Sunday, October 10, 2010

The Initial Packers Hall of Fame

We picked up a vintage Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame postcard on our recent trip to Titletown, which we like because it shows the humble beginnings of the museum. It was the first hall of fame ever built to honor a single professional American football team. After receiving approval from coach Vince Lombardi, William L. Brault, a Green Bay restaurateur and Packers fan, founded the Hall of Fame in 1966. The “Hall” started off as a series of exhibits displayed in the concourse of the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena, although it was not a permanent residence, as the exhibits had to be removed each autumn to make room for the Green Bay Bobcats hockey team, which played its home games at the Arena. In 1967, the Packer Hall of Fame Association, a separate corporate entity from the team, was founded and annual induction banquets were subsequently launched in 1970. The Hall did not become a permanent site until 1976 when its new home, an addition to the Brown County Veterans Arena, was formally dedicated on April 3, 1976, by President Gerald R. Ford.