Vince Lombardi’s Final Remembrance of Green Bay

This remarkable memory is courtesy of Jim DeWees. Jim is a Hall of Fame Executive Committee Member on the Board of Directors for the Packers Hall of Fame, Inc.

As a long-time member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Board of Directors and Executive Committee, I have my own personal collection of Packers stories.

One I’d like to share one with you today stands out in my mind as truly unique.

Several years ago, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Induction Banquet was held at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay. It was 1975, the year that Vince Lombardi and several of his players were inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. This group included Don Chandler, Willie Davis, Paul Hornung, Henry Jordan, Jerry Kramer, Ron Kramer, Max McGee, Jim Taylor and Fuzzy Thurston. The banquet, of course, was sold out, and packed with admirers and fans.

Marie Lombardi was there to accept the award on behalf of her husband. It was an emotional time, as it was a short time after he had passed away. She told the audience about a conversation she had with Vince a couple days before he died.

She said, “I was sitting on the edge of the bed and Vini (as she always called him) was so sick and semi-conscious. He awoke and said, “Marie, honey, I want to go home.”

I said, “You are home.”

And Vini said, “No, I mean I want to go home to Green Bay.”

This was a tear-jerking moment for everyone.

There was never a question about how the city of Green Bay felt about Vince Lombardi.

Now we know how Vince Lombardi really felt about Green Bay.