As stated in part one of our article, championships define great drafts, but All Pro awards and Hall of Fame Enshrinements also count as variables. After considering all the factors the draft of the 1958 Green Bay Packers, a major building block of their great dynasty of the 1960’s rates as the second best draft in NFL history, but it was almost a toss up between them and our first place finisher.

The Green Bay Packers of the 1960’s played in six NFL championship games, won 5 of them and they won the first 2 Super Bowls during the tenure of head coach Vince Lombardi which was from 1959 to 1967. This dynasty, including Lombardi has placed 10 members into the Hall of Fame and there should be at least one more added if the veterans committee does it work properly.  They accumulated a record of 89-27-3, during this period in the regular season and were 9-1 in post season games. They are one of just 2 teams in NFL history to win three championships in a row, 1965-1967, the other being the 1929-31 Packers. They are considered by many historians to be the greatest dynasty of all time and they fielded arguably the best NFL team ever for a single season in 1962.

Lombardi inherited a 1958 Packers team that was 1-10-1. While their record was the worst in football they had collected some of the finest young talent in the league, mostly from then recent NFL drafts. They had not had a winning season since 1947, before that the Packers had been one of the best franchises in football, winning six NFL championships from 1929 to 1944.

Lombardi motivated them and shaped them into winners, but most of his key players were already there when he arrived in 1959 via the draft. He did a masterful job of signing players cut from other teams, but most of the major components of his dynasty had come via the draft, and were selected when he was still offensive coordinator of the New York Giants.

Background

While the Packers did flounder on the field from 1947 to 1958, there was one constant person who worked tirelessly to bring the Pack back. His name was Verne Lewellen.

Lewellen was a star running back for the Packers from 1924 to 1932. He led them in rushing during their championship run from 1929 to 1932. After he retired from playing he worked in local politics in Green Bay and in the Packers’ front office. After over 20 years doing various jobs for them, he was finally given the title of General Manager in 1954.

Lewellen’s specialty though was scouting college talent. He was one of the first to visit and watch college players. He would spend the football season on the road, from Idaho to Alabama, trying to restock the Packers with championship talent.

He was one of the few GM’s to take the draft seriously back then. Although the Packers kept losing, Lewellen kept scouting. While the results of his work would not begin to pay dividends on the field until 1959 when Lombardi arrived, his drafting skills were ahead of their time.

1954-1957

Lewellen took control of the Packer drafts in 1954, and had some limited early success. In 1954, he drafted Max McGee who would be a fixture at split end for the Packers. McGee was a member of all 5 of their championship teams in 60’s and scored the first touchdown ever in Super Bowl I.

1955 would bring Tom Bettis, a solid linebacker who stayed with the Packers unti 1961, winning one championship. Bettis though provided even more value to Lombardi as a mentor to the young linebackers the Packers would bring in later in the 50’s.

Lewellen then began to hit pay dirt in 1956 when he drafted tackles Forrest Gregg in the second round and Bob Skoronski in the fifth round. They would both start for Lombardi for each of the Packers’ five 1960’s championship teams. Gregg a player who Lombardi would call the best player he ever coached would later be enshrined in Canton.

Also later in that draft Lewellen took a chance on a quarterback who did not have the strongest arm but he was a leader – Bart Starr from Alabama. Starr, another Hall of Famer, was the signal caller for all of Lombardi’s championship teams. Defensive back Hank Gremminger who started on three Green Bay championship teams also came in this draft.

In 1957 Lewellen had is best first round grabbing versatile Heisman winner Paul Hornung and starting TE Ron Kramer. They were collecting young talent but more was still to come.

The Packers are the only publicly owned team in the NFL. Decisions are made by an elected board of directors, a board that was always used to winning. After three losing seasons the board even fired the founding Father of the Packers Curly Lambeau in 1949. So with the continued losing in the 50’s no one was safe, this included Lewellen who would be relieved of his GM duties after 1957. Because of his work ethic he was allowed to stay and scout and work the draft, so after another losing 1957 season he prepared for the 1958 draft.

1958 NFL Draft

Lewellen scouted and prepared for the draft. The 1958 draft would be held on 2 separate days. Rounds 1-4 would be selected on the first Monday in December 1957, two weeks before the end of the regular NFL season and well before New Year’s college bowl games. Rounds 5-30 would be selected on January 28, 1958. Lewellen would make this draft the second best in NFL history on that first Monday in December.

With the third overall choice he selected Michigan State linebacker Dan Currie, a fierce pass rusher and sure tackler who would win three championships in Green Bay. Lombardi would trade him to the Rams after 1964 when he asked for more money.

The second round brought LSU’s punishing runner Jim Taylor. Taylor was Lombardi’s centerpiece of their famed power sweep. Taylor would gain over 1,000 yards rushing in 5 consecutive seasons, 1960-1964 and he actually won the rushing title in 1962, with 1,474 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. This would be the only year in which Jim Brown played that he did not win the rushing crown.

Taylor, the Packers leading rusher on 4 of their championship teams would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1976. While these 2 choices already constitute a great draft, Lewellen’s scouting netted them not only 2 more All Pros, but players who the Pro Football Hall Fame voted as the best at their positions on the NFL’s 50^th anniversary team as selected by the Hall directors in 1969.

Lewellen’s third round choice was linebacker Ray Nitschke who played in 190 games for Green Bay and anchored the middle for all of their championship teams. He too would be enshrined in Canton.  Nitschke won the MVP in the famed 1962 championship game, recovering 2 fumbles, while holding the powerful Giant offense with YA Tittle to no touchdowns while winning the title.

Lewellen’s next choice was a result of his detailed scouting. Guard Jerry Kramer from Idaho was the pick and he led the famed Packer sweep, and was first team All Pro 5 times.

As we stated both Nitschke and Kramer were named to the Hall of Fame’s 50^th anniversary team in 1969. This team was very select, because they did not choose three linebackers, just one. Nitschke is considered by the Hall to be the best, even better than Dick Butkus.

As for Kramer the Hall chose just one guard, not two. There are 11 guards enshrined in the Hall of Fame, but the one guard that the Hall themselves said was the best, Kramer, the man who made the winning block for Paul Hornung in the 1965 championship game and was also responsible for the most famous block of all time when he plowed under Jethro Pugh of the Cowboys and allowed Bart Starr to win the “Ice Bowl” and the 1967 championship, is not in the Hall of Fame. He is the best player not to be inducted. It is ironic that the Hall thinks he is the best guard yet the voters have passed on his induction. The sentiment is that with 10 Packers enshrined from that great dynasty is enough in the minds of the voters – a tremendous injustice to Kramer.

Lewellen in just one draft produced 4 key players for the Packer dynasty, winning 16 championships among them.  Two are in Hall of the Fame while another (Kramer) deserves the distinction. More importantly with consecutive choices Lewellen selected the best linebacker and guard in the NFL’s first 50 years and provided Lombardi the final building blocks that defined the greatest dynasty of all time.

After 1959 Lombardi assumed control of all phases of the Packers, including drafts but he was never able to mirror the Lewellen drafts.

For his dedication as both a player and GM, Lewellen was inducted into the Packer Hall of Fame in 1970, and his name is in on the Packer ring of fame at Lambeau Field.

It can take years for the football jury to make a decision on a team’s draft, but the Packer 1958 draft was one for the ages.