National Football Foundation

Lombardi was one of the Seven Blocks of Granite, a name given to the front seven of the Fordham Ram football team’s offense. He built champion high school teams at St. Cecilia’s in New Jersey, with the 1943 squad being regarded as the best team in the country. He was invited back to coach at his alma mater where Army’s Red Blaik recognized his fire and ability as he contributed vitally to the continued success of the Army football program. Later he joined the New York Giants where his coaching helped them remain in a title-contending position, leading to the invitation to go to the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers were coming off a dismal 1-10-1 season that had the city of Green Bay in an uproar. Lombardi turned the team around to a 7-5 record in 1959 and the rookie head coach was named Coach of the Year. After reaching the 1960 NFL Championship and falling to the Philadelphia Eagles, Lombardi told his team they would never lose a championship game again. His Packers squads went on to win nine straight postseason games and the 1961 and 1962 NFL Championships. Green Bay completed a three-peat from 1965-1967 and won the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968. He last served as Chairman of Fordham’s Athletic Development Drive just prior to his death in 1970 at the age of 57.