Vince Lombardi

Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s. The National Football League's Super Bowl trophy is named in his honor.

Lombardi played American football at St. Francis Preparatory School[1], and later Fordham University.[2] He began coaching as an assistant and later as a head coach at St. Cecilia, a Catholic high school in Englewood, New Jersey. He would later coach at Fordham and the U.S. Military Academy. His NFL coaching debut was in 1954 as an offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, helping them win the 1956 NFL Championship Game. Lombardi was the head coach] of the Green Bay Packers from 1959–67, winning five [[History of National Football League Championship|league championships] during his nine years. Following a one-year retirement from coaching in [[1968 NFL season|1968], he returned as head coach of the [[Washington Redskins for the 1969 season.

Lombardi's record in the post-season was 9–1, with his only loss coming in the first of those games against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1960 NFL Championship Game. {| class="toc" id="toc" style="font-size: 12px; color: black; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border-right-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border-left-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; "

Contents
[hide]*1 Early years
 * 2 Days at Fordham University
 * 3 West Point
 * 4 To the NFL
 * 5 Head coaching career
 * 5.1 Green Bay Packers
 * 5.1.1 The Lombardi Sweep
 * 5.1.2 The Ice Bowl
 * 5.2 Washington Redskins
 * 6 Persona
 * 7 Personal life
 * 7.1 Family life
 * 7.2 Religion
 * 8 Illness and death
 * 9 Legacy
 * 9.1 Honors
 * 10 Head coaching record
 * 10.1 Books
 * 10.2 Books written about him
 * 11 See also
 * 12 Notes
 * 13 References
 * 14 External links
 * }

[edit]Early years
Lombardi was born in Brooklyn to Italian-born father Enrico "Harry" Lombardi, a butcher, and Brooklyn-born Matilda Izzo, the daughter of a barber, whose parents had immigrated as teenagers from just east of Salerno in southern Italy. Henry Lombardi also had a brother whose name was Michael Lombardi, who was also a butcher in Brooklyn. Vince Lombardi was raised in the Sheepshead Bay area of southern Brooklyn and attended its public schools through the eighth grade. As a child Vince Lombardi helped his father with his work.

In 1928, at the age of 15, he entered Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, a six-year secondary program to become a Catholic priest. After two years, Lombardi decided not to pursue this path and transferred to the St. Francis Prep, where he was a standout on the football team, played baseball and was a Charter Member of Omega Gamma Delta fraternity.

[edit]Days at Fordham University
In 1933, Lombardi accepted a football scholarship to Fordham University[3] in the Bronx to play for the Fordham Rams and the new head coach Sleepy Jim Crowley, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame in the 1920s. During his freshman year, due to his "reckless abandon" and "superior blocking" on the football field, his teammates gave Lombardi the nickname of Butch.[4] Prior to the start of his sophomore year, Lombardi was projected as a starter at tackle. Lombardi was undersized for the position (5'8" and about 183 lb.)[5] Nonetheless, he became the right guard in the Seven Blocks of Granite,[6] a nickname given to the Fordham University football team's defensive front line[7] by Fordham University publicist Timothy Sylvester Cohane.[8] The Seven Blocks of Granite of the 1936 line were Leo Paquin, Johnny 'Tarzan' Druze, Alex Franklin Wojciechowicz, Ed 'Devil Doll' Franco, Al 'Ali Baba' Babartsky, Natty Pierce, and Vince Lombardi.[7] [9] The nickname was also commonly used to referred to the Fordham lines of the 1929, 1930, and 1937 teams, but it is the 1936 line which "...entered the realm of football lore."[10]

His Senior Year, the 1936 Rams went 5-0-2 before losing, what Lombardi called; "The most devastating loss of my life,"[citation needed] when they lost the final game of the season 7-6 to NYU, and with it, the hopes of playing in the Rose Bowl.

In the fall of 1938, Lombardi attended Fordham's law school. "One semester, and Lombardi was out, with poor grades that he tried to conceal ever after."[11] In 1939, Lombardi accepted an assistant coaching job at St. Cecilia, a Catholic high school in Englewood, New Jersey.[12] He was offered the position by the school's new head coach, Lombardi's former Fordham teammate, quarterback "Handy" Andy Palau. Palau had just taken over the head coaching position from another Fordham teammate, Nat Pierce (left guard), who had accepted an assistant coach's job back at Fordham. In addition to coaching, Lombardi, age 26, also taught Latin, chemistry, and physics for an annual salary of under $1700 at the high school.[13] Lombardi and Palau shared a boarding house room across the street from the school for $1.50 each per week.

In 1940, Lombardi married Marie Planitz, a cousin of another Fordham teammate, Jim Lawlor. Andy Palau left for Fordham in 1942 and Lombardi became the head coach at St. Cecilia. Lombardi stayed a total of eight years (five as head coach, and in 1943 was recognized as the top football team in the nation.[citation needed] He left for Fordham in 1947 to coach the freshman teams in football andbasketball. The following year he served as an assistant coach for Fordham's varsity football team, but he was arguably the de facto head coach.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[14]

[edit]West Point
Following the 1948 football season, Lombardi accepted another assistant's job, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a position that would greatly influence his future coaching style. Lombardi served as offensive line coach<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[15] under legendary head coach Colonel Red Blaik. "As integral as religion was to his (Lombardi's) sense of self, it was not until he reached West Point and combined his spiritual discipline with Blaik's military discipline that his coaching persona began to take its mature form."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[16] Blaik's emphasis on execution<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[17] would become a hallmark of Lombardi's NFL teams. Lombardi coached at West Point for five seasons, with varying results. The 1949, 1950, and 1953 seasons were successful. But the 1951 and 1952 seasons were not successful due to the aftermath of a cadet cribbing scandal (a violation of the Cadet Honor Code<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[18] ) which was revealed in the spring of 1951. As a result, 43 of 45 members of the varsity football team were discharged "...by administrative order".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[19] "Decades later, looking back on his rise, Lombardi came to regard..." Blaik's decision not to resign "...as a pivotal moment in his [own] career" - it taught him 'perseverance.'<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[20] Following these five seasons at Army, Lombardi accepted an assistant coaching position with the NFL's New York Giants.

[edit]To the NFL
Lombardi, age 41, began his career as a professional football coach in 1954. He accepted a job that would later become known as the offensive coordinator position for the NFL's New York Giants, under new head coach Jim Lee Howell.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[21] The Giants had finished the previous season, under 23-year coach Steve Owen, with a 3–9 record. By the third season, Lombardi, along with the defensive coordinator, former All-Pro cornerback turned coach Tom Landry, turned the squad into a championship team, defeating the Chicago Bears for the league title in 1956. "Howell readily acknowledged the talents of Lombardi and Landry, and joked self-deprecatingly, that his main function was to make sure the footballs had air in them."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[22] At points in his tenure as an assistant coach at West Point, and as an assistant coach with the Giants, Lombardi worried he was unable to land a head coaching job due to prejudice against his Italian heritage.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[23]

[edit]Green Bay Packers
On February 2, 1959, at age 45, Vince Lombardi accepted the position of head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers. Lombardi inherited a team which in 1958 had lost all but 2 of its 12 games (a win & a tie), worst in Packers history.

Lombardi created punishing training regimens and expected absolute dedication and effort from his players. The 1959 Packers were an immediate improvement, finishing at 7–5. Rookie head coach Lombardi was named Coach of the Year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[24]

In his second year, Green Bay won the NFL Western Conference for the first time since 1944, resulting in Lombardi's gaining the nickname the Pope, or the Pope of Green Bay<sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from January 2011">[citation needed] from the Green Bay community.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[25] Lombardi led the Packers to the 1960 NFL Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Prior to the championship game, Lombardi met with Wellington Mara and advised him that he would not take the Giants' head coaching job, which was initially offered after the end of the 1959 season.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[26] Against the Eagles, Lombardi suffered his first, and last, championship game loss. After the game, and after the press corps had left the locker room, Lombardi told his team, "This will never happen again. You will never lose another championship."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[27] (He would win his next 9 post-season games, a record streak not matched or broken until Bill Belichick won 10 in a row from 2002 to 2006.)

The Packers would defeat the Giants for the NFL title in 1961 (37–0 in Green Bay) and 1962 (16–7 at Yankee Stadium), marking the first two of their five titles in Lombardi's 9 years. After the 1962 championship win, Lombardi received a call from President John F. Kennedy wherein Kennedy asked Lombardi if he would 'come back to Army and coach again' - Lombardi replied no without ever saying no.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[28] His only other post-season loss occurred to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Playoff Bowl (3rd place game) after the 1964 season (officially classified as an exhibition game). Lombardi had earlier expressed an interest in the head coaching job at Notre Dame and on two occasions wrote letters to the university to that effect.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from December 2010">[citation needed] He never received a reply.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from December 2010">[citation needed]

Including postseason but excluding exhibition games, Lombardi went on to accomplish a 96–34–6 (.738 winning percent) record as head coach, and he never suffered a losing season.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[29] He led the Packers to three consecutive NFL championships—-in 1965, 1966, and 1967—-a feat accomplished only once before in the history of the league (by Curly Lambeau, founder of the Packers, who coached the team to their first three straight NFL Championships in 1929, 1930, and 1931). At the conclusion of the 1966 and 1967 seasons, Lombardi's Packers teams would also go on to win the first two Super Bowls, solidifying his place as, arguably, the greatest coach in football history.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[30] Vince Lombardi had coached the Green Bay Packers to complete championships in 5 of 7 seasons, 1961-67.

[edit]The Lombardi Sweep
As coach of the Packers, Lombardi converted Notre Dame quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung to a full-time halfback. Lombardi designed a play for Hornung based on an old single wing concept—both guards pulled to the outside and blocked downfield while Hornung would "run to daylight" -- i.e., wherever the defenders weren't. This was a play that he had originally developed with the Giants for Gifford that would become famous as the "Lombardi sweep" or "Packer power sweep."

[edit]The Ice Bowl
Main article: NFL Championship Game, 1967Lombardi's Packers hosted the Dallas Cowboys in Green Bay on December 31, 1967 in one of the most famous games in the history of football, the NFL Championship Game of 1967<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[31]. This became known as the Ice Bowl because of the -13F gametime temperature. With 16 seconds left in the game and down by 3 points, the Packers called their final time-out. It was 3rd and goal on the Dallas 1-yard line. Quarterback Bart Starr came over to Lombardi on the sidelines to discuss the last play, Lombardi told Starr to 'Run it! And let's get the hell out of here.' Lombardi was asked by Pat Pepplerwhat the play Starr is going to call, when Lombardi replied, 'Damned if I know.'<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[32] Following the time out, Starr ran an unplanned sneak to win the game.

Later, "that evening, in the basement party room of Sunset Circle" (his home), Lombardi celebrated the victory with family members and journalists.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[33] "A few months later the crowd that gathered in Lombardi's basement on the night of the game reassembled there now to watch the highlight film, The Greatest Challenge, "produced by Ed and, his son, Steve Sabol and narrated by John Facenda.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[34] "At the climax of the film", Facenda said of the 1967 Packers: 'They will be remembered as the faces of victory. . . . They will be remembered for their coach, whose iron discipline was the foundation on which they built a fortress. And most of all, they will be remembered as a group of men who faced the greatest challenge their sport has ever produced and conquered." When the lights were turned back on, Lombardi was seen crying<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[35], a not unfamiliar occurence.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[36]

[edit]Washington Redskins
Lombardi stepped down as head coach of the Packers following the 1967 NFL season, staying on as the team's general manager for 1968. He handed off the head coaching position to Phil Bengtson, a longtime assistant, but the Packers finished at 6–7–1 and out of the four team NFL playoffs. A restless Lombardi returned to coaching in 1969 with the Washington Redskins, where he broke a string of 14 losing seasons. The 'Skins would finish with a record of 7–5–2, significant for a number of reasons. Lombardi discovered that rookie running back Larry Brown was deaf in one ear, something that had escaped his parents, schoolteachers, and previous coaches. Lombardi had observed Brown's habit of tilting his head in one direction when listening to signals being called, and walked behind him during drills and said "Larry." When Brown did not answer, the coach asked him to take a hearing exam. Brown was fitted with a hearing aid, and with this correction he would enjoy a successful NFL career.

Lombardi got quarterback Sonny Jurgensen, one of the league's premier forward passers, into the best condition he could. He coaxed former All-Pro linebacker Sam Huff out of retirement. He even changed the team's uniform design to reflect that of the Packers, with gold and white trim along the jersey biceps, and later a gold helmet with an "R" inside a circle, similar to the famous Green Bay "G" monogram. The foundation Lombardi laid was the groundwork for Washington's early 1970s success under former L.A. Rams Coach George Allen. Lombardi had brought a winning attitude to the Nation's Capital, in the same year that the nearby University of Maryland had hired Lefty Driesell to coach basketball and the hapless expansion Washington Senators named Ted Williams as manager and led the club to its only winning record in Washington (86–76). It marked a renaissance in sports interest in America's most transient of cities. However, Lombardi would never get to see the fruit of his labor in the nation's capital, for he died on September 3, 1970.

[edit]Persona
During his years as head coach of Green Bay, Lombardi "...was not blind to the discrimination that his black players encountered off the field, and he did everything he could to ease their way..."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[37] "Willie Wood called him 'perhaps the fairest person I ever met.' ...In later years, he [Lombardi] would try to explain his position on racial matters by saying that he viewed his athletes as neither black nor white, but Packer green."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[38]

[edit]Family life
Lombardi's roommate at Fordham University, Jim Lawlor, introduced Lombardi to Lawlor's first cousin, Marie Planitz. Marie would be Lombardi's "first and only girlfriend." Marie became enamored with Lombardi, and when Marie announced her yearning to marry him, her father told her that he did not want his daughter marrying an Italian,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-38" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[39] a prejudice against his heritage he would face more than once in his life.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-39" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[40] Lombardi and Marie were married on August 31, 1940.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[41]

Marie tragically lost her first child with Lombardi, not long after their wedding. The 'terrible effect' this had on Marie caused her to turn to "heavy drinking",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[42] a problem she would deal with on more than one occasion in her life.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[43] On April 27, 1942, their son Vincent Harold Lombardi was born<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-43" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[44] and on February 13, 1947, their daughter Susan was born.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[45]

"He seemed preoccupied with football even on their honeymoon, and cut it short to get back to Englewood...'I wasn't married to him more than one week' she later related, 'when I said to myself, Marie Planitz, you've made the greatest mistake of your life.'"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[46] Lombardi's perfectionism<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[47] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[48], authoritarian nature<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-48" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[49] and temper<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[50] , quickly instilled in Marie the belief that she would have to verbally fight back.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-50" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[51] Marie developed a masterful ability to counterattack Lombardi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[52]

[edit]Religion
The three constants throughout Lombardi's life were sports, particularly football, family and religion.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[53] "His mother's favorite picture of Vinnie as a child shows him ...on Confirmation day."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-When_Pride_Still_Mattered_1999.2C_pg._20_53-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[54] When Lombardi was 12, on Easter Sunday whilst serving as an altar boy, "...amid the color and pageantry scarlet and white vestments, golden cross, scepters, the wafers and wine, body and blood, ...that the inspiration came to him that he should become a priest...",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-When_Pride_Still_Mattered_1999.2C_pg._20_53-1" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[54] which when his mother, Matty, got wind of, she "boasted proudly" to her neighbors.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[55] Lombardi attended mass on a daily basis during his youth.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-When_Pride_Still_Mattered_1999.2C_pg._20_53-2" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[54] At Fordham University, Lombardi attended daily mass before breakfast each morning.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-55" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[56] In later years, he told friends, being a football coach allowed him to be a "father figure and leader...like a priest...but did not force him to repress his emotions."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[57] During his tenure at St. Cecilia, Lombardi attended mass every day and "prayed for calm and control: of his temper and..." his wife's drinking.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-57" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[58] When Lombardi became head coach of football in 1942, after his team had suited up for the game, he would lead them to Sunday mass and would recite the Lord's Prayer on the sidelines before the opening kickoff.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-58" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[59] At St. Cecilia, Lombardi shared an office with Father Tim Moore wherein it was not unusual for Lombardi to interrupt a conversation and request to go toConfession and which Father Tim would oblige him right in the office.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-59" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[60] Once, Lombardi, during his tenure as head coach (and general manager) of Green Bay, emerged from his office and appeared before his secretary, Ruth McKloskey, wearing "...all these priest robes on, and he had a miter with a tassel, everything."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[61] Before he left his home each morning in Green Bay, he would drop to his knees in prayer in his bedroom.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[62] On the morning of the dedication of Lombardi Avenue, Lombardi remarked, to the assembled 37 member entourage, he was pleased to have gotten them all up to attend morning mass.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-When_Pride_Still_Mattered_1999.2C_pg._444_62-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[63] Lombardi was also a 4th degree in the Catholic fraternity the Knights of Columbus.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from January 2011">[citation needed]

[edit]Illness and death
During the summer, the hardy Lombardi suddenly began to feel less than his vigorous self. On June 24, 1970, he was admitted to Georgetown University Hospital at 2:30 PM, and "...later that afternoon, Dr. Robert Coffey, a specialist in colon surgery ...found Lombardi in 'no distress.'...Further tests the next morning ..revealed anaplastic carcinoma in the rectal area of his colon - a fast-growing malignant cancer in which the cells barely resemble their normal appearance."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[64] Although a sufferer of digestive tract problems, Lombardi had previously avoided a proctoscopic exam.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[65] "On July 27th, exactly one month from the day of his first operation, Lombardi was readmitted to Georgetown and immediately sent back into surgery...This time the exploratory surgery found that thecancer had spread massively to his liver, peritoneum, and lymph nodes. Dr. Coffey was stunned, calling it one of the most voracious cancers he had ever seen."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[66] On his deathbed, Lombardi told Father Tim, 'I'm not afraid to die...But there's so much yet to be done in the world.'<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[67] He died on September 3, 1970 at the age of 57.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[68]

At ten in the morning on Labor Day, September 7, the funeral was held at Manhattan's St. Patrick's Cathedral. Fifth Avenue between 39th and 50th Streets was closed to traffic. Terence Cardinal Cookedelivered the eulogy. Honorary pallbearers included Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Willie Davis, Tony Canadeo, Wellington Mara, Dick Bourguignon, Marc Chubb, and Edward Bennett Williams. On one side of the aisle sat the team owners and Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who three days later would name the Super Bowl trophy the Vince Lombardi Trophy.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[69]

Lombardi was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame at its next induction ceremony in 1971.

Vince Lombardi is buried next to his wife Marie and his parents Harry and Matilda, in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Middletown Township, New Jersey.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[70]

President Richard Nixon went so far as to send a telegram of condolence signed "The People".

[edit]Legacy
Vince Lombardi has become virtually synonymous with the NFL. This began during his career: he was featured as the face of the NFL on the cover of Time on December 14, 1962 as part of the magazine's cover story on "The Sport of the '60s." Lombardi's players were wholeheartedly devoted to him, and his emphasis on hard work and dedication endeared him to millions who admired his values.

In addition to Lombardi's contributions to the history of pro football, Lombardi is legendary for his coaching philosophy and motivational skills. Many of Lombardi's speeches continue to be quoted frequently today. However it must be kept in context that his quotes were based on his football experience. Regardless, he is well known as being unequivocally committed to winning. One of his most famous maxims is "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing", although he did not coin the phrase and the exact words he used are disputed. "Lombardi time" is the principle that one should arrive 10–15 minutes early,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[71] or else be considered late. His chief scout, Wally Cruice, once said of Lombardi's single-minded devotion to the game: "you didn't talk about anything but football. If you didn't have the facts, he didn't want you to waste his time."

Lombardi is also credited with introducing the concept of rule blocking to the NFL. In rule blocking, "each lineman blocked a zone...", instead of individually man-to-man, as was the norm up to that time.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-71" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[72] The running back then was expected to run toward any hole that was created. Lombardi referred to this as "running to daylight."

One of Lombardi's former Green Bay offensive tackles, Forrest Gregg, led the Cincinnati Bengals as head coach to a Super Bowl appearance in 1981. He coached the Cleveland Browns from 1975–1977, Cincinnati 1980-83, and Green Bay 1984-87. In addition, quarterback Bart Starr was head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1975 through 1983, and former assistant Jerry Burns was head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 1986 through 1991. The aforementioned Phil Bengston coached Green Bay 1968-1970, and former center Jim Ringo coached the Buffalo Bills 1976-1977.

Lombardi's grandson, Joe Lombardi, is the current quarterbacks coach with the New Orleans Saints (who won the trophy named for Joe's grandfather in 2010). Vince also had a brother, Joseph, who was active in the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. Joseph died in 2002.

In 1973, the 1-hour Lombardi biographical TV drama "Legend in Granite" was released. It starred Ernest Borgnine as Vince, focusing mostly on his first 2 years as Packers head coach (1959–1960).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-72" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[73]

A play entitled Lombardi opened on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre in New York City in October 2010, following an out-of-town tryout at the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The production stars Dan Lauria as Lombardi and Judith Light as his wife, Marie. The play has received positive reviews, as has Lauria's performance.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-73" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[74] Dan Lauria said that when speaking to Lombardi's former players, he would ask the players what they most want to see portrayed in the play, to a man they said Lombardi's sense of humor.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from January 2011">[citation needed]

ESPN Films has announced that they will be making a film chronicling Lombardi's years as coach for Green Bay, set to be released in February 2012. Robert De Niro has been reportedly signed to play Lombardi in the film.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-74" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[75]

NFL Films and HBO produced a film about Lombardi which debuted Saturday, December 11, 2010.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-75" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[76]

Lombardi's son, Vincent Lombardi, wrote a book about his father entitled The Essential Vince Lombardi – Words & Wisdom to Motivate, Inspire & Win which discussed Lombardi's coaching philosophy. To quote from the book “One of the first self-help books I ever read was Psycho- Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. It had a profound effect on me, and I was pleasantly surprised when I found a copy of the book – underlined and dog-eared - in my father’s library after he passed away. I’m convinced that many of the concepts and ideas that formed my father’s coaching philosophy – including focusing on the successful effort while putting an error quickly out of mind – came from his reading of Psycho-Cybernetics."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-76" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[77]

[edit]Honors
A Vince Lombardi Trophy


 * On May 1967, Lombardi "...received Fordham's highest honor, the Insignis Medal,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-77" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[78] ...for being a great teacher", which he considered the "'finest moment' of his life."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-78" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[79]
 * Inducted into the Fordham University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1971<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-79" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[80] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-80" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[81]
 * In 1968, Highland Avenue in Green Bay, home to the Packers' Lambeau Field, was renamed Lombardi Avenue.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-When_Pride_Still_Mattered_1999.2C_pg._444_62-1" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[63]
 * In 1969, the Catholic Youth Organization awarded Lombardi with the John (Jack) Mara sportsman of he year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-81" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[82]
 * As part of the Lambeau Field renovation, a 14-foot statue of Lombardi now stands on a plaza outside the stadium, in an overcoat grasping a program, as he did often on the sideline.
 * In 1972, the Green Bay School District named its new junior high school (later a middle school) "Vincent T. Lombardi Junior High (Middle) School," located on Green Bay's southwest side.
 * The football field at Old Bridge High School in Old Bridge, New Jersey, is called "Vince Lombardi Field." It has been called this since the 1970s, the field in Palisades Park is also known as "Vince Lombardi Field." His brother Joe attended the rededication ceremony in the 1990s.
 * Vince Lombardi Square (with a plaque dedication in the sidewalk on the square) is near Sheepshead Bay Road and East 14th Street in Brooklyn, New York.
 * Also in Brooklyn, there are two places in the Bensonhurst area, which are dedicated or re-honored in Vince Lombardi's honor: P.S. 204 on 15th Avenue and 81st Street is officially named Vince Lombardi Elementary School, and the entire Bensonhurst stretch of 16th Avenue is dedicated by the City of New York as "Vince Lombardi Boulevard."
 * The Vince Lombardi Service Area and park-and-ride is the northernmost rest area on the New Jersey Turnpike, at mileposts 116E on the Eastern Spur and 115.5W on the Western Spur. Outside the gift shop is a plaque about his life, which notes that he is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Middletown, New Jersey.
 * The Vincent T. Lombardi Council, No. 6552, Knights of Columbus, in Middletown, New Jersey, is named for him.
 * The Vince Lombardi Cancer clinic at Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay is named after him.
 * The Vincent T. Lombardi Center at Fordham University was named for the coach.
 * The Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University is named in his honor.
 * The NFL's "World Championship Game Trophy" (first awarded in January 1967) was renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy. It is given annually to the winner of the Super Bowl.
 * In 1970, the Rotary Club of Houston created the Lombardi Award. It is given annually to the best college-football lineman or linebacker.
 * In 1969, Lombardi received the Silver Buffalo Award, the highest adult award given by the Boy Scouts of America.
 * Lombardi was enshrined in the NFL's Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Canton, Ohio in 1971.
 * Lombardi was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976.
 * Lombardi is a member of the Washington Redskins Ring of Fame.
 * He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 1993.
 * Lombardi appeared on a U.S. Postage stamp first issued on July 25, 1997.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-82" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[83]

[edit]Books

 * Run to Daylight by Vince Lombardi with W. C. Heinz
 * What It Takes to Be #1: Vince Lombardi on Leadership
 * The Lombardi Rules: 26 Lessons from Vince Lombardi - the World's Greatest Coach
 * The Essential Vince Lombardi

[edit]Books written about him

 * Football's Greatest Coach: Vince Lombardi by Gene Schoor
 * When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi by David Maraniss
 * Run to Win: Vince Lombardi on Coaching and Leadership by Donald T. Phillips
 * Vince: A Personal Biography of Vince Lombardi by Michael O'Brien
 * Instant Replay by Jerry Kramer
 * The Lombardi Legacy: Thirty People who were Touched by Greatness by Royce Boyles and Dave Robinson
 * Coach: A Season With Lombardi by Tom Dowling