Thursday, January 19, 2012

"The Men of Old Green Bay" - January, 1936

This picture of the 1935 Green Bay Packers club was published in the San Francisco Examiner on January 17, 1936.

BIG PACKERS—Here are the men of old Green Bay, Wisconsin, who will open Sunday's K.C. charity football encounter at Kezar Stadium against the Pacific Coast All Stars.

LARGE LINE—Perhaps they don't show it here, but these fellows in forward wall are hefty. Left to right: Gantenbein, Schwammel, Evans, Svendsen, Michalske, Hubbard, Rose.

CLEVER BACKS—Dark haired fellow on left is Arnold Herber, great passer. The blond is Hank Bruder, blocking quarter. Next, Clarke Hinkle, full, and George Sauer, left half.
Fine looking men, one and all. Don Hutson, having just finished his rookie season, is notably absent from the picture, but there is at least one other unidentified Packer in the background (wearing #12), so perhaps Don made the trip but not the Examiner's sports page.

1935, you may remember, was the first season of Curly Lambeau's brief two-year foray into green uniforms.

As the caption notes, the Packers were in San Francisco for an post-season exhibition game at Kezar Stadium.

These games were part vacation and part goodwill tour, spreading the popularity of pro football across the country. Lambeau also used them as an opportunity to scout college players, particuarly at bowl games.

The Packers would make another California trip the following year, during which they filmed the "Pete Smith Specialties" short film Pigskin Champions.

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