Background
Vincent Lombardi was born on 11 June 1913, the first of five children in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of an Italian immigrant, he was raised in a strict religious Catholic atmosphere.
(In the golden years of professional football, one team an...)
In the golden years of professional football, one team and one coach reigned supreme: the 1960s Green Bay Packers, and the fiery Vince Lombardi. Run to Daylight! is Lombardis own diary of a week at the helm of that magnificent club. Together with legendary sports-journalist, W.C. Heinz, Lombardi takes us from the first review of game films on Monday right through the final gun on Sunday afternoon. We see the planning, the plotting, the practice and the pain as forty-plus men come together to form that precision unit that makes for winning football. Lombardi gives us his views on life, the game, coaching, success, family, and the famed Lombardi Sweep. Now, in this anniversary edition, with a special foreword by David Maraniss, we are once again reminded of the passion and power behind America's greatest game. Written in W.C. Heinzs inimitable style, Run to Daylight! is part diary, part philosophy text, part coaches manual. Here, is professional football at its best.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476767173/?tag=2022091-20
(In the twenty-five years since his death, Coach Vince Lom...)
In the twenty-five years since his death, Coach Vince Lombardi has continued to be known for his ablitiy to motivate and inspire those around him. This book brings together the best of Lombardi's quotations and insights that have challenged many on and off the field.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558535500/?tag=2022091-20
Vincent Lombardi was born on 11 June 1913, the first of five children in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of an Italian immigrant, he was raised in a strict religious Catholic atmosphere.
Vince Lombardi, after spending two years studying for the priesthood, changed his mind and transferred to St. Francis Preparatory where he starred as fullback. Upon high school graduation he majored in business at Fordham University and starred on the football team at guard, where he was a member of Fordham's famous "Seven Blocks of Granite". He graduated magna cum laude in 1937.
Vince Lombardi worked for a finance company during the day while attending evening classes in law. In 1939 he accepted a position at St. Cecelia High School in Englewood, New Jersey, as an assistant football coach and teacher. He taught Latin, algebra, physics, and chemistry.
In 1942 he became head coach, and from 1942 to 1946 he compiled a record of 39 wins, seven losses, five ties, including a winning streak of 25 games and an unbeaten streak of 32.
In 1947 he accepted a position at his alma mater, Fordham, as freshman football coach and one year later moved up to be an assistant at the varsity level. But it was at West Point, in 1949, that Lombardi developed his basic coaching philosophy while he served as an assistant to the most successful college coach in the country: Red Blaik.
Lombardi was influenced by Blaik's concept of keeping football simple (blocking and tackling) and of achieving perfect execution by constant repetition in practice. In addition, Lombardi picked up numerous expressions which were to become his trademarks, such as "There is no substitute for victory" (Douglas MacArthur) and "You have to pay the price" (Red Blaik). His penchant for hard work and organization for detail paid off when he was hired in 1954 as an assistant to Jim Lee Howell of the New York Giants.
Vince was in charge of the offense, and Tom Landry, future coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was in charge of the defense. It was here that a pattern emerged which was to follow Lombardi in future years, that of inheriting a poor team and turning it into a winner. The year before Lombardi went to the Giants, they had lost nine of 12 games and had scored the fewest number of points in the league.
In the five years that Lombardi was an assistant with the Giants, they never had a losing season. Part of the reason was Lombardi's decision to build the offense around untested Frank Gifford, who had been used primarily on defense the previous year. Gifford possessed great speed, hands, and blocking talent, along with the ability to pass, and Lombardi created offensive plays which used these skills to such an advantage that Gifford was nominated to the pro bowl all five years that Lombardi was with the Giants.
By 1957 Lombardi had become a desirable coaching commodity to other professional clubs, and in 1958 he accepted a five-year contract as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Cast into the leadership role of a professional head coach for the first time, Vince changed from a coach who was quite openly friendly with the players to more of an aloof leader whose violent temper soon became his trademark along with his supposed passion for winning.
Having only won one game the previous year, Lombardi's Packers proceeded to win seven games his first year and thereafter won six divisional titles, five National Football League championships, and two Super Bowls (I and II). His success during this period placed him at the pinnacle of his profession, and he was looked upon as the master of the game. While much of the credit should go to Lombardi, it should be noted that he inherited an ideal situation in Green Bay. He was, as they say, the right man at the right time.
At this time, Green Bay was looked upon by others in the league as Siberia, with few attractions for players since there was little to do except play and think football. This fit in quite well with Lombardi's spartan ethos. Added to this was the fact that the public liked Lombardi so much that players had little chance of doing anything besides football, since Lombardi was notified by fans wherever the players turned up-within or outside of curfew.
The team Lombardi inherited actually wasn't as bad as the previous year's record might indicate; it had a solid core of talent ready to be developed. Chief among them were Paul Hornung, who possessed all of the qualities of a Frank Gifford and who could also kick field goals, and a 16th-round quarterback draft pick named Bart Starr. Both became all stars and legends.
With several top draft choices and shrewd trading, Lombardi surrounded himself with players who were willing to take his tongue lashings to go the extra yard in order to become winners. He treated all players the same and never had the racial problems some other teams had at the time. So formidable was the Packer running attack that today the term "The Green Bay Sweep" is etched in football terminology.
Exhausted after the 1967 season, Lombardi retired as head coach and stayed on as general manager of the Packers. It wasn't long before he realized his mistake, and in 1969 he left Green Bay to become head coach of the Washington Redskins. He soon led them to their first winning season in more than a decade.
(In the twenty-five years since his death, Coach Vince Lom...)
(In the golden years of professional football, one team an...)
Lombardi attended Mass on a daily basis throughout his life.
Lombardi was a lifelong Democrat with liberal views on civil rights and gun control: he supported John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election, Robert F. Kennedy in the 1968 presidential election, and was also a supporter of Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson.
Quotations: "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing".
Seven Blocks of Granite
Lombardi established himself as an enthusiastic workaholic, putting in as much as 16 or 17 hours daily.
He was a popular public figure in America and was looked upon as a spokesperson for values which many felt were being discarded during the permissive 1960. Businessmen, politicians, and church leaders looked to him for direction.
Quotes from others about the person
"He had the ability to build the kind of character we need in these times".
Lombardi and Marie wed on August 31, 1940. Marie's first pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage. Their son was born in 1942 and their daughter followed five years later in 1947.