A.J. Hawk, Dave Robinson honored at Lee Remmel banquet

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Former Packers LB Dave Robinson
Former Packers LB Dave Robinson

At the 14th Lee Remmel Sports Awards Banquet on June 11–what would have been Vince Lombardi’s 100th birthday–Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk and Lombardi-era star Dave Robinson each received an award for their achievements on and off the field.

Hawk was the recipient of the Professional Achievement Award. Since being selected No. 5 overall by the Packers in 2006, Hawk has proven to be a reliable piece of the defense, playing in 110 of a possible 112 regular season games in seven seasons.

“From the very first step off the plane, we realized that there’s something special here,” Hawk said. “Something is different, and it’s so unique.”

Off the field, Hawk has remained active in the community, serving as the spokesman for the Wisconsin Special Olympics. Hawk has also supported the Donald Driver Foundation, the Jerry Parins Cruise for Cancer, the Greg Jennings Foundation, the Al Harris Outreach Program, and the 2nd & 7 Foundation, which is fellow Ohio State alum Mike Vrabel’s charity.

“I love being able to play football here, and I hope to do it for as long as possible,” Hawk said. “I hope to bring many more Super Bowls back to Green Bay. I got one, but sitting next to a guy like Dave, that’s nothing. He laughs at that.”

Hawk was a starter on the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV championship team, whereas Robinson started for the Packers in Super Bowls I and II, which capped off an historic run of three consecutive World Championships.

While accepting the Distinguished Service Award, Robinson reminisced about the 1966 NFL Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys. With a berth in Super Bowl I on the line and facing a fourth-and-goal late in the fourth quarter, Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith was in Robinson’s grasp before his desperation pass was intercepted by Tom Brown. The Packers ran the clock out and won 34-27, punching their ticket to the first ever Super Bowl.

“Without that game, the Lombardi Trophy may very well be called the Landry Trophy,” Robinson said. “And that just makes me sick.”

In Robinson’s ten years in Green Bay, the Packers never lost to the Cowboys, with the exception of one exhibition game in Dallas. Robinson, a member of the 1960s All-Decade team, still questions the Cowboys’ “America’s Team” label.

“If they were ‘America’s Team’, we were the team of the universe,” Robinson said.

Robinson was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 2, 2013. He’s the 11th member of Lombardi’s Packers and the 22nd member of the Packers organization to be inducted into Canton.

“When I was inducted into the Hall of Fame in February, I got an emotional high, and I’m still on it,” Robinson said. “I don’t plan on coming down. I like it where I am.”

The Lee Remmel Sports Award Banquet, which is named after the former journalist, Packers Director of Public Relations and Team Historian, first began in 1998. The banquet was last held in 2010 when Charles Woodson was awarded the Professional Achievement Award, and Paul Hornung earned the Distinguished Service Award.

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Marques is a Journalism student, serving as the Sports Editor of UW-Green Bay\'s campus newspaper The Fourth Estate and a Packers writer at Jersey Al\'s AllGBP.com. Follow Marques on Twitter @MJEversoll.

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2 thoughts on “A.J. Hawk, Dave Robinson honored at Lee Remmel banquet

  1. The original “big cat” was my favorite D player from the Lombardi days. Dude was LT, Jack Lambert and Junior Seau all rolled into one.

    So glad to see that this guy is finally getting recognized for his play.

    Now, let’s talk about this guy Kramer…

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