History of The Green Bay Packers - The First "Dark Ages" (1945-1958)

The First "Dark Ages" (1945-1958)

Following their 1944 championship, the Packers finished 6-4 in 1945 and 6-5 in 1946. After the NFL established a uniform 12-game season in 1947, Green Bay won six games, lost five, and had one tie. The team only won three games in 1948 and began to experience financial problems, which worsened in the 2-10 1949 season. Afterwards, Curly Lambeau stepped down as head coach. A bond drive was issued in 1950, which raised $118,000 for the struggling team. Gene Ronziani replaced Lambeau as coach, and the team began using the green and gold colored uniforms that have been worn ever since. But Green Bay still only won three games that season and in 1951. They reached 6-6 in 1952 and nearly made the postseason, but were kept out by a loss to Detroit.

During this period, the issue of a new stadium began to crop up. City Stadium was an extremely inadequate facility, seating only 25,000. Players also had to use the locker rooms at the local high school. In order to improve revenue, the Packers began playing one or two home games a year at the newly-constructed Milwaukee County Stadium, a practice that continued until 1995.

The first game played at MCS was a 27-0 shutout at the hands of Cleveland, after which the Packers finished 1953 2-7-1 and Gene Ronziani resigned. Verne Llewellyn took over as GM in 1954 and Lisle Blackbourn of Marquette University was hired as HC, but the Packers still only won four games that season. A 6-6 record in 1955 again put the team in postseason contention, but a loss to the Bears sent them home. The Packers fell back to 4-8 in 1956, a season most noteworthy for the drafting of University of Alabama QB Bart Starr.

Meanwhile, the NFL threatened to force the Packers to move to Milwaukee if they didn't get a more adequate stadium. The city of Green Bay approved a bond issue to build a new facility in 1956, and New City Stadium was completed in time for the 1957 season, with Vice President Nixon attending the dedication ceremony and opening game as the Packers defeated Chicago 21-17. But the season proved another disappointing 3-9 campaign, and Lisle Blackbourn resigned as head coach. Ray "Scooter" MacLean replaced him, but the Packers collapsed to a league-worst 1-10-1 record in 1958.

Green Bay's struggles in the years after World War II were due to a number of reasons. The small town environment made it hard to attract players. Some were also lost to the CFL and to military service. In addition, the Board of Directors was engaged in constant micromanagement of the team.

Following the abysmal 1958 season, Vince Lombardi was hired as head coach. He had previously been an assistant coach for the Giants and had been unsuccessful in several attempts at acquiring a head coaching position. Upon assuming his new job, Lombardi famously said "As of now, I'm in charge." This meant that he and his assistants would take care of personnel decisions from now on, while the Board of Directors would limit their activities to the business side of the franchise. Another lesser change was Lombardi's introduction of the familiar Packers helmet logo that has been used to the present day.