On This Day in NFL History: August 11 1919, Green Bay Packers were founded
Party like it’s 1919!
Woodrow Wilson is the president of the United States, World War I had just ended, Mary Pickford was America’s sweetheart and the National Football League was yet to exist.
The world back then was a strange place indeed. So it shouldn’t come as a shock that a small town called Green Bay in the state of Wisconsin helped with the creation of football as we know it.
Before the NFL’s existence as the multi billion-dollar powerhouse it is today, many college campuses hosted professional games with no actual league in place due to many just seeing the game as a “kiddie sport” to play with friends.
This is where high school standout Curly Lambeau and businessman/editor George Calhoun came into play for the Packers franchise coming into existence. They helped kick start the beginning of the NFL as a whole.
After a severe case of tonsillitis yet still wanting to play football, Lambeau met up with Calhoun on the possibility of organizing their own team. Calhoun then advertised in the Press-Gazette newspaper, inviting players to join.
On August 11, 1919, history was made as athletes around Wisconsin met at the editorial room at Press-Gazette building, forming the newly named Green Bay Indians. That name didn’t last so long as history indicated.
The Green Bay football team needed funds and they had to get sponsorships to stay afloat. Co-owner Lambeau then entered an into a signed agreement with his employer, the Indian Packing Company.
By the end of the year, the press was referring to the team as the Green Bay Packers. The name stuck like glue. Indian Packing Company also allowed the team to use an open lot on company property for practices three times a week, and the name stayed on with the professional football team from Green Bay ever since.
Lambeau properly organized the team in 1919 and brought it to the NFL in 1921. The team has remained part of the National Football League for over 100 seasons of competitive football.
