When my wife and I retired in Door County, Wisconsin—Packer Country!—I was surprised to learn how little was known about Curly Lambeau, who spent his retirement years here. Looking into his life, I found it a fascinating tale that would interest even diehard Bears fans. “The guy did it all,” Upton Bell, who accompanied his father, NFL commissioner Bert Bell, to Lambeau’s Packer training camp in the 1940s, told me.
Four years of research and writing resulted in a deep-dive biography. . . Lambeau: The Epic Life of Earl Louis “Curly” Lambeau, The Man Who Invented the Green Bay Packers.
It’s a tale of how the NFL became the NFL.
Lambeau was brilliant, flawed and complex–a fascinating sportsman who created a beloved team for the ages. His name is on the most hallowed stadium in the NFL. He won six of the league’s first 25 championships and is still sixth on the all-time wins list for NFL coaches. Most remarkably, he kept a franchise alive in what is still the smallest city in all of American professional sports. And yet, many Packer fans–even people who name their dogs “Lambeau”–don’t know a lot about Earl Louis “Curly” Lambeau. My Lambeau biography explores the accomplishments, the glory, the troubles and the mystery of this key NFL pioneer.
In his one season at Notre Dame, he scored the first touchdown of Knute Rockne’s coaching career and fell under the influence of the Irish legend. Returning to Green Bay, he created the Notre Dame of the NFL, a David that slayed pro-football Goliaths. Along with George Halas, his fierce rival and great business partner, he helped steer the fledgling NFL from obscurity to unbridled popularity. Lambeau was the NFL’s first 1,000-yard passer and pioneered scouting college stars at West Coast post-season games. He was the first to fly his team to road games, and the first to have a dedicated practice facility.
And yet, he frustrated his most loyal supporters, spending too much money in Green Bay, too much time in California and going through too many divorces. When he started losing too many games, his reign ended abruptly. Leaving Green Bay, he briefly coached the Chicago Cardinals and Washington Redskins. Although loyal supporters tried to restore him to power in Green Bay, that was never in the cards. The new age belonged to Vince Lombardi. Lambeau had set the table for NFL glory. But unlike Halas, he had not been an owner. At the end, there was no seat at the table for Curly Lambeau. But Lambeau Field, an honor that would come posthumously, would assure that his name would live on.
It’s available here. . .
