Vince Lombardi

Legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, winner of five NFL Championships and the first two Super Bowls.

Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight and five total NFL Championships in seven years, in addition to winning the first two Super Bowls at the conclusion of the 1966 and 1967 NFL seasons. Lombardi served as head coach and general manager for the Packers from 1959 to 1967.

Quick Facts

Role: Head Coach
Affiliation: Green Bay Packers
Tenure: 1959–1967
Nfl championships won: 5
Super bowls won: 2

Lore & Background

Lombardi was born on June 11, 1913, in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn. He was the oldest of five children. He attended Cathedral Preparatory Seminary and later St. Francis Preparatory high school. He received a football scholarship to Fordham University, where he played as a guard and was part of the Seven Blocks of Granite.

After graduating in 1937, he worked briefly as a debt collector and enrolled in Fordham Law School but dropped out after one semester. He began his coaching career at St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, New Jersey, first as an assistant and later as head coach. He then coached at Fordham University and the United States Military Academy at West Point before joining the New York Giants. He became head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers in 1959 and held those roles through 1967. He later coached the Washington Redskins from 1969 until his death from cancer during the 1970 preseason.

Reader's Guide

Lombardi never had a losing season as head coach in the NFL, compiling a regular-season winning percentage of 73.8% (96–34–6) and 90% (9–1) in the postseason for an overall record of 105 wins, 35 losses and 6 ties in the NFL. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the NFL Super Bowl trophy was named in his honor.