this collection. I made it a point, these late years, to show it to youngsters who knew only the Packers in this frustrated era. After seeing it, the whole Packer tradition, the Packers of today pull more at their heartstrings. So much for this. Now is the time for all-around constructive thought, all for the welfare of the beloved Packers! As I continue, I'll pull no punches! Since 1950, emphasis has been put on the NEW Packers. That tag should never have been hung on a great, long tradition - splitting it into two. It disassociated the glorious Packer past from the present and, inadvertently, might have lessened the fighting spirit among many young Packers these past seven years. They were Packers, but did they truly realize that they were part of a great tradition? They belong strictly to the NEW order. The past was strange to those kids. AND DEAD, period! Blue-penciling the past discarded the whole romance of a great tradition! Now, something for the fans to think about. True, they have a right to be frustrated, but it takes time to rebuild. In 1948 and 1949, the lean years set in, brought about by the rival All-America League - loaded with vulturous millionaires who moved in on pro football after teams like the Packers struggled for years to make it a paying business. The wage war was on! The Packers suffered. Tempers flared up. 1950 was 1919 all over again, but much tougher. It wasn't a happy-go-lucky bunch of sandlot Packer fledglings. It was starting from scratch again, for survival, in a big league! Desperation was inevitable! Think it over. It took the early Packers ten years to assemble a winner. Then the fans were hopeful - not impatient. The subsequent taste of six world titles can hasten impatience. Lambeau, Earp and Lewellen were the perennial Packer mainstays in the twenties. Then SLOWLY, the Packers were on the way up, but mind you, SLOWLY. First, Dunn and Dilweg were added, then Molenda, but still no winner. Finally the great machine was assembled in 1929, with Blood, Michalske and Hubbard in the fold. Ten years! Remember? Then came the glory years. In a leisurely way, replacements were added - no desperate player trades and castoff acquisitions - and by the time old age was breaking up the great machine, Hinkle, Herber, Laws, Goldenberg, Hutson and the other young warriors were already seasoned to "carry on". Each was acquainted with the tradition. There was no NEW Packer tub thumping. Think this all over in your moments of impatience! This is all coming back. The frustration era will end, but it takes time - these difficult time, MUCH TIME! In last Sunday's Colt game, the 1957 Packers proved they had the fighting spirit their predecessors has. That game was comparable to the great classics in Packer history. There are about twelve of them. Dejected, miserable in a maelstrom of turmoil, near to teats and with the jeers of fans pounding in their ears, these Packers cut through the mist of this cursed NEW era and breathed in the pleasant air of the glorious past. Somewhere in that fourth quarter they could have been haunted with the old taunt, "It's great to be a Packer! A team that can't be beaten, can't be beaten!" Anyway, in a miraculous way they overcame their nightmarish frustration and responded at an opportune time. Carry on, you OLD Packers of 1957! Other players are just flesh and bone, too. It's the spirit that wins! So, go, WIN, WIN, WIN! and again people will stare at you in awe on the streets, on the trains, on the planes, at the airports, at the depots, on the field, those terrifying men of the north! Those mighty Packers! And now about awful Milwaukee. No Packer support there? Here's why. For over twenty years it's been the same old refrain. The Packers blow into Milwaukee on a Saturday night, three times a year, and quickly go into seclusion at their hotel hideaway. It should be so before a game. However, after the game, the Packers depart for home - not to be seen again for a year. This procedure is strictly for visits to enemy cities, but Milwaukee is supposed to be the Packers' second home. A year round closeness to the Packers must, once and for all time, be established. Some program can be worked out. Some of us Green Bay Milwaukeeans long have wished to see this happen. We're frustrated. Time and again our loyal attempts have been given the cold shoulder. Discourteously, we're just regarded as outlanders. And then, letters in the People's Forum make with the wisecracks and sarcasm directed at us. It's disheartening. Milwaukeeans can be very congenial neighbors and good ticket buyers (consult the Braves). But, if they know they're just being used in an insincere way - they can be quite obstinate. This should not be! Yes, now is the time for all-around constructive thought in a big league way. Be grateful you have a sports editor like Art Daley. The Boston scribes were down on the Braves when they were down, but they weren't always down. When they got up, they were far away from Boston. Edwin L. Hess, 9511 W. Center St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
DESCHAINE LOSES LEAD IN PUNTING
OCT 31 (Milwaukee Sentinel) - Although spilling Baltimore Sunday, the Green Bay Packers lost their punting average lead in the NFL - the only department in which they held the No. 1 spot. Los Angeles' Rams boast a 45.8 yard average to 45. 6 for the Packers. The Packers' Dick Deschaine dropped to second place in punting (45.6 average for 24 punts) behind Norm Van Brocklin of the Rams, who is now averaging 45.8 on 23 tries. Meanwhile the Colts, even though beaten, stayed up front for the third straight week in total yards gained. Baltimore has run up 1,753 yards - 840 rushing, 913 passing - in five games. Washington is second with 1,676 yards, New York third with 1,589 yards and the Chicago Bears fourth with 1,563. The Rams have gained two more yards rushing than the Colts, however. Individually, Eddie LeBaron of the Redskins and Tommy Wilson, hard running Rams back, are running away from the opposition. LeBaron tops the passers with a 10.96 average per pass. He has completed 44 of 67 attempts for 734 yards, seven TDs and a pass completion on 65.7%. Wilson increased his ground gaining lead to 106 yards over Hugh McElhenny of San Francisco. Wilson has gained 450 yards on 88 attempts for a 5.1 average. McElhenny has 344 for 72 and a 4.8 average.
LIONS CLAIM 'STEAL' IN TRADE FOR TOBIN ROTE, ALTHOUGH HIS PASSING NOT AMONG LEADERS
OCT 31 (Milwaukee Journal) - Tobin Rote has completed only 26 out of 55 passes for 317 yards, yet the Detroit Lions claim a big "steal" in the trade which brought the veteran quarterback to the Lions from the Green Bay Packers. Edwin J. Anderson, Lions president, revived the discussion in Los Angeles last week, just before his Lions absorbed a 35-17 thumping from the Rams. "It's the best trade we ever made," Anderson said. Then he brought into the talk Buddy Parker, the coach who jumped the Detroit ship after training started last summer and wound up coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers. Anderson quoted Parker, the man who engineering Detroit's side of the deal, as saying, "The Tobin Rote trade will cost Lisle Blackbourn his job because the Green Bay Packers won't be able to win without him. As a matter of fact, without Rote the Packers will finish last in the NFL." When apprised of Anderson's statement, Blackbourn said, "I don't believe Buddy ever said that." Rote, a $20,000 plus a year man in his eighth pro year, was traded to Detroit along with defensive back Val Joe Walker for tackles Oliver Spencer and Norm Masters, guard Jim Salsbury and halfback Don McIlhenny. Walker could not make it with Detroit and ended up with San Francisco. Spencer, Masters and Salsbury are regulars in Green Bay's offensive line, replacing fellows who went into the service (Gregg and Skoronski), retired (Sandusky and Brown) or were injured (Skibinski). What Green Bay would have done for guards and tackles without the Rote trade goes unanswered. The line so far has been no great shakes. Without the men obtained from Detroit, it would have been impossible. No quarterback - Rote, Sammy Baugh, Sid Luckman or anyone else - would have been able to operate behind what Green Bay had for an offensive line. Blackbourn has maintained that he hated to part with Rote. "He is a great competitor - a great football player," the coach said, "but we need linemen if we are to have a chance." Rote actually has not done much for Detroit. The Lions have won three games and lost two. The defeats occurred when their defense broke down - against Baltimore the first time and against Los Angeles the second. They held Green Bay to 14 points and Los Angeles the first time to seven. In the second Baltimore game, the defense, with interceptions and fumble recoveries, enabled Bobby Layne, who alternates with Rote at quarterback, to get position for winning throws in a fantastic comeback. After five games a year ago, with Rote, the Packers had won two games and lost three. This season, without Rote, Green Bay has the same record. Last year, with Rote, the Packers finished tied for last place. They can do no worst without him. By way of comparison, Rote at this time last year had thrown 135 passes, completed 65 for 970 yards. That would indicate Rote has slipped, which is more than a remote possibility at age 29. The chaps who replaced Rote in carrying the Green Bay lead at quarterback, Bart Starr and Babe Parilli, outrank the big guy in the league;s way of rating passers. Rote stands 13th out of 13 regular passes with 5.76 yards a throw. Parilli stands seventh with 8.10 and Starr eighth with 7.65. Starr, with 505 yards on 38 completions in 66 tries, and Parilli, with 389 yards on 20 for 48 both have outdistanced Rote. Starr's percentage of completion is 57.6, Rote's 47,3 and Parilli's 41.7. Rote has passed for four touchdowns, Parilli for three and Starr for two. Rote has had only three passes intercepted, compared with eight for Parilli and six for Starr. Actually, Green Bay has used three quarterbacks to replace Rote. Paul Hornung, the rookie from Notre Dame, does not enter into the passing discussion for he has completed only one out of six and that for a yard loss. Hornung does have Rote's running class, however, if not his passing touch. Tobin Rote wouldn't solve Green Bay's present problems - not unless he could move into the line and block. The truth is, Detroit could use some first class blocking up front, too. Otherwise, the Lions would not have been forced to resort to the pass 44 times against Los Angeles last Sunday.
GIANTS TURN SUNDAY? SERIES WITH PACKERS WOULD BE SQUARED
OCT 31 (Milwaukee Journal) - The champion New York Giants will meet the Packers for the 30th time in NFL play at Green Bay Sunday. The series could hardly be closer. The Packers have won 14 games, the Giants 13 and there were two ties. Green Bay holds a point edge of 376 to 374. The last time the teams met in league play was in 1952 when the Packers won in the Polo Ground, 17-3. The last time they met in Green Bay was in an exhibition game last year. The Packers won, 17-13. The Packers also won this year's exhibition in Boston, 13-10, after New York had jumped off to a 10-0 lead. The Giants, almost to the man, said after that one that they had no particular incentive then, but that it would be different when they met in league play. Green Bay also beat New York in their 1955 exhibition, 31-24....Charlie Conerly went all the way at quarterback for New York against Washington last Sunday because Don Heinrich still is out with a broken thumb. Conerly completed 19 out of 30 passes. Wally Cruice, Packer scout, said, "He did even batter than that, but his receivers dropped three or four easy ones."...PRO GRID BITS: A year ago, Billy Howton of the Packers was leading the league in pass catching with 25 receptions for 598 yards. Now he is tried for sixth with 17 for 335...Green Bay's record is the same as a year ago, two victories and three defeats. The defense a year ago had allowed 135 points; this year's has given up 131. The offense a year ago, however, had scored 138 points; this year's had made only 90...The Cleveland Browns have allowed five opponents less than 10 points a game. They wouldn't let the Chicago Cardinals cross the midfield until the second half Sunday...Los Angeles has won five straight at home, lost nine straight in a row on the road...Average attendance for 30 league games this year is 40,747...QUICK QUOTES: Buddy Parker, Pittsburgh coach, after his Steelers were smashed by the Giants, 35-0: "I knew John Martinkovic at Green Bay but I never saw him rush the passer before."...George Wilson, Detroit coach, after his Lions were whipped by Los Angeles, 35-17: "We had a bad week in practice. The tackling dummy broke on Wednesday, it rained a couple of days in Detroit and we weren't ready mentally for this game."...Wally Cruice, Green Bay scout: "Against New York Washington played in a compact formation. They really got the power. It was almost like the old single wing with two-on-one blocking. The Giants couldn't contain 'em."