feet in height. He is the 31st Packer to sign his 1940 contract.
PACKERS CHALLENGE FEDERAL TAX CLAIM
JUN 5 (Washington) - Green Bay Packers, Inc., operator of the National Professional Football league team of Green Bay, has told the tax appeals board it should not have to pay a treasury claim for $5,865 of undistributed profits taxes for 1937. Its petition contended it was a non-profit-sharing organization, that any proceeds from its operations went to the Sullivan post of the American Legion or to Green Bay charities, and that as a charitable organization it as not subject to the tax.
HARRY JACUNSKI SIGNS CONTRACT FOR ANOTHER YEAR WITH PACKERS
JUN 6 (Green Bay) - Harry Jacunski, who stepped from the Fordham line to the front wall of the Green Bay Packers last season in workmanlike style, will report to the National professional champions again in August, Curly Lambeau announced today. Jacunski's is the 32nd Green Bay contract for 1940 which Lambeau has received. The Packer squad on paper is the largest ever assembled by the Wisconsin team this early in the season, and Lambeau expects that the total will exceed 45 before practice for the Aug. 29 All-Star game begins. The Packer pilot is glad to see Jacunski back in the fold. A 197-pound end, six feet two inches tall, Harry is tough and rugged, intelligent and aggressive. He was a slow starter last fall, but before the season ended he was one of the best wingmen on the Green Bay team. He scored a couple of touchdowns in National league competition, and developed into a spectacular forward pass receiver. He was married at the end of the playing season and will bring his wife here with him in August.
Weisgerber will be appearing with the Packers for the third season. He can play either fullback or blocking back, and has tried out at right half. He has not been talented enough yet to force first string players from their berths in any of the backfield spots, but with his added experience Coach Lambeau believes he will show continued improvement. Weisgerber is married, and serves as a sport official, principally an umpire, during the off seasons. He is powerfully built, weighing 205 pounds and stands two inches shorter than six feet. He is a native of Salem, Ore. Dick is a long punter and a good blocker. He may be seen principally in the latter spot next fall.
SCHERER NAMED AIDE AT MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE
JUN 17 (Sioux City, IA) - Bernie Scherer, former University of Nebraska end, Saturday was named assistant varsity football coach and head freshman basketball coach at Morningside college here. Scherer, who has been playing professional football with the Green Bay Packers, also will teach courses in the physical education department, president Earl Roadman announced.
PACKER NOTES
JUN 21 (Manitowoc Herald Times) - Although nine members of the Green Bay Packers are unsigned, the three real holdouts are Larry Craig, Eddie Jankowski and Bill Lee. Curly Lambeau's efforts to sign them has met a stone wall. Craig wants a salary far in excess of what was paid him last year. He probably is worth more but Lambeau does not believe his present demands are justified. Lee, who was married last fall, thus far is demanding considerably more than Lambeau feels he can allow him. Jankowski takes the point of view that he won't play for the salary offered him but he doesn't mention what he regards as a satisfactory figure and the negotiations are somewhat at a standstill. Curly is getting along fairly well in negotiations with the other unsigned veterans and believe that with minor adjustments all will be satisfied to sign. They are Don Hutson, Baby Ray, Paul Kell, Jimmy Lawrence and Clarke Hinkle.
PACKER NOTES
JUN 24 (Madison) - The exhibition football game here September 8 between the Green Bay Packers and another pro eleven will be sponsored by the local Shrine. Either the St. Louis Gunners or the Cincinnati Bengals will oppose the Packers in the clash here.
FAMED ATHLETE HERE FRIDAY TO LAUNCH NEW NYA PROGRAM
JUN 26 (Wisconsin Rapids) - Three famed athletes, helping to promote the physical education program which is a part of the National Youth Administration's special project in the field of preparedness training, will be here next Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. to meet with boys who have joined or expect to join the local training center. They are Chuck Fenske, University of Wisconsin sensational mile runner; Eddie Jankowski, former U. of W. football star now wit the Green Bay Packers, and Joe Laws, also a Packer star and onetime University of Iowa player. The trio has been hired by NYA to stimulate the interest of youth in physical fitness. The meeting will be Witter vocational school.
COLUMBUS GRID TEAM WANTS TO TRAIN HERE
JUN 27 (Manitowoc) - The Columbus Bullies, 1939 champions of the American Professional Football league has offered to come to Manitowoc late in August to train for the 1940 seconds but lack of a lighted field here is expected to work against putting through the deal. According to a letter received by Mead Hansen, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, from Phil Bucklew, general manager and coach of the Columbus team, the squad would be willing to train here providing their hotel and training accommodations are taken care of. In return Bucklew said the club will play a series of exhibition games, in which the local community may retain the receipts. Secretary Hansen said he planned to advise Mr. Bucklew that because there are no facilities here for night football, there would probably not be enough revenue from Sunday or afternoon games to make the project an even break for the city. There has been agitation on here for months to provide a municipal athletic field in the Seventh ward on part of the Washington junior high school grounds which could be equipped with lights for both night baseball and football. However nothing has come of it, and it appears the project is dead, at least for the 1940 season. Bucklew, in his letter, said Manitowoc was suggested to Columbus as a training base by George Harris of the Milwaukee team in the American Professional league. Bucklew wrote: "The Columbus Bullies, champions of the American league in 1939, are very much interested in such a proposition and would be agreeable to playing exhibition games as designated by your people in exchange for their hotel and training accommodations during the preseason period. I understand Wisconsin is being boomed as the 'leading professional football center of the world' for the coming season and that such agreements as forementioned are already in effect for the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cardinals, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates of the National league and the Milwaukee Chiefs and St. Louis Gunners of the American league. Please let me hear from you." Last year the Pittsburgh Pirates trained at Two Rivers and played a doubleheader night game with the Green Bay Packers at Green Bay. The New York Giants and Chicago Cardinals trained at Duluth-Superior, and the Chicago Bears at Delafield, Wis. Fond du Lac is trying hard to have one of the National pro league squads train there in August.
GREEN BAY PREDICTS STRONGER TEAM FOR PACKERS
JUN 29 (Green Bay) - Those husky Green Bay Packers, undisputed champions of professional football, will be stronger and tougher to beat than last year, if something doesn't upset Coach Earl L. (Curly) Lambeau's applecart. Lambeau has assembled a rugged crop of promising football players, including the best performers from the 1939 team which crushed the New York Giants, 27 to 0, in the pro league's playoff game at Milwaukee last December. He has a head start on his rivals but he has not time to spare because the Packers, only team which has won the pro title five times, are scheduled to play the college all-stars at Chicago's Soldier field August 29. And that's an important game to Lambeau. "The all-star game will be a fine test of our squad's frame of mind," he said. "If we win that contest, it means the Packer have the correct mental attitude for the 1940 season. If we are fortunate enough not to have more than the average amount of injuries, and our share of the breaks, plus the right kind of mental attitude, I feel confident the Packers will win the championship again." Lambeau has 38 men under contract. Some of his topnotch players haven't signed yet, but he's confident they will accept teams by July 15. Lambeau is counting on new men to plug some of the weaknesses uncovered in his team last fall. Right end on defense was one of the weak spots but the coach feels he's got that position materially strengthened by new talent. He's also pleased with signing of halfbacks Harold Van Every of Minnesota and Lou Brock of Purdue. "Both are big boys, and good passers and should strengthen our offense considerably," he said. "They'll also give us a better defensive backfield." Other new men are expected to win their spurs in pro ball with the Packers are J.R. Manly, Oklahoma, guard; Fred Shirey, Nebraska, tackle; George Seeman of Nebraska and Raymond Riddick of Fordham, ends, and James Gilmore, triple-threat backfield star from the University of Virginia. A new player who may prove helpful to the Packers is Beattie Feathers, former University of Tennessee ace and veteran pro player. A free agent, Feathers signed with the Packers after playing last year with the Patterson, N.J., team in the American Football league. He holds the NFL's ground gaining record, set while a member of the Chicago Bears in 1934. Veteran Packers expected to sign contracts soon include Don Hutson, the pro league's No. 1 pass receiver; Clarke Hinkle, powerhouse fullback, and precision kicker; Cecil Isbell, former Purdue star; Eddie Jankowski, rugged fullback and former Wisconsin star; tackles Buford Ray and Bill Lee and guard Charles (Buckets) Goldenberg.
against the handicaps which complicated his task in 1937 and was largely responsible for the Packers defeat. Men who have played with the All-Stars should not be lulled into a state of false security. They know with what diligence and eagerness the collegians tackle the All-Star assignment and they are familiar with the advantages, psychological and physical, the All-Stars have in this game...MORE FIFTH COLUMNISTS: In addition to the three-timers, Feathers, Laws and Hutson, the "fifth column" is composed of Cecil Isbell, Purdue halfback; Charlie Brock, center, and Fred Shirey, tackle, both of Nebraska; Frank Balazs, Iowa fullback; Bill Lee, Alabama tackle; Gus Zarnas, Ohio State guard; Harry Jacunski, Fordham end; Jimmy Lawrence, Texas Christian halfback; Andy Uram and Larry Buhler, backs, and Bud Svendsen, center, all of Minnesota; and Eddie Jankowski, fullback from Wisconsin. Isbell, Uram and Shirey were the stars' of the Collegians' 28 to 16 victory over the Washington Redskins in 1938. Isbell passed 24 yards to Johnny Kovatch, of Northwestern and later of the Cleveland Rams, for the All-Stars' first touchdown and was named the All-Stars' most valuable player by the 325 newspapermen covering the game. Shirey made a one-handed interception of Sammy Baugh's first pass to set up a 12-yard field goal by Frank Patrick of Pittsburgh, now with the Chicago Cardinals, on which the All-Stars took a to 0 lead. Uram intercepted Dick Tuckey's pass and returned 40 yards for the All-Stars' last touchdown at a time when it appeared the Redskins might pull the game out of the fire. Laws and Feathers were the stars of the first game in 1934 when the mighty Bronko Nagurski and associated Bears were held to a scoreless tie. Laws led a march down the field the first time the All-Stars took the ball, reaching the 15-yard line before a fumble broke up the advance. Feathers sparked another long foray a few minutes later.
HERMAN SCHNEIDMAN REJOINS PACKERS FOR 1940 SEASON
JUL 9 (Green Bay) - Herman Schneidman, a professional football back with four and a half years of experience at the game, will try for a comeback with the Green Bay Packers this fall. Coach Curly Lambeau announced today that Schneidman has signed his contract, following a temporary "retirement" in the middle of the 1939 season. "Schneidman is an experienced, heady player with a particular flair for pass defense," Lambeau said in commenting upon the former University of Iowa gridders' return. "In 1939, he did not display a good mental attitude, and was released, but we feel that he is ready to give us his best this season." Schneidman is a big man,. carrying 200 pounds upon a stockily built frame, and when he is blocking in his best form, there are few National league players who can carve 'em out of the way with more precision. He lives at Quincy, Ill., and since last football season has handled a government job. As regards the rest of his unsigned players, Coach Lambeau had little comment. Some of them, he intimated, may report without signing, as several did last year, in the expectation that they will come to terms with the corporation before the All-Star game...O.K. WITH PACKERS: "This is all right with us," said the coach, "but if after staying here awhile they cannot see their ways clear to signing, we'll have to buy them their transportation home." Lambeau had a conversation with Paul Kell, former Notre Dame tackle, recently and expects the big fellow to confer with him within a few days.
LOOKING UP IN THE REALM OF SPORTS
JUL 13 (Green Bay) - While Coach Curly Lambeau is working on the rest of his unsigned talent for the 1940 football season, take a look at the scoring leaders which the team has produced since 1921, its first year in the NFL. Nineteen years have the Packers represented Green Bay in the world's toughest football loop, but only 12 different men have emerged with the squad scoring leadership. Five of the 12 still were active with the team last season. The greatest number of league points ever scored by a Packer in one season was the 78 total compiled by Johnny Blood in leading the circuit in 1931, the last of the team's first three championship years. The smallest total was the 21 made by Howard (Cub) Buck, a lineman, in 1921. For the last five years, only two names have appeared at the peak of the Green Bay scoring list. Don Hutson was high point man for the Packers in 1935, 1936 and 1939, while Clarke Hinkle led the roster in 1937 and 1938. Neither has yet approached the record of Verne Lewellen, Packer scoring leader for five consecutive years, from 1926 to 1930 respectively. The only other Packer whose name appears more than once in Lambeau himself, top man in 1921 and 1922, and Blood, who after winning the title in 1931, tied Hank Bruder the following year. For your information, here are the Packer individual scoring leaders down through the years. Lambeau, 28 points in 1921 and 30 in 1922; Buck, 21 in 1923; Tilly Voss, and end, 30 in 1924; Marty Norton, back, 36, in 1925; Lewellen, halfback, 42 in 1926, 30 in 1927, 54 in 1928, 48 in 1929, and 54 in 1930; Blood, 78 in 1931; Blood and Bruder, 24 apiece in 1932; Buckets Goldenberg, 42 in 1933; Bob Monnett, 30 in 1934; Hutson, 43 in 1935 and 54 in 1936; Hinkle, 57 in 1937 and 58 in 1938; and Hutson, again, 38 in 1939.
LEE, CRAIG TO DISCUSS TERMS
JUL 16 (Green Bay) - Two gentlemen from the south, William Lee and Larry Craig, both listed as Packer holdouts, have signified their intention of coming to Green Bay to discuss terms with Coach E.L. Lambeau. Lee will arrive Wednesday for his conference with the Packer coach. Craig manifested his interest in playing another year when he wired that he will be here Aug. 1. Coach Lambeau still has had no word of any kind from Eddie Jankowski, the third player in the holdout category. The veteran fullback has been working on an NYA health project, and has said nothing about his plans for the football season...IMPORTANT LAST SEASON: Both Lee and Craig were important cogs in the championship machine of last season. Lee was one of the best right tackles in the National league. A former Alabama captain where he was a teammate of Don Hutson, he has been with the Packers for three and one-half seasons. Before that he spent two and one-half seasons with Brooklyn. Craig came to the Packers from South Carolina as a rookie last season. He was outstanding as a blocking back on offense and a defensive end. Before the season was many weeks old, he broke into the starting lineup and was especially valuable as a playing mate of Hutson who was permitted to drop back into the secondary on defense. Craig is interested in the army air corps, and has passed his examinations for entrance into a reserve unit. He is said to be in excellent condition after working on a South Carolina farm. Lee has been wrestling ever since last winter, and is near his playing weight of 228 pounds. Mrs. Lee is in Green Bay now, visiting her mother and brother and sisters. Lambeau does not hesitate to say that he wants to sign Lee, Craig and Jankowski if they can come to terms. In rejecting the contract offered him, Jankowski has failed to state just what he does want. Lee and Craig have mentioned figures the coach feels are far too high. However, in coming to Green Bay they will have evidenced a willingness to have the matter thrashed out...OTHERS NOT SIGNED: Other veterans who have not signed, but who are not classed as holdouts, are Don Hutson, end; Baby Ray and Paul Kell, tackles; Cecil Isbell, Jimmy Lawrence and Clarke Hinkle, backs. Kell was in the city recently and negotiations with him seemed to be progressing satisfactorily until last week when he informed the coach that he still desires more money. But Kell also has been apartment hunting in Green Bay, so it looks very much as if he will return. Hutson, Hinkle and Isbell all are working for the Kimberly-Clark Paper company in Neenah. Ray is operating a store in Nashville, and Lawrence is in Texas. All have been in contact with Lambeau. Hutson, Isbell and Hinkle have seen him personally on several occasions, and at this date there is no reason to believe that they will not return to the lineup. Nevertheless, nothing is definite as yet. The only persistent Packer holdout of recent years was Champ Seibold, who retired from the game last season rather than accept terms.
DETROIT BACK PREDICTS PACKER VICTORY IN ALL-STAR CLASSIC
JUL 16 (De Pere) - An opinion that the Green Bay Packers will beat the Collegiate All-Stars in the great football classic late in August in Chicago was expressed by Fred Vanzo, who played as an All-Star a few years ago and has since been a formidable back for the Detroit Lions, while speaking at the De Pere Rotary Club at its weekly dinner last night in Union hotel. Coach Curly Lambeau will not permit the Packers to lose this game, their season in the big football attraction of the year, Vanzo contended. In losing the first game, some of the Packers were not conditioned, he claimed, while admitting that the intense heat was a contributing factor in that defeat. Conditioning will be Lambeau's problem in preparing his players for the game, Vanzo said. The Packers will be a unit, and will depend upon the veterans. The advantage of all player knowing the system of play will be with the Packers, whereas the All-Stars, in many instances, will be required to learn a new system, he stated...THEY HAVE ADVANTAGES: The advantages which the All Stars will have in the game are youth and condition. The players will average about 21 1/2 years, and will be in shape from participation in athletic training and hardening work during he spring and summer. The preponderence of material always will be in favor of the collegians, who will use more than four teams, he said. The Packers may use 33 men in the game, however. Some newly signed Packers will be tried out, he presumed, in order that Lambeau may learn their abilities. The game is sure to be a great battle, he claimed, but he reiterated his belief that the Packers will be victorious. He based his belief in his knowledge of players he thinks will be picked by the fans to represent the All-Stars...HAS SIGNED CONTRACT: Vanzo said he had signed his 1940 contract, and believes the Lions will have much more reserve strength this season than in 1939. He opined that the Chicago Bears will "be the team to beat in the NFL.'
OLD DRIVING URGE RETURNING AS PACKERS PREPARE FOR ALL-STARS
JUL 17 (Green Bay - By Cecil Isbell) - It has been two years since Coach Gus Dorais sent us All-Stars out on Soldiers field in Chicago to ambush the Washington Redskins - two years that have been a steady succession of four-star thrillers for me against the finest football teams in the game. Yet as the Packers begin preparations to meet the college All Americans on Aug. 29, the old urge returns and with it come the tingling reactions that attended my first varsity game at Purdue and the opening of All-Star practice at Evanston in 1938. Unless you've waited under a descending punt or brought down a charging ball carrier this may be difficult to understand. But once you are in a headgear and cleats, it becomes obvious. First of all, I don't believe there is a person participating in football who doesn't attach importance to every game. In the case of the All-Star game this importance is multiplied ten-fold because the Chicago contest has all the glamour of a good nightmare...CAREER HIGH SPOT: Few players on the All-Star squads ever have the opportunity to appear before so many people. Also, they get a chance to participate with and match talents against the outstanding athletes in the country under the guidance of the leading coaches in the game. We on the 1938 squad were agreed that it was the high spot of our careers. And even before we beat the Redskins, 28-16, we regretted that in all probability we would never have a chance to play in the game again. The most envied men among football players today are Joe Laws, Don Hutson and Beattie Feathers of our Packer club. They'll be playing in their third All-Star game. My surprise matched the thrill of that All-Star experience when, upon joining the Packers, I learned the game is equally important to the pros. I believe they would rather beat the collegians than win the championship. It was difficult to tell last season whether we were battling for the title or a chance to play at Chicago...RECORD-BREAKING SCORES: I look for a game that will break all scoring records for the series. Green Bay always has been known as a score-making combination. The graduating seniors in college, on the basis of their records, also can muster a powerful offensive squad. When two highly geared point producers get together, it isn't unusual to see more than six touchdowns and two field goals, the number the Redskins and our All-Star team provided in 1938. I do not anticipate that training for the game will be any different as a pro than it was as a member of the All-Star squad, although we probably will have to work a little harder because older men take longer to reach peak condition. But from the emotional aspect and from the standpoint of ultimate objective, the only difference I can visualize now is that I will be in a gold and blue uniform this time instead of the traditional red, white and blue of the All-Americans. It goes without saying, I presume, that I expect to emerge from the game with a record of never having played on the losing side in an All-Star contest. And I hope that I can repeat my performance of 1938, but it isn't very often that a fellow gets that lucky twice.
AMERICAN PRO LEAGUE OFFICIALS TO MEET SUNDAY
JUL 17 (Cincinnati) - President George J. Heitzler announced tonight that American Professional Football league officials would meet in Chicago Sunday to discuss activities of a group which he said had "been trying to entice a few of the American clubs into their pro league." Heitzler said heads of most of the American clubs would be present, adding that there was a possibility Louisville, Hollywood, Calif, and several other cities would be represented. The meeting originally was scheduled for August 4.
PACKER OFFICIALS MAKE PLANS FOR SEASON TICKET CAMPAIGN
JUL 23 (Green Bay) - Electing officials, discussing plans for an intensive ticket sale campaign and hearing an optimistic report from Coach E.L. (Curly) Lambeau, stockholders of the Green Bay Packers. Inc., held their annual meeting in the courthouse assembly room Monday evening. L.H. Joannes was elected to serve his 10th consecutive year as president of the board of directors. He, along with other officers and the executive board, was chosen during a brief meeting of the directors after the stockholders adjourned. Fred Leicht is first vice president; Lambeau, second vice president; Frank J. Jonet, treasurer, and G.W. Calhoun, secretary....ON EXECUTIVE BOARD: On the executive board are the following: Joannes, Leicht, Jonet, Lambeau, A.B. Turnbull, E.R. Fisher, Gerald F. Clifford, H.J. Bero and Dr. W.W. Kelly. Named to the board of directors by the stockholders were: Bero, Clifford, Fisher, Joannes, Dr. Kelly, Leicht, Turnbull, Lambeau, Fred L. Cobb, Leslie J. Kelly, Harvey J. Lhost, Charles Mathys, John D. Moffatt, Gus Reimer, John E. Paeps, Milan Boex, Ed Schuster, Arthur Schumacher, Edward Bedore and H.G. Wintjens. Jonet, who succeeds himself as treasurer, presented his detailed report to the stockholders, and it was adopted. Various methods of stimulating the season ticket sale were proposed. It was pointed out that the fans who purchase these tickets not only save some money, but they are assured the same seat for every home game...AN AUTOMATIC CUSTOMER: "Once you get a football fans sold on a season ticket," Joannes declared, "he's almost an automatic customer the next year." E.A. Spachmann, the director of ticket sales, reported that a total of 2,086 season tickets have been sold so far this year. Last season the all-time peak was reached with the sale of 2.345 such tickets. Several stockholders pointed out that the first football fever should result in many additional sales. Having set the goal at 5,000, however, the corporation is planning to launch several plans to stimulate business. Ralph Smith, one of the stockholders, spoke favorably of the partial payment plan. Under this plan, which is already operating, the fan may select his ticket, have it set aide, and make a payment every month or so as he chooses. The final payment is not made until the fan picks up the ticket...COOPERATE WITH FANS: Smith suggested that employers cooperation with the fans in their employ in promoting the partial payment plan. Payments might be made to the cashier of the office, making it unnecessary for the purchaser to make a special trip to the Packer ticket office every time he wished to pay an installment. In furthering this project, it was suggested that circular letters describing the advantages of buying season tickets be placed in the pay envelopes of cooperating firms. Publicity of various kinds will be employed in soliciting additional sales. It is probable that some of neighboring communities will be "worked" by a representative of the corporation as an experiment. The past season was not too successful financially, although a slight profit was made. In Detroit rain held down the attendance, and the crowd at the Chicago Bear game in Chicago was smaller than expected because the Bears were out of the race...EAST CROWDS SMALL: Money was lost on the Eastern invasion. There was no game in Washington or New York, which were drawing the best crowds. Games were played with Philadelphia and Brooklyn after these teams were defeated, and the attendance was small at both. "Prospects are better for this year," Joannes declared. Coach Lambeau agreed that this season's schedule should benefit the treasury. Clifford commented that the improvements at City stadium, where the Packers' home games are played, are progressing favorably. An attractive wall is being built at the front and part of the two sides of the stadium...COACH IS OPTIMISTIC: Coach Lambeau obviously is optimistic about
the Packers' prospects for the 1940 season. Piled with numerous questions, he spent a full half-hour sizing up players and drawing a general picture of the defending champions and their opponents. "Although we won the NFL championship last year, we have strengthened our club considerably. We couldn't rest where we were, because the other teams are building up. If everything works right, we should have the greatest team Green Bay has ever sent out in the league," Lambeau continued. As has been his theme in the past, he stressed the fact that optimism, the "let-George-do-it" attitude, is sometimes a great handicap for a championship team to overcome. "We want to have a team so good, drawing so well on the road, that the other clubs have just got to have us in the league," he declared...SQUAD LIMIT RAISED: The Packers will have some 49 men this year. There will be enough for four full teams when they meet the College All-Stars in Chicago the night of Aug. 29. A club in the National league may have 60 men up to the first game. After that the squad must be cut down to 33 players. Last year only 30 players were permitted after the first three games.
PACKERS TO PLAY 11 LEAGUE TILTS
JUL 23 (Green Bay) - Eleven league games, including four at home, two in Milwaukee and five on the road, appear on the 1940 NFL schedule for the Green Bay Packers. Defending their fifth world's crowd, the Packers' tilts at City stadium here will be with the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Rams and Detroit Lions. They will meet the Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers at State Fair
LOOKING UP IN THE REALM OF SPORTS
JAN 16 (Green Bay) - Donald Hutson, the one individual member of the Green Bay Packers who achieved national recognition during the past season - critics generally seeming to believe that the rest of the team was stuck together with adhesive tape - is stirring something of a controversy regarding his own considerable abilities. Hutson was placed on the professional mythical teams at the end of the 1939 season. He was named to the league's all-America team, to the United Press team and to the Professional Football Writers' association squad. He was the only Packers to be placed on either the first or second teams in all those selections. This development was in no sense disappointing to Coach Curly Lambeau, who much prefers to have his team regarded as a unit, but it did burn up some of the fans. The Packers defeated every team in the National league, Easter and Western division, at least once during the season, and finished off the program by beating them all together at Los Angeles last Sunday. All this may have been done by mirrors, but there is a suspicion in the minds of the Green Bay fans that the community is represented by a pretty hot football club. Last night on the radio a nationally known sports commentator was criticizing Hutson's general selection for honor teams, saying that "there are any number of better all-around ends in the National league." This, of course, is true. Hutson perhaps is the greatest pass receiver ever to play football, and no one pretends that the rest of his talents equal that gift of gifts. He is not strong defensively, and the Packers do not use him in the line on offense. They shift muscle-man Larry Craig into that tough slot, and let Craig sweep in to crack 'em down while Hutson roams the defensive backfield, utilizing his amazing speed to knock down enemy passes and overtake the occasional back who slips through the primary line of defense. Hutson is not a good blocker, and so you seldom see him blocking. When he isn't catching passes he steps wide and far as a decoy, drawing aside vital defense men to rip open spaces for other Green Bay receivers. These comparative deficiencies might cause another end to lose his job, but not Hutson. The reason is that with no exception and with any good passer in the backfield, he's the most dangerous man on the gridiron. Two men can be assigned to watch him, and he'll twist away for his catches just the same. Once he's past the defense, it's a touchdown, for no one has overtaken him yet. Probably any coach in the National league would sit down and tell you about better all-around ends than Don Hutson. But there isn't a one of them who wouldn't trade any end on his squad for the speedy young fellow, whether he'd admit it or not. And he might throw in a new line to boot.
RICHARDS SELLS LION FRANCHISE
JAN 17 (Detroit) - Transfer of the Detroit Lions' professional football team to three young sportsmen by Owner Dick Riachards today awaited only the approval of the NFL, which is expected within a week. Richards, 50 and in poor health, sold for $200,000 the franchise that cost his $15,000, to Fred L. Mandel, Jr., Chicago, Anthony L. (Tony) Owen and Charles Chaplin of New York. It was only six years ago that Richards picked up the Portsmouth, O., franchise and moved it to Detroit, where it became one of the most profitable in the league...STAYS IN CALIFORNIA: For the past three years Richards has had to remain in California for his health and direct the team by telephone and wire. He said he sold the team "with deep regret" on doctor's orders. The new owners said George (Potsy) Clark, who coached the Lions to the National league title in 1935, would return as head coach. Clark's contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers expired after last season...EXECUTIVE OF GIANTS: Chaplin, an executive of the New York Giants for several years, plans to live in Detroit, and Mandel, who has retired from active duty in the Chicago department store which bears his name, will live here about six months of the year. Formal transfer of the franchise to the new owners must await a two-thirds vote of the other clubs in the league, but there is no doubt that the sale will be approved since League President Carl Storck helped arrange and gave his approval to the deal.
COAST SEEKING PRO GRID LOOP
JAN 17 (San Diego) - Pacific Coast baseball league owners were handed a proposition today to sponsor a professional football league. Harry Myers of Los Angeles, long identified with pro football, broached the idea at the league's meeting. "The plan to form a Pacific coast pro football league is well underway now, but we thought the best idea would be to see if the baseball clubs would be interested in the matter," Myers said...OWN THE PARKS: "The clubs have a natural setup for the football league. They have the organizations to carry on such a league. They own the parks and all they need is a team and a coach. The league will be started next fall, whether the baseball men go into it or not, but I think they are the logical ones to form such a league."
LAMBEAU IS BACK
JAN 18 (Green Bay) - The first arrival home from the Pro Bowl game at Los Angeles last Sunday was Coach Curly Lambeau of the Packers, who reached Green Bay by train last night. Lambeau commented enthusiastically on the play of the Packers against the National league All-Stars, and added, "They played like champions." Arnold Herber, who is driving Lambeau's car home, along with Joe Laws and Ed Jankowski, is expected back by Saturday.
BEATTIE FEATHERS, FORMERLY OF BEARS, DODGERS IN SIGNED
JUN 10 (Green Bay) - Beattie Feathers, one-time halfback of the Chicago Bears and Brooklyn Dodgers, will try out of regular work with the Green Bay Packers this year, Coach Curly Lambeau announced with the receipt of Feathers' signed contract. Feathers was signed as a free agent, after having been out much of last season with an injury. At one time the best ground-gaining back in the National league, Lambeau believes that another change of scenery, with the recovery from his injury. may bring him back to his former spot as one of the most feared halfbacks in professional football...FAMILIAR TO PACKERS: Feathers has played against the Packers many times, both as a Bear and as a Dodger, and Packer fans are thoroughly familiar with his twisting, elusive style of ball toting. He is a big fellow, weighing above 180 pounds. He is the 33rd Packer to place his name on the dotted line for 1940.
TEAM TO BE CALLED MILWAUKEE CHIEFS
JUN 10 (Milwaukee) - The new Milwaukee club in the American Professional Football league will be known as the Milwaukee Chiefs, George M. Harris, club president announced today. Three former University of Illinois gridders were signed Saturday by Coach Tiny Cahoon. They were Ralph Bennett, fullback; Ralph Hathaway, guard, and William Lenich, center. Lenich was chosen most valuable player in Illinois' 1939 team.
ERNIE SMITH RETURNS HIS SIGNED CONTRACT
JUN 14 (Green Bay) - Ernie F. Smith, he of the golden toe who once starred in a great Trojan line, has signed his 1940 football contract with the Green Bay Packers. Smith's contract was received by Coach Curly Lambeau today, bringing the number of Green Bay players signed to 34. Lambeau still is working on several of his veterans who have not agreed to terms, but said today that none of them could be classified as holdouts. Smith's growing service string - this will be his fifth season as a Packer and his sixth in professional football - entitles him to recognition as one of the best known men in Green Bay gridiron history. A big fellow, who hits the scales at 220 pounds, he is capable of whirlwind action at left tackle, his favored sport. He had a bad season in 1939. In the summer practice games with the Pittsburgh Pirates he smashed a finger, carried the injured member in a cast for several weeks, and didn't come into his own until the playoff game against the New York Giants at Milwaukee, when he played magnificent ball...STARRED ON COAST: He also starred on the Pacific coast, in the Pro Bowl game at Los Angeles, and Coach Lambeau feels he should be back for another great season next fall. Ernie is a native of Los Angeles, and a great man with the fans. He always has time to stop and talk football, and has made as many contacts with the Packer followers as any player on the team. Before entering the pro game he was an ace for three seasons with the University of Southern California varsity. Smith's kicking has been among the most consistent in the National league. Although a lineman, playing a position which rarely is associated with high scoring totals, only 11 Packers in all Green Bay's history have scored more points than he. In his National league career Ernie has kicked 45 extra points and booted seven field goals for 66 points, six less than those of 10th place Hurdis McCrary...HEADING FOR RECORD: Ernie has expressed the opinion that before his playing days end, he would like to have more points after touchdown on his record than any other Packer. Right now he is in second place, only one point shy of Joseph (Red) Dunn's all-time record, and only two kicks will be needed next fall to set a new mark. However, Tiny Engbretsen is moving along fast behind Smith, and already has kicked 40 extra points. Clarke Hinkle, Engebretsen and Howard (Cub) Buck are the only Packers with more field goals totheir credit than Smith.
WEISGERBER TO REJOIN PACKERS
JUN 17 (Green Bay) - Dick Weisgerber, the chunky back from Williamette who has played a reserve role on recent Green Bay Packer football teams, has signed his contract for 1940, Coach Curly Lambeau announced today.
SCHINDLER IS READY TO SIGN HIS CONTRACT WITH PACKERS
JAN 2 (Santa Monica, CA) - Amby Schindler, the mighty Trojan who knocked Tennessee for a loop in the Rose Bowl yesterday, belongs to the Green Bay Packers and is ready to sign a contract. This was the news that caused Coach Curly Lambeau to smile today. After watching Schindler's performance Lambeau patted himself on the back for having selected him in the draft. Although Curly has not talked to Amby, the writer saw him in the dressing room after the game and popped the question. His answer was: "Yes, I plan to play at least two years of pro football before going into physical education and coaching. I am anxious to see how good I do against real competition." Howard Jones, coach of the Trojans, praised Schindler's performance as the best he had seen in years, not only his hard driving but his finesse, especially on that touchdown pass which caught the Vols on the balls of their brogans. Another future Packer, Phil Gaspar, impressed Lambeau with his play at tackle. "He caught my eye right off the bat," Lambeau said/ "After booting the opening kickoff he went down the field and made the tackle on the same play." The Packers will get down to hard work today in preparation for the battle with Steve Owen's all-Americans next Sunday. The boys are in good shape as the result of running and from here out work on new plays. Hank Bruder, Jimmy Lawrence and Russ Letlow are on the sidelines. Bruder has a sprained ankle, Letlow and Lawrence pulled leg muscles. Otherwise the boys are okay physically and ready for the question.
LOOKING UP IN THE REALM OF SPORTS
JAN 2 (Green Bay) - There were a few tongues placed in cheeks locally when the Pittsburgh Pirates discovered they had drafted a junior mistakenly at the 1939 National league pow-wow, but investigation seems to reveal that the Green Bay Packers did the same thing. Thinking that Green Bay fans might appreciate some information regarding the men drafted by the Packers for 1940 competition, we dropped a not to a few university publicity departments, requesting a spot of dope here and there, and in the early part of the correspondence we discovered that Draftee E. Vincent Eichler, 201-pound back of Cornell university, has not completed his college competition. No longer being a member of the class of '40, Eichler isn't eligible for the league draft. He was captain-elect of the 1939 team. This means he will be eligible for play next fall, provided his knee
PACKERS STRESSING AIR DEFENSE PLANS
JAN 4 (Santa Monica, CA) - In the midst of preparing for Sunday's game with Steve Owen's all-Americans, Curly Lambeau today took time out to make two announcements of interest to Green Bay fans. They are: 1 - Larry Buhler will definitely be shifted to blocking back next season. 2 - Frank Balazs will see a lot of action at fullback. Lambeau became enthusiastic when discussing Balazs saying: "He weighs 215 and is the third fastest man on the squad. In our sprint races out here he was third to such speed artists as Larry Craig and Don Hutson. He will make a mighty good man for us."...SWITCH DRILL SCHEDULE: A change in drills yesterday saw the Packers working on pass defense to prepare for the avalanche that O'Brien, Hall and Filchock will unloosen. Prior to that Lambeau has been perfecting the timing on running plays and experimenting with new stuff to use against Owen's star-studded aggregation. The offense has been polished and from here out Lambeau will bear down on defense. George Marshall, owner of the Washington Redskins, called Curly on the telephone to predict the Packers will take a beating Sunday. He said Owen has the finest All-Star team ever assembled and that the passers will drive the Bay boys daffy...HE MAY BE RIGHT: Lambeau, while not alarmed, admitted Marshall might be right except for the fact that "pick up" teams seldom defeat units that have been together for some time. Curly agreed that the All-Stars are all the name implies, but not including any local talent as in past years. After talking it over with the boys, many of whom are anxious to get back to their jobs, Lambeau announced there would be no trip to Honolulu and no making of a movie short. This did not keep Messrs. and Mesdames Isbell, HInkle, Hutson, Lee, Gantenbein, Uram, Weisgerber and Engebretsen from going through the MGM studios, where they saw things that made their eyes pop. Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable and others did the honors.
LOOKING UP IN THE REALM OF SPORTS
JAN 4 (Green Bay) - It may be a project which will be fulfilled only in the dim and distant future, but the time is coming when Green Bay will need a municipal stadium. This is not necessarily a development of the football playoff situation at Milwaukee, nor does it so far as we know, reflect the opinion of a single member of the Green Bay executive board, not it is an attempt to copy the current efforts of Milwaukee to construct a similar project. It just seems to be a good idea for eventual completion. The members of the park board are interested, although they conceded that it may be a long day before the gates swing open. The site which has been suggested is that vast area on the west side of Irwin avenue, between Green Bay and Bay Beach. At first glance, Green Bay fans might think the section a bit isolated, despite the fact that it afford ample parking place, and won't constitute a public nuisance when erected. But Green Bay might as well realize that it isn't a small town anymore. The day has gone when any structure for public convenience must be built with a stone's throw of the Fox River. If such a stadium ever reaches the point of serious consideration, two points must enter into the discussion. First, the place must be designed for all kind of sport, such as football, baseball, track and others. Second, it must return a decent revenue - enough to keep up the interest payments on the bonded indebtedness and to nibble away at the principal. If covered stands were provided, the stadium's utility would be increased greatly, and the risk of loss to promotional events by poor weather would be smaller by consequence. City stadium is doing all right for the community, up to a certain point. But it never can be stretched to accommodate more than an approximate 26,000. Furthermore, parking facilities are highly inadequate, and the eastern end of Walnut street is badly cramped at all Packer home games. The wheels of progress grind slowly, and it sometimes seems that it takes particularly long for them to get started in Green Bay. And so, if a municipal stadium we are to have, it might be well to start a spot of serious thinking on the matter. A centralized home for football, for daily baseball, track meets, for community affairs would be an asset to which Green Bay could point with everlasting pride. And it would save disputes over playoff games.
SELLOUT CROWD CERTAIN SUNDAY
JAN 5 (Santa Monica. CA) - A sellout crowd with many turned away is almost a certainty for Sunday's Pro Bowl game between the Packers and the All-Americans. The only thing that will keep Gilmore Stadium from being filled with 18,000 is rain. It has been raining the last couple
Wisconsin USA foreign trade bureau. A lifelong interest in sports was one of the motives which prompted him to enter professional football, he said. He played first base in college baseball and fullback in football while attending the University of Maryland from 1902 until 1906.
ACTION IS DELAYED
JAN 10 (Milwaukee) - The common council's joint finance and buildings and ground committee yesterday delayed for one month action on a proposal to erect a municipal stadium. The committeemen expressed strong sentiment against any plan which would involve the city financially.
GEORGE TRAFTON WANTS TO COACH MILWAUKEE PROS
JAN 11 (Milwaukee) - "I hear Milwaukee got a franchise in the American pro league," said George Trafton, reaching for the writer's lapel with one of those big paws which used to smack 'em down in the NFL, when George played a lot of center for the Chicago Bears. "Who's this fellow, George Harris, that got the franchise? Tell him I'd like to coach a team for him. Yeah, I got the football fever again...can you imagine it, at my age? After I left the Bears, I could sit in the stands and watch 'em play and it left me cold. But last season it began to get me again. I was yelling like a college boy. I'm not kidding about coaching. I'd like that job in Milwaukee. There's going to be two big leagues - can't help but be - and that American league is going to be the second. Those National league owners have had everything their own way and they're quaking in their boots for fear somebody will give 'em some competition. They divide up the college stars as if they own 'em. No reason why a second league can't go after those name players. How did the American league get started in baseball? It went after the players and forced the old National to give it recognition. That's what will happen in pro football. The National league can't play enough game to satisfy demand. Other cities want pro ball. It's the biggest thing in sports, and I want to get in on it. Tell those fellows who the Milwaukee franchise they can get a coach who knows all the answers."
PACKER TRAINER BACK IN TOWN
JAN 11 (Green Bay) - Dave Woodward, trainer of the Green Bay Packers, arrived in Green Bay from Los Angeles late Wednesday, reporting that the team is in great shape and that the spirit, especially among the older players, is fine. Woodward had arranged with Coach E.L. Lambeau to leave immediately after the game against the National league All-Stars which was to have been played last Sunday. Business committments which previously had been made, affecting his winter work, necessitated Dave's departure when the game was postponed because of rain. He received special permission from Lambeau, with the approval of Assistant Coach Red Smith and the players, to leave...SPIRIT IS GOOD: "Yes," Dave said this morning, "the spirit is fine, especially among such fellows as Hinkle and Gantenbein, but they are going to need all they have. The All-Star lineup is powerful, and Steve Owen is out for revenge for the defeat the New York Giants suffered at the hands of the Packers." In speaking of last Sunday's postponement, Woodward stated that the boys were being taped and bandaged (this work is always done on the morning of the game) when they were called into a meeting and Coach Lambeau announced that the rain and the threat of another downpour would make it impossible to play as scheduled. "Outside of the rain," the trainer said, "the trip was wonderful for me, and I know that the rest of the boys feel the same way about it. We received the best of treatment at all times."...BRUDERS ON WAY: Dave further reported that Hank Bruder and Mrs. Bruder, and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kell had left the coast. The Bruders, he said, are being called back by a combination of circumstances which include Hank's tire and battery business and the care of Hank. Jr., from whom they didn't wish to stay any longer than necessary. Kell had a job to which he was scheduled to report today.
JACUNSKI HURT, HUTSON STARTS
JAN 12 (Santa Monica, CA) - The rains came - and brought nothing but bum breaks to the Packers. First of all, the postponement should give Steve Owen's All-Americans a decided advantage in Sunday's game. It means Owen has another week to perfect his plans, mold his machine, and work out plays. And yesterday Harry Jacunski turned an ankle in dummy scrimmage, and will not able to start. He collided with Joe Laws and slipped on the west turf. This caused Coach Curly Lambeau to shift Milt Gantenbein from right to left end, and it is probable Don Hutson will be a starter. Otherwise the lineup will be the same as released to Wisconsin papers exclusively last week. Lambeau's job has been to keep the boys running, and fire up the morale during the letdown period. Most of the fellows have been playing golf (when it wasn't raining pitchforks), while a few attempted to make a few bucks at the races. Mr. Owen is feeling rather frisky and the twinkle in his eye may be recorded as an indication he feels confident of victory. More than one expert has commented favorably on the All-American lineup and this sort of back-slapping may be the very thing his lads need to spur them Sunday. Yes, the rains came and the rains have not let up a single day. But under the agreement Sunday's game will be played even if it is necessary to outfit the gridders with water wings.
PRO GRIDDERS PREVENTED FROM WORKING; THEY CAN STILL EAT
JAN 12 (Los Angeles) - Fancy taking a few guests such as Turk Edwards, Ki Aldrich, Ernie Smith and some 50 other behemoths of the gridiron to dinner for three solid weeks and you have the reason for a promoter's nightmare. In the present instance, the grid giants are members of the rival Green Bay Packers and National league All-Star teams, the harassed promoter is Tom Gallery, and the game is the once-postponed Pro Bowl clash...GOES ON SUNDAY: "It won't be postponed again, though," declared Gallery. "Rain or shine, it will go on Sunday at Gilmore stadium. My, my," he added, "how those young men can eat!" The two aggregations reported in Los Angeles Dec. 23. They've been hard at it since, but most of their work has been at the dinner table. Time and again rain has forced them to abandon outdoor practice, but the indoor drills haven't interfered with their respective appetites. The two squads look very healthy...SMALLEST OF LOT: "I kinds like your unusual weather," drawled Davey O'Brien, the former Texas Christian university passing star. Davey, incidentally, is the smallest man of the lot, but he seems to hold his own in such eating company as Bruiser Kinard and Pug Manders. He adheres closely to the old rule of never passing on fourth down; in fact, he won't pass until after the first down. "Four minutes after we found we couldn't play last Sunday I walked into the dining room and there was Davey, parked behind the biggest T-bone I ever saw," Gallery observed. "He's a speedy boy, that Davey." "So are the rest," he went on, "if they tear into each other as they do to those potatoes, it will be a ball game."
MILWAUKEE HAS LOOP FRANCHISE
JAN 10 (Milwaukee) - George M. Harris, Milwaukee hotel man, announced yesterday that he has been awarded a franchise in the American Football League, which is composed of eight members. The Kenosha club waived territorial rights to permit Harris to join with a Milwaukee club, since a league rule prohibits a club from operating within 50 miles of another member of the loop. Other members of the league are St. Louis, Mo.; Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio; Los Angeles, and Louisville, Ky....WATCHES STADIUM PLANS: Harris explained that his franchise was awarded at the league's meeting Jan. 7 at Cincinnati, but that information on it was withheld pending conference with Milwaukee city officials regarding stadium facilities. Proposed construction of a new stadium site in Milwaukee is under consideration. Present plans call for six games in Milwaukee and four in other cities of the league, Harris said. He added that if the proposed municipal stadium is erected the games will be played there, but if plans for it fall through, application will be made to play at the State Fair play, where Green Bay and New York played for the World's championship in the National league this fall...WILL NOT BUCK PACKERS: He announced that a corporation has been formed to handle the club and that application has been made at Madison for a charter. "We will not buck the Green Bay Packers," Harris asserted. "No game will be scheduled in Milwaukee on dates already allotted to the Packers, whether or not both the State Fair park and the proposed new municipal stadium are available." Harris said that a strong Milwaukee team will be organized. "After the preliminaries are out of the way we will select a good coach and be guided by his advice in obtaining players," Harris said. "As a nucleus for the team six outstanding players have been made available to us, but will not be signed until later."...EXPANDS TO 10 CLUBS: Decision to expand 10 clubs, the same number as the National league, created two new franchises. One was assigned to Milwaukee. Assignment of the other will be announced at the March meeting of the league when dates of the games will be announced, according to Harris. He said that this meeting will be held in Milwaukee. Harris was elected to the league's advisory board at the Cincinnati meeting. The league was formed in 1934. Harris is a native of Hernando, Miss., and he came to Milwaukee 35 years ago. He was in retail business, later associated with a large chain department store here, and five years ago became publicity manager of a chair of hotels. He was on the NRA conference board and later was general chairman of the NRA public relations in Wisconsin. Some years ago he was connected with the
DELAYED PRO BOWL CONTEST SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY
JAN 13 (Los Angeles) - Old Man Sunshine returned to work this morning and the Green Bay Packers were all smiles as they limbered up for tomorrow's delayed struggle with the all-Americans in the Pro Bowl game. As suddenly as it came, the rain stopped Friday and gave the Packers the opportunity for their hardest workout of the week. There was just enough nip in the air to make the boys hustle through the drill in a manner to please Coach Curly Lambeau...PACKERS ARE SET: "We're ready and I know we'll give them a tough battle," Lambeau boomed after the dummy scrimmage. "Outside of Russ Letlow and Harry Jacunski, every man is in good condition, perhaps better shape than the opposition." Somehow the notion has spread around Packer headquarters that the all-Americans may not be in the pink. With this in mind, Lambeau probably will turn his power loose on the enemy, the idea being to soften them up a bit and then shoot the aerial fireworks...BREAK UP PASSES: Steve Owen says he will break up the Packer passing game by concentrating on the hurlers. It is his theory that the receivers are so efficient that it is almost impossible to curb them without being guilty of interference, therefore the drive on the passers. The merciful change in the weather presages a sellout crowd of 18,500. The fans are really starving for this one, having had no football for two weeks.
HUTSON TOPS FOOTBALL SCRIBES' PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL VOTING
JAN 13 (New York) - Ken Smith of the New York Mirror, president of the Professional Football Writers' association, today announced the sportswriters' selection for the 1939 All-American professional teams. The teams, named by 101 of the association's members from every NFL city, are perhaps the most comprehensively polled of all the All-American combinations. Team value and sheer artistry were the main factors considered in the selections. As reporters assigned to pro football, association members had an opportunity to study every player in action under fire...PARKER IS NAMED: The writers' teams are slightly at variance with those selected by league coaches. Clarence "Ace" Parker of Brooklyn and Parker Hall of Cleveland, whom the coaches relegated to the second team, were named on the writers' first team. Parker's brilliance as a field general was recognized by the scribes, despite the fact that he played with the hapless Dodgers, and he was named first-team quarterback for the second consecutive season. Hall, the Rams' sensational triple-threat freshman, was awarded the left halfback position. Bill Osmanski, the Chicago Bears' first-year battering ram, was named fullback. Thus, the scribes picked two freshmen on their first team for the second consecutive year. Byron "Whizzer" White, Pittsburgh back, and Frank Kinard, Brooklyn tackle, were the first-year men who won first-team places last year. White retired to become a Rhodes scholar at Oxford and Kinard landed on the second team this year...HUTSON TOPS POLL: Don Hutson, Green Bay's wizard end, topped the poll, with a total of 443 votes. Three other members of the first team polled in excess of 400. Danny Fortmann, Bear guard, polled 432; Joe Stydahar, Bear tackle, amassed 420 and Osmanski collected 406. Andy Farkas, Washington halfback, missed the "400 Club" by two votes, his total being 398. Aside from Parker and Hall, the writers agreed with the coaches in naming the nine
PACKERS MUST IMPROVE TO KEEP CHAMPIONSHIP, LAMBEAU SAYS
JAN 20 (Green Bay) - "We look forward to 1940 with optimism," It's Curly Lambeau speaking - coach of the world champion professional football team - back in Green Bay for a brief work period before he starts his winter swing to contact, and he hopes, contract players for next fall. "If we are all big enough to forget that we have won another title, and can go back to work again, we'll be able to give the fans everything we've got in 1940," Lambeau added. The Packers face a rocky road. They must a return appearance in the Chicago Al-Star game, and from that contest they must emerge to face the toughest jinx in pro football - for no National league team yet has fought the All-Stars and thereafter repeated as champions. If the Packers are to be the first, the assignment will call for much work, the coach
says. "We know that we must be 15 percent better than our opposition to repeat for the title," he continued. "When you are the champion, they are all set for you, and the margin of victory or defeat depends upon the attitude of your players."...TOUGH TASK AHEAD: "We know the task which is ahead. Why, Brooklyn last season was the only team we had decisively licked at the finish of the game during our regular season. We had to come from behind to beat many of the others, and then had to fight with everything we had to hang onto our lead. On the other hand, we had a nice lead over the Cleveland Rams up here, and then lost the game. You never can tell in this league." Lambeau expressed his satisfaction with the advance appearance of the Green Bay draft. "We need replacements in several positions," he said, "and if we have success in signing our new men, we should have another good ball club."...MAY FILL THE BILL: "We need another fullback - the left halfback position, and another right halfback. Possible Hal Van Every of Minnesota or Ambrose Schindler of Southern California, or Dick Cassiano of Pittsburgh will fill the bill. If any one of them makes the grade, it may help us greatly. With Clarke Hinkle, Eddie Jankowski and Frank Balazs returning, we feel we are set at fullback for another season. The blocking back position, too, should be secure. Dick Weisgerber played good ball at Los Angeles, and Larry Buhler will be shifted to the blocking position. We also have Larry Craig, a standout of the 1939 season. I feel we will need help at right end, and it is possible that George Seeman, big end from Nebraska, will solve our problem there. Furthermore, Andy Kerr of Colgate and Bernie Bierman of Minnesota, who coached a team for the East-West game, said that Bud Kerr of Notre Dame is one of the best ends they ever saw.."...TYPICAL RIGHT HALF: "Lou Brock of Purdue is a typical right halfback, and should make the grade nicely. I find that we have drafted a few men that
PACKERS SIGN KILBOURNE, SCHULTZ, SVENDSEN, URAM
MAR 28 (Green Bay) - Coach Curly Lambeau, Green Bay Packer mentor, signed up a quartet of former University of Minnesota grid stars and was discussing terms with a fifth as the result of a trip he made to the Twin Cities yesterday. The four men under contract, all of whom have had previous experience with the Packers, include: Warren Kilbourne, tackle. Charles Schultz, tackle. Bud Svendsen, center. Andy Uram, back. Lambeau had an appointment with Harold Van Every, outstanding Gopher halfback, and expressed hopes that he could be added to the Green Bay roster. Van Every was among those drafted by the Packers last fall...SHOULD BE GOOD: Kilbourne, 250-pound tackle, reported to Lambeau at the start of the last season, and was farmed out to the Kenosha team for further experience. "He should make the Packers a good man this year," Lambeau commented in his telegram to the Press-Gazette today. Although he was a freshman, Schultz finished last season with the Packers like a veteran. He is a big, tough athlete, weighs 250 pounds. A St. Paul boy, he was one of the Gopher mainstays for three years, and can be expected to become one of the Packer regulars. He is a terrific charger on both offense and defense. Svendsen, who was christened Earl, is a former star pivot man for the University of Minnesota. He will be back with the Packers for the third year. The former famous Packer, center George Svendsen, is his brother...ONE OF BEST: In other seasons Svendsen was a question mark about signing up with the Packers, but he hesitated little this time. He weighs 183 pounds, and has the physique of a great athlete. With Charles Brock, Nebraska great, he makes up what has been called the best center combination in the NFL. After a rather poor start,
VINCE GAVRE, WISCONSIN GRID STAR, SIGNED WITH GREEN BAY
APR 2 (Madison) - Coach Curly Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers, taking a recruiting turn through the Western conference area, announced today that he has signed Vincent Gavre, star field general of the University of Wisconsin's 1938 eleven. Lambeau also said he conferred with Lynn Hovland, 235-pound Badger guard who was a classmate of Gavre's, but found Hovland undecided. Lambeau left this morning for Iowa City, where he will interview several Hawkeye prospects...USED AT RIGHT HALF: Gavre played quarterback at Wisconsin, but will be used at right halfback for Green Bay next fall, Lambeau said. "He has an excellent blocking build," the Packer coach commented, "in addition to which he was regarded as a fine field general. We always can use a good quarterback who can block, and I was impressed with Gavre's seriousness and apparent desire to succeed in professional football." Gavre is taking postgraduate work here, and has kept in fine condition. He weighs 190 pounds and is five feet 11 inches tall. In addition to his blocking and field generalship, he was regarded as a capable forward passer.
MIKE MICHALSKE APPOINTED TO ATHLETIC STAFF AT ST. NORBERT
APR 2 (Green Bay) - Appointment of Mike Michalske, former Green Bay Packer star, as head track coach and line coach in football at St. Norbert college was announced Monday afternoon by the Rev. T.G. Fox, athletic director. Michalske, who is well known to sports fans in this and the eastern section of the country, will assist Coach Mickey McCormick in football and will have complete charge in the St. Norbert track squad, Fox said. The track team this year will be the first St. Norbert has had. Michalske, commenting on his appointment to the St. Norbert athletic staff, said, "I am delighted to spend my time at St. Norbert. I hope that I may continue in the same capacity in the future." After graduating from Penn State in 1927, the new St. Norbert mentor played professional football for two years with the New York Yankees before coming to Green Bay to play with the Packers in 1929. With Green Bay until the end of the 1935 season, Michalske went to Lafayette college, Easton, Pa., in 1936 as line coach for one year and as head basketball and assistant track coach for three years. He played the 1937 season with the Packers. During the 1939 football season Michalske was line coach for the Chicago Cardinals. One other coaching stint Michalske had at Central State Teachers college, Stevens Point, during 1934 and 1935. During the summer months Michalske is director of a boys' cherry camp at Eggs Harbor.
CLARK OPPOSED TO PUNT RULING
APR 3 (New York) - Coach Potsy Clark of the Detroit Lions of the NFL will
ANNOUNCE 1940 SCHEDULE FOR GREEN BAY PACKERS
APR 13 (Green Bay) - Announcement of an 11-game 1940 schedule for the Green Bay Packers was made here today in a telegram for Coach Curly Lambeau, who is attending the NFL meeting in New York City. The Packers will open against the Philadelphia Eagles here Sunday, Sept. 15, and will close their regular league schedule against the Rams at Cleveland Dec. 1. After that, they hope to engage in the inter-divisional playoff, which next season will be held at the park selected by the East champions...FOUR HOME OPPONENTS: Green Bay will meet four opponents at City stadium. After the Philadelphia invasion Green Bay will entertain the Chicago Bears here the following Sunday, and Sept. 29 will be in Milwaukee, facing the Cardinals. The team draws an open date Oct. 6, and then entertains the Cleveland Rams at City stadium. Oct. 20 the Detroit Lions will make their annual visitation here, and a week later the Packers invade Milwaukee again, meeting the Pittsburgh Pirates...TRAVEL OUTSIDE STATE: All the rest of the Packer game will be played outside Wisconsin. Nov. 3 they
PARTIAL PAYMENT SETUP BOOMING PACKERS SEASON TICKET PURCHASES
MAY 4 (Green Bay) - With about 35 percent of the total season ticket sale of 1939 already achieved, the Green Bay Packer football corporation is pushing a campaign which it hopes will result in the sale of 5,000 such seats for 1940. This is All-Star year, with the Packers booked for an appearance at Soldier field Aug. 28, and that event will be followed by Green Bay's regular National league schedule, including four fine home games - the Philadelphia Eagles Sept. 15, the Chicago Bears Sept. 22, the Cleveland Rams Oct. 13 and the Detroit Lions Oct. 20. In response to an appeal for cooperation in cleaning up the season ticket sale, made several weeks ago, more than 800 fans already have made their reservations for 1940. Cards have been mailed to all who held season tickets last year, and about 25 percent of these have been returned...SEND CARDS BACK: E.A. Spachmann, director of ticket sales, requests that the remaining 75 percent send in their notifications without delay, so that the corporation may know whether or not to hold the reservations. "We have fans who occupy the same seats every year," Spachmann said. "Some of them have been in the same location for eight and ten years, while others have just acquired the habit of keeping the same tickets each year. The Packers wish to accommodate all fans, and to assit them in getting their desired seats. Consequently, it is desirable to have all season ticket holders indicate their intentions for next fall." Season tickets are priced according to their location. Box seats, between the 35-yard lines on both sides of the field, sell for $11.10 each. Reserved seats between the 18 and 35-yard lined sell for $8.90, seats between the goal line and 18-yard line sell for $6.70, seats back of the goal line on the sides of the field sell for $4.50, and seats in the end zone, east and west, sell for $4.40. Purchasers save $1.10 for every seat on the sides of the field. In addition, they have the advantage of holding the same seat week after week, facilitating their entrance to the games, and they assure themselves of permanent possession of these seats. "This year more than ever before," Spachmann added, " a demand is being felt for Detroit and Bear game tickets, indicating that even at this early date fans are anxious to assure good accommodations for those contests."..PARTIAL PAYMENT PLAN: The partial payment plan which the corporation authorized this season is being used extensively already. According to the arrangement made by the Packers, fans may make down payments, may add to the balance at any time, and are not required to complete the amount until Sept. 1. This method avoids the necessity of fans paying down large lump sums at one time, particularly if they order two, three or four tickets altogether. If the entire amount is not paid before the end of the summer, the balance left by Sept. 1 is certain to be reduced greatly.
PACKER NOTES
MAY 4 (Madison Capital-Times) - Curly Lambeau, coach of the Green Bay Packers was expected today to watch the Badger Army-Navy football game. Lambeau won't admit it, but he is interested in George Paskvan, who won't see action in the game, being at South Bend with the Badger track team. Paskvan should be ready to fit into the Packer team a year from now. Clark Hinkle, Packer fullback, is getting no younger and Eddie Jankowski, a reserve fullback, is having eye trouble and may have to give up the game. "Roaring George" should be a sensation with the Green Bay club.
HERBER, GANTENBEIN SIGNED TO PLAY WITH PACKERS NEXT FALL
MAY 9 (Green Bay) - Two men whose names are synonymous with the achievements of the Green Bay Packers have signed their contracts for 1940, Coach Curly Lambeau announced today. They are Arnold Herber, right halfback, and Milton Gantenbein, end, and they will be appearing for the 11th and 10th seasons, respectively, as Packers. Herber, one of the greatest forward passers in NFL history, and Gantenbein, who captained the Green Bay squad, need no introduction to the horde of fans who follow the Packer fortunes. Their early signing, their zeal to get conditioned in ample time for the 1940 All-Star game Aug. 29, and their many years of experience all will count on the right side of the ledger for the Packers' early appearances. Herber, the only native of Green Bay to serve on the Packer team last season, is a graduate of West High school, where he led the Purple under Coach H.M. White to two consecutive victories over East, each carrying with it the championship of the Fox River Valley conference. He attended the University of Wisconsin long enough to star on the Badger freshman eleven, and then switched to Regis college in Denver, performing for another season there. Last year, at the age of 29, he was as effective as ever in the Packer lineup, and his deadly sharpshooting was instrumental in aiding the Bays to their fifth world championship...OLDEST TEAM MEMBER: In the point of continuous service, he is the oldest man on the Packer team, although in his early years he did not get the steady action which has characterized his later seasons. He is the only Packer now seeing active service who played on four league title holding teams. Herber is married, is a resident of De Pere and operated a men's clothing store in West De Pere. He weighs better than 200 pounds, and there never was a tougher customer playing professional football. Milt Gantenbein is the city of La Crosse's contribution to the Packers. At the moment he is starting his first season as regular umpire in the Wisconsin State Baseball league, but he'll be on deck pitching when the football season rolls around. Few Packers ever have exceeded the genial Milt in popularity, either with the fans or with other players. Big and rugged, seldom injured, he is prepared to start his 10th season of pro football with the same enthusiasm he displayed in his first...BEST ON DEFENSE: Gantenbein scales above 200 pounds, and also was 29 years old during the Packers' 1939 campaign. He is married, and the father of a son. The Packer captain hits his highest point of effectiveness on defense, although he ranks among the best pass-snatchers on the squad.
PRICES ARE SAME ON PACKER GAME FOR 1940 SEASON
MAY 9 (Green Bay) - Although several persons have visited the Packer ticket office and expressed the belief that prices have been raised for the 1940 season, tickets are selling at the same rates as in 1939, E. A. Spachmann, director of sales, said today. "There is a rumor that the Packer seats are selling for 55 cents above the 1939 level," Spachmann said, "but as a matter of fact the prices are the same as last year. The field setup has been revised a bit to afford better accommodations, but all sections are selling at the same prices they brought in 1939. The only addition to the total for each is 10 cents in taxes, which was authorized by law." The football corporation is in the early stages of a season ticket sales campaign designed to deliver 5,000 such tickets before Sept. 1.
BALAZS, GREENFIELD READY FOR SOPHOMORE YEAR WITH PACKERS
MAY 10 (Green Bay) - Two members of the championship Packer football team who will return for their sophomore seasons in 1940 have signed their contracts, Coach Curly Lambeau announced today, in revealing that Frank Balazs, fullback, and Tom Greenfield, center, have agreed to terms. The Packer squad is taking shape this season much faster than usual. Already 22 men are under contract, and the All-Star game at Chicago still is more than three months in the future. Coach Lambeau expects that the largest squad in Green Bay history will report here early in August to prepare for the Soldier field classic. Balazs and Greenfield had similar seasons in 1939. Each reported for his first year of professional football after completing a great collegiate record, the former at Iowa and the latter at Arizona. Each was hailed as a coming National league star but neither saw extensive service until the Packers made their invasion of California following the completion of the regular scheduled. Balazs ran into some impressive performances by Clarke Hinkle, still the team's No. 1 fullback after a long league career, and a comeback performance by Eddie Jankowski. Greenfield similarly worked as No. 3 man at his position serving as understudy to Charley Brock, the freshman sensation from Nebraska, and Bud Svendsen, the Minnesota veteran. "I believe that both Greenfield and
CHARLEY BROCK SIGNS CONTRACT TO PLAY WITH PACKERS IN 1940
MAY 28 (Green Bay) - Hearty news for Green Bay Packer football fans was received today with word from Coach Curly Lambeau that Charley Brock, the sensational center recruit from Nebraska in 1939, has signed his contract for the coming season. Brock, who was the best center on pass defense in the National league last year, had a brilliant debut. He picked off pass after pass aimed by enemy sharpshooters during the season, and in the playoff with the New York Giants at Milwaukee in December he went into the air twice at crucial stages to intercept tosses of the Maramen. Fast and alert, smart and courageous, Brock rivaled Larry Craig as the No. 1 Packer freshman. He had a great career at Nebraska, where he starred for three varsity seasons. The former Cornhusker crowds 200 pounds in weight, and is six feet one inch tall. He is married, and a resident of Lincoln, Neb. Charley is not related to Lou Brock, Purdue halfback signed previously this year...MAY TRADE VETERANS: Coach Lambeau will attend a Western division officials' meeting at Chicago next Tuesday, and said today that one or two of the Packer veterans may be used for trading material with other clubs. "We are having some trouble reaching terms with all of our veterans," he said, "and it is possible that we may find it advisable to work out trades with other teams." Although the squad as yet is far from complete, it is ahead of all previous years in enrollment. Twenty-nine men are already signed, and the total will be in the middle forties when the squad reports for practice prior to the All-Star game.
GAVRE IS NEW GRID COACH AT MERRILL HIGH
MAY 31 (Madison) - Vince Gavre, one of the greatest quarterbacks at Wisconsin, has been named football and basketball coach at Merrill high school in the Wisconsin Valley conference, it was learned Thursday by the Capital Times. The prediction that the former Badger grid ace was a certainty for the job was made in this newspaper last Friday. Gavre, who competed at Wisconsin in 1936-37-38,
GEORGE SVENDSEN REJOINS PACKERS
JUL 1 (Green Bay) - George Svendsen, big brother of the Green Bay Packer Svendsen combination, has decided to return to professional football and has signed a contract with the Packers for 1940, Coach Curly Lambeau today announced. George, who crowds the scales at close to 230 pounds, today submitted his resignation as Antigo High school athletic director to the board of education in that community, and will report to the team when practice opens here next month. The signing of Svendsen is likely to be something of a surprise to many Packer fans, who believed that the big fellow had turned his back on active playing for good when he signed up as Antigo coach. But he is only 26 years old, and despite his 2-year absence from league competition, Coach Lambeau thinks he'll pick up where he left off, as one of the best centers in the business. Like Bud Svendsen, his youngster brother who followed him both at Minnesota and with the Packers, George is a native of Minneapolis, and is married. He starred for two seasons with the Golden Gophers in their hey-day, being barred from a third year of action because of freshman participation of the University of Oregon...TROUBLE FOR HEIN: He broke into the National league at a time when the name of Mel Hein was ruling supreme, and for three years he gave that New York Giant veteran all the trouble he wanted. More than one sportswriter thought that Svendsen's name should have rated higher than Hein's on the all-league team, when George pounded through his third season of competition. The big Packer possesses amazing strength and stamina, has improved steadily with continued experience, and he is expected to round out the greatest set of centers in pro football next season, supplementing the present list which includes Bud Svendsen, Charley Brock and Tom Greenfield.
BROCK OIL WORKER
JUL 5 (Lafayette, IN) - Lou Brock, Purdue halfback under contract to the Green Bay Packers, has gone west to work in the Kansas oil fields until the Packers open practice August 12.
5TH COLUMN TO ASSIST PACKERS
JUL 6 (Green Bay) - Anchored over black bass beds off the numerous inhabited islands which dot Green Bay Coach Curly Lambeau these days quietly formulates plans for a blitzkrieg to break the tie in the Chicago All-Star series when his world's champion Green Bay Packers tackle the college All-Americans Aug. 29. The Collegians have won two of the six games to date, the NFL's representatives have taken two, and two have ended in ties. Foremost in Lambeau's plans is a "fifth column" composed of players who have participated in the game as All-Stars. This group recently was brought to 15 by the signing of Beattie Feathers, former University of Tennessee and Chicago Bears' star, and holder of the National league record for ground gained in one season. Feathers and two other members of the "fifth column", Joe Laws, veteran Packer halfback from Iowa, and Don Hutson, the pass catching paragon from Alabama, will be playing in their third All-Star game. Feathers and Laws were teammates on the first college squad in 1934. Feathers returned the next summer as a member of the Bears and Laws and Hutson played with the Packers when the All-Stars won 6 to 0 in 1937. Hutson also was on the 1935 squad, which lost 5 to 0, to the Bears. Feathers, Laws and Hutson are the first players to participate in three Chicago games. The presence of so many former All-Stars on his roster is expected to give Lambeau some insurance
BIG BILL LEE SIGNS FOR PACKER SEASON
JUL 18 (Green Bay) - William Lee will return to the Packers for at least another season. The big right tackle, termed a holdout although he personally did not consider himself one, came to an agreement with Coach Curly Lambeau Wednesday afternoon shortly after Lee's arrival in Green Bay. The contract was signed in the coach's Northern building office after only nominal discussion of terms. Professing a great desire to continue playing football, Lee said after business was completed, "In all my experience in professional sports, I never have met anyone I would rather play under than Curly, certainly no one ever has treated me better." There is no doubt that Lee fully intended to be in the Green Bay lineup this gall, even before he conferred with Lambeau. He and Mrs. Lee already have taken up residence on Cherry street here in an apartment that was selected because of its proximity to City stadium and the training quarters. Lee and Buckets Goldenberg, veteran guard, started working out today. Together they represent a sizable chunk of the right side of the Packer line. Despite the fact that he is in excellent condition after several months of wrestling, Lee wants to take five pounds off his 235 to
park in Milwaukee. The colorful Green Bay eleven will make only one eastern appearance this season. It will be on Nov. 17 with the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, a battle that undoubtedly will have important bearing on the title hopes of both traditional rivals. Besides visiting New York, the Packers will invade the home fields of the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Rams, Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals...START SEPT. 8:: The NFL will open its 1940 championship seasons on Sunday, Sept. 8, when the Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers clash at Pittsburgh. This start is two days earlier than the 1939 opening. The ten teams that comprise the country's only major gridiron circuit won't all be engaged until Sunday, Sept. 22, when the Chicago Bears will be the last to swing into the pennant campaign. The season will end on Sunday, Dec. 1. This is two days earlier than the dramatic 1939 finale when deadlocks were narrowly missed in both division. Fifty-five title games, plus the championship playoff, will be played in the league this year. In addition, the pros will play a limited number of preseason contests, headlined by the game between the Packers and College All-Stars on Aug. 29 at Soldier field, Chicago. The New York Giants and Eastern All-Stars are to clash on Sept. 4 at the Polo Grounds...FIVE NIGHT GAMES: President Carl L. Storck expressed confidence that the league's schedule this season will prove the most attractive in history. Five night games have been carded, same as last year. It is singular that Davey O'Brien and his Philadelphia Eagles will participate in four of the five nocturnal engagements. Thirteen intersectional games will be played this autumn, three less than last year. This is partly due to the fact that the New York Giants will not fill a single Western division engagement. The 1940 schedule represents a new departure. It was assembled by President Storck. Previously, club owners, after hectic swapping of dates, arranged the playing schedule at the winter meeting. When releasing the schedule, Storck said that it is the opinion of the owners that over 1,500,000 spectators will see the league's championship games this year.
PAUL KELL WILL REJOIN PACKERS
JUL 24 (Green Bay) - Green Bay's prospective tackle corps for 1940 reached a total of eight today when Coach E.L. Lambeau received the signed contract of Paul Kell, who came to the Packers last year as a rookie from Notre Dame. Lambeau had been carrying on negotiations with the former star lineman of the Fighting Irish for several weeks. A tentative agreement of early this month was completed when Paul visited Green Bay this week. Kell and Wayne Millner, Washington Redskins end, were the only two former Notre Dame gridders who played in the National league last season. The season's latest addition to a growing squad of 42 is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. He played the right side of the line along with Bill Lee and Warren Kilbourne. The latter comes back to the Packers this year after being loaned to Kenosha at midseason last year. Veteran left tackles who have accepted terms are Ernie Smith, Buford Ray, Charles Schultz and Champ Seibold. Fred Shirey, ex-Nebraska tackle who comes to the professional league for the first time this season, will be used wherever he best fits into the Lambeau system. George Svendsen, former Packer center who comes back after two seasons' absence, may be a ninth tackle candidate...HE IMPRESSES COACHES: In accordance with Lambeau practice, as a rookie Kell was used sparingly. Nevertheless, the aggressive nature of his play and a fine competitive spirit impressed the head coach and Assistant Coach Richard (Red) Smith as the season progressed. He charges fast, and his size has made him a tower of defensive strength. With a year's experience behind him, Kell is expected to cut an important figure in line play. Of him Coach Lambeau said, "There are many things about professional football that a player doesn't learn in college. Kell has the other equipment. He is big, strong and fast. I am in hopes that with his year of getting on to the ropes he will be one of our valuable lineman. Good tackles are especially important to a big league club with championship aspirations." Paul is 23 years old. Last season he was the second youngest man on the squad. Tom Greenfield, a returning center, was the youngest...EMPLOYED AS SALESMAN: Shortly after the championship was won last year, Kell married. His present home is in Chicago where he is employed as a salesman for a metal container corporation. He is seeking an apartment in Green Bay for the duration of the football season.
JOE LAWS PREDICTS PACKERS WILL WIN 1940 PENNANT TOO
JUL 25 (Manitowoc) - Joe Laws, shifty quarterback of the world champion Green Bay Packers, who is a supervising director of the body building program of the NYA, paid an "official visit" to the Manitowoc class which is in charge of Harold Beduhn, and meets daily at West field for calisthenics and games. Beduhn, former Lincoln high school athlete, is a sophomore at the University of Idaho and a likely varsity football prospect. Laws was named outstanding player in the Big Ten while attending the University of Iowa. The Packers ought to repeat their 1939 championship in 1940, Laws told members of the Kiwanis club at the Catholic Center last night. "We aren't much older than we were when we won the 1939 championship," Laws said in answer to a question on the Packers chances to repeat, "and with the old crowd almost all back and with some fine new material we ought to repeat." Fifty players will report to the Packer camp Aug. 10 to begin training for the All-Star game. Laws told the Kiwanians that the Packer squad is "Wisconsin's team and all over the state people call it 'our team'."
ANNUAL CROP OF UNKNOWN STARS WILL SEEK BERTHS WITH PACKERS
JUL 26 (Green Bay) - Any number of graduating college luminaries who are stars on their home gridirons but virtually unknown in the national picture seek berths in the National league. A couple of them may turn up here when the Packers start practicing next month. For instance, Baby Ray has sent Coach Curly Lambeau a letter of recommendation for one Granville Hester of Nashville, who just completed a rip snortin' varsity career at Union university in Jackson, Tenn. Hester seeks a tryout at end or tackle. He weighs 230 pounds, stands 6 feet 2, and is 26 years old. Those measurements are Ray's, so they may be accepted as fairly accurate. Another lad who has manifested some desire to give his all for dear old Green Bay is Frank Isosa, for four years first string quarterback at St. Vincent college in Latrobe, Penn. Isosa was a high school teammate of Fred Shirey, Packers' new tackle who attended the University of Nebraska. Both live at Latrobe. In seeking a chance for Isosa, Shirey claims that he is an outstanding blocker. He is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 203 pounds. Sounds sorta square.
BRUDER MAY LEAVE
JUL 26 (Green Bay) - A possibility that Henry (Hank) Bruder of the Green Bay Packers may be traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers was mentioned today by Coach Lambeau. Lambeau will meet President Art Rooney of the Steelers in Pittsburgh this weekend, when the annual rules interpretation meeting of the NFL is held. Lambeau left today, while President L.H. Joannes of the Green Bay Packers, Inc., will leave Saturday. "There will be numerous trades in the air at this meeting," Lambeau said, "and Bruder may figure in one of them."
BULLETIN
JUL 27 (Cleveland) - The championship Green Bay Packers sent Hank Bruder, veteran blocking back, to the Pittsburgh Steelers today for Lou Midler, 225-pound guard. It was the first player deal completed in connection with the league's rules interpretation meeting here today. Coach Curly Lambeau of the Packers said it was an "even up" trade with no cash involved. Bruder, with the Packers eight years, formerly played for Northwestern. Midler, with the Pittsburgh club two seasons, is a former University of Minnesota athlete.
LOU MIDLER EXPECTED TO JOIN RANKS OF PACKERS
JUL 29 (Green Bay) - Coach Curly Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers was back in town today, attending a rule interpretation meeting in Cleveland at which officials of the NFL were given their annual going-over prior to the opening of the league season. At the meeting Lambeau announced that Hank Bruder, veteran blocking quarterback of the Packers, had been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Lou Midler, 228-pound former University of Minnesota guard. Lambeau discussed the trade this morning following his return from the Ohio meeting. "Bruder told us several times last year," the coach said, "that he was planning to retire from professional football, and we drafted accordingly. This spring Bruder was visited by Coach Walter Kiesling of the Steelers, and later he asked for his release. We heard that Midler was dissatisfied at Pittsburgh, and that he wanted to play with the Packers, so we arranged the trade on that basis."...EXPECTED TO SIGN: Midler will be contracted immediately, Lambeau said, and offered a contract which he is expected to sign. He carried his 228 pounds on a 6-foot-2-inch frame, and was a member of the same All-Star football team which included Cecil Isbell. Most of the chatter at the Cleveland session, Lambeau said, concerned the coming All-Star game at Chicago. With Eddie Anderson, Iowa, and Buck Shaw, Santa Clara, certain to be included on the coaching staff. the Notre Dame system will be used against the Packers. Anderson played at Notre Dame with Lambeau. Hugh Ray, nationally known rules authority, presided at the meeting, held at the Hotel Cleveland. All National league officials were present and all clubs were represented...PREPARE FOR PRACTICE: Lambeau said today that official workouts for the Packers will open here Saturday, Aug. 10. The training quarters will be open this week for players who wish to work out informally, but the Packer coaches will not be allowed to witness the workouts. The only serious holdout on the Packer roster now, Lambeau said, is Larry Craig, end-quarterback, and Craig is expected in town soon to talk over teams. The result of that conference will determine whether the former South Carolina star will return to professional football, or accept a commission in the United States Air Corps.
WILL DRAFT CUT INTO RANKS OF PROFESSIONAL GRID ACES?
JUL 31 (Chicago) - Some of the country's finest specimens of young manhood, as you may have noticed, earn their board and keep, to say the least, playing football. Many of these husky young men would be among the first called for war training, if and when that comes - a fact that is causing more than a little uneasiness among NFL officials. The club owners discussed the question at a recent meeting, but had nothing to say publicly about it...HALAS IS OPTIMISTIC: George Halas, owner and coach of the Chicago Bears, however, is highly optimistic over the 1940 prospects regardless of whether draft legislation is passed. "In times like these the public turns to sports for recreation and to get their thoughts away from war and trouble," Halas said. "That is why we expect a big season." Discussing the effect the proposed draft might have on the 1940 season, Halas said: "I do not believe the government will call our players until the season ends. Most of them (80 percent) are married and the single ones will be better trained staying with us the three months we need them than by going into the army."...WILL AHVE TO GO: "Of course, if they are called they will have to go. But we could still go right on with our schedules with our married players. But I think we would be allowed to complete our schedules before any players are called. We will put this question to the government at the proper time."
PACKERS DRILL INFORMALLY, BUT REGULAR WORK STARTS AUG. 10
AUG 2 (Green Bay) - Although a number of oversized individuals already are running through daily practice sessions at the training field of the Green Bay Packers, the official opening of the drill season will not take place until a week from tomorrow, on Saturday, Aug. 10. At that time the largest squad in Packer history will assemble to start preliminary work prior to its appearance in the eighth annual All-Star game at Soldier field, Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 29. Members of the team now are arriving almost daily. The Svendsen brothers, Bud and George, are on hand, while such Packers as Bob Adkins, Bob Temple, Tom Greenfield, Frank Balazs and Russ Letlow have been employed in town all summer...BROCK BACK AGAIN: Charley Brock, the ex-Cornhusker who was a center sensation with the champions last fall, is back in Green Bay, and so are Charley Schultz, the Minnesota tackle; Bill Lee, Alabama lineman; Carl Mulleneaux, the Utah State end; Dick Weisgerber, the Williamette back, and Larry Buhler, Minnesota fullback. Howard (Smiley) Johnson, Georgia guard, and Fred Shirey, Nebraska tackle, are two newcomers who are in town and working out with the other players. Larry Craig, the holdout end and blocking quarterback, is expected daily to discuss salary terms with Coach Curly Lambeau...COACHES ARE ABSENT: Lambeau and Assistant Coach Red Smith are staying away from the drill field, as by rule they are not permitted to work with the players until Aug. 10. The Packer season gets off to a hectic start this year. After the All-Star appearance Aug. 29 the Bays are due in Milwaukee to play the Washington Redskins Sept. 2, and will launch their National league season against Philadelphia here Sept. 15.
LAMBEAU PREDICTS WIN IN 1940 ALL-STAR GAME
AUG 2 (Green Bay) - An optimistic but characteristically non-committal review of Packer prospects for the 1940 season was given yesterday by Coach E.L. (Curly) Lambeau at the weekly meeting of the Rotary club. In regard to the All-Star game in Chicago Aug. 29, Lambeau predicted a Green Bay win. "The All-Stars have very good ends and backs, but their line is not as good this year as most of the other years. Green Bay, on the other hand, has a line that was proved strong in last year's league games, and a backfield array comparable to any in our history."...EXPECTS FREE SCORING: "Both teams will be effective offensively, and I predict scoring by both sides." Lambeau then reviewed the various players who will start for the Stars, as well as the prospective coaches. "With Anderson as head coach and Buck Shaw assisting, we'll be up against something we're familiar with - the Notre Dame system." Curly expressed the opinion that the All-Star team picked by the fans comes very near to consisting of the best material in the country. In regard to the Packers in general, Lambeau pointed out the various weak sports in last year's squad which have been ironed out. The position of right end, he said, will be filled admirably this year with a number of new players of that position already signed...KEEP DRAWING POWER: Curly also pointed out the importance of Green Bay's keeping its drawing power if it wishes to remain in the National league without a struggle. "Philadelphia and other teams that haven't been doing so well are getting consistently better, and we 'top' teams are going to have watch our step," he remarked. The talk ended with an open discussion in which club members and visitors asked Curly various questions. Lambeau was introduced by Verne Lewellen, Packer all-time great.
