The first in a series that chronicles the championships of the mighty team from the tiny town of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
In 1919, in the tiny town of Green Bay, Wisconsin, a football team was born. Ten years later this rag-tag group of men from a town of 37,000 would stand toe to toe with the Goliaths of the league from cities like Chicago (population 3.37 million in 1929) and New York (population 6.7 million in 1929) and show them how the game of football is played, as they would win championship after championship.
1929 was a season in which league titles were not won by wildcard teams who got hot at the end of the season. They were won by the teams who dominated all season long. And, in 1929, that’s exactly what the Packers did.
The saying that offense wins games but defense wins championship certainly held true for the Packers during the 1929 campaign. The New York Giants outscored the Packers that season, posting 312 points over the course of 15 games for an average of 20.8 points per game, while the Packers only scored 198 points in their 12 games (average 16.5). However, over the course of those 12 games, the Packers defense displayed a prowess that would put the Steel Curtain to shame. In 12 games, Packer opponents mustered 22 points. That’s not 22 point per game. That’s 22 points in 12 games. To say the Packer defense struck fear into the heart of their opponents is a gross understatement.
This defense was lead by Packer greats such as Johnny “Blood” McNally (halfback & defensive back), Mike Michalske (guard & linebacker), Cal Hubbard (right tackle & defensive end), and Lavvie Dilweg (End).
In 1929, the Packers were undefeated, posting a 12-0-1 record and dominating every team they confronted. It was an era when you had to be good on both sides of the ball, there was no quarterback position, and the forward pass was seen by most in the league as a fad that would die out.
It was also the first of many championship eras that earned little Green Bay, Wisconsin 13 total league championships and the honor of the name Titletown.