Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Packers linebacker Dave Robinson joined me for a phone interview Dec. 4. Needless to say, the 72-year-old Robinson had some great stories and a first-hand account of the Vince Lombardi-era Packers.
“He used to say there were players in the league that were bigger than us, stronger than us, faster than us, could jump higher,” Robinson said of Lombardi. “But we had that certain something, he said, that he saw that made you a Green Bay Packer. He took that little something and nurtured it.”
Robinson pointed out that people seem to lose sight of the fact that Lombardi was the also team’s general manager during his legendary run in Green Bay.
“On our defense, 10 of the 11 people on our defense Vince Lombardi had acquired as the general manager,” Robinson said. “He was a big offensive coach, but he was sharp enough to acquire 10 of 11 (on defense). The only one he didn’t acquire was Ray Nitschke.”
Of course, Lombardi was the one who took Nitschke and turned him into a starter upon his arrival.
Robinson will be honored today (Dec. 4) in his hometown Moorestown, N.J. as part of the “Hometown Hall of Famer” banquet, presented by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Allstate Insurance Company. He spoke of his time growing up in New Jersey, going to college and meeting Joe Paterno at Penn State and, of course, the current Packers and the Aaron Rodgers situation.
Check out the whole interview below. Dave made it very worth your 15 minutes.
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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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Thanks for this interview! You can see clips of the Ice Bowl on youtube. Robinson says that Lombardi told them not to wear gloves but Robinson got the trainer to find a brown pair that matched his skin tone so Lombardi never knew that he was wearing gloves. It’s hard to imagine playing in those conditions. Even though Dallas was a better team that year, the Packers just wouldn’t be denied.
Mr.Robinson played on the very teams that made me a diehard PACKER fan,those guys are the very definition of men and always played like champions!!
Dave Robinson and Herb Adderly, what a pair of all-time greats. I am so fortunate to have been alive and a Packer fan for the Glory Years and Vince!
I agree with the above comments. Those were the Green Bay teams that cemented my long distance, life long fanship for the Packers. Not only were those the best days yet to be a GB fan, those were great days for all of Pro-football. The game was played outside, on grass and the players were a little smaller and slower but they gave us everything they had. They played for almost nothing compared to today but they played hard and winning the championship meant everything because after the season they were just regular guys who went home and found regular jobs to get by in the off season. Now we have a 3 ring circus, all about money, where players celebrate a reception or a sack or a first down like they just won the SB. Dave Robinson is a great representative for those days and his pride for those great Packer teams still burns within him and reignites that fire of pride that remains with those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of and remember those halcyon days. Go Pack Always. Thanks, Since ’61
One of my all-time favorite Packer players,congrats on your well-deserved enshrinement in Canton, Mr. Robinson. Go Packers!
What a collection of great players on those teams. Hard to imagine it could ever be done again. I think Lombardi made his teams great, but he also had some magnificently talented guys as Since ’61, Archie and others have stated. Can you imagine what a team of today could do with two all-timers like Nitschke with Robinson beside him, with Davis and Jordan on the line, and Adderly, Jeter and Wood in the backfield. They might even make MD Jennings look decent – Toby Gerhardt (that game still irks me!) would not fare as well against that! Mr. Robinson & Co. were unbelievable.
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