GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Inc. created its Legacy Series Program to honor some of the team’s Hall of Famers in schools. The goal is to share the stories and legacies of Packers players and coaches with students and the community.
The organization’s latest way of doing that was installing a Vince Lombardi bust at Lombardi Middle School in Green Bay. The bronze sculpture of Lombardi’s head and shoulders was unveiled Wednesday by two Packers players who knew Lombardi.
Dave Robinson and Marv Fleming, both now in their 80s, won Super Bowls under Lombardi’s leadership.
Both men said the legendary coach was a teacher at heart, so he would be proud to know he’s being honored in a local school.
“I can think of no great honor then to have his bust in a school, an institution of learning,” said Robinson. “That’s what he was, very strong on learning. He was very strong in us, being the best citizens we could be, and to be in a middle school. I mean, I think if someone asked Vince, ‘Where do you want your bust?’ A school would be at least number one, two, or three on this list.”
Robinson shared stories about being coached by Lombardi, and how it made him a better football player and person.
“It was his sincerity and how strong he felt about something when he spoke,” said Robinson. “Everybody listened. You knew it was going to be something worthwhile. He never joked. If he said something, it was important. It meant something.”
Fleming said he hopes that by having a sculpture of Lombardi’s bust at a school, more kids will be exposed to the lessons and legacy of Vince Lombardi for generations to come.
“Probably a day doesn’t go by when I don’t think about the person he made me into,” said Fleming. “Knowing that people are still living under Lombardi makes me really happy.”
Timeless teachings from a coaching legend, Fleming and Robinson are grateful to have experienced firsthand.
“If you can just make the people around you say that you’re the best they know, don’t worry about the people on the outside,” said Robinson. “Did your mother and father think you are the best child? Every teacher, they have the best student. The coach, they got the best player. Get the people around you to think you’re the best they’ve ever seen. Don’t worry about the rest of the world, everyone else will fall in line.”
Because, as Vince Lombardi famously said, “Leaders are made. They are not born.”
Lombardi was one of the most successful coaches in NFL history. He won five NFL championships, including Super Bowls I and II, in his nine seasons in Green Bay. His name adorns the league’s ultimate prize, the Vince Lombardi trophy, awarded each year to the winner of the Super Bowl.
This is the second Legacy Series sculpture installed in a Green Bay School. A bust of Curly Lambeau was installed at Green Bay East High School last year.