Packers Heritage Trail - Elks Club - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

The Packers Heritage Trail was designed as a self-guided walking tour that weaves two compelling stories. One is about the rich, colorful and improbable history of the storied Green Bay Packers. The other is about the people of Green Bay and how their undying devotion to their beloved football team pulled it through years of financial struggle and ensured its survival.

The Elks Club was the site of an annual sports banquet that honored many of the biggest names in Packer history from the Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi eras.

The first was billed as the "Lombardi Testimonial Banquet" and was held in April1962, four months after the Packers won their first NFL title under Lombardi. League Commissioner Pete Rozelle attended and presented Lombardi with the Ed Thorp Trophy, given each year to the NFL champion.

Later in 1962, Lambeau was honored here when he was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1965, the six Packers inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in its first two classes were honored. On hand were Lambeau, Don Hutson, Johnny (Blood) McNally, Cal Hubbard, Clarke Hinkle and Mike Michalske. The guest of honor at the 1967 banquet was Bart Starr.

The first Packers Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held here on Sept. 19, 1970. And for most of Lombardi's tenure, the Packers ate their Thanksgiving dinner here. In the early 1960s, they'd fly back from their game in Detroit and come directly here from the airport to meet their families.

Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin purchased the building from the Elks in 1995. The building opened in 1959.

Sponsored By:
Tom and Dawn Olejniczak Family
Mark and Nancy Olejniczak Family

Group that erected the marker: The Packers Heritage Trail Foundation, Inc. URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: 300 Crooks Street Green Bay, Wi

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the marker, preferably including yourself or your GPSr in the photo. A very detailed description of your visit may be substituted for a photo. In any case please provide a description of your visit. A description of only "Visited" or "Saw it while on vacation" by anyone other than the person creating the waymark may be deleted by the waymark owner or the category officers.

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Date Logged Log   02/19/2013 peach107 visited it