When Pride Still Mattered

by David Maraniss

  9. The Sisters of Charity: Silverian yearbook, 1947. Ints. Joe McPartland, Father Guy McPartland, Joe Lombardi, Don Crane, Dorothy Bachmann.

  10. Though he was color-blind: Classification record of Vincent T. Lombardi. U.S. Selective Service System. Local Board No. 7 for Bergen County.

  11. The students at Saints regarded him: The Arcade, March 20, 1944. Ints. Don Crane, Joe McPartland, John DeGasperis, Al Quilici, Joe Lombardi, Dorothy Bachmann.

  12. Hours after he had informed: Father Tim Moore, Joe Lombardi, John DeGasperis, Jill Lombardi. Also Vincent H. Lombardi papers.

  5: LOST IN THE BRONX

  1. The American life: Brooklyn Eagle, Sept. 2, 1947. Also ints. Joe Lombardi, Madeline Werner, Clara Parvin, Dorothy Pennell.

  2. Lombardi’s official responsibilities: Fordham Research Library archives; The Fordham Ram; 1948 Maroon yearbook.

  3. Fordham had never had: Heinz notes; Cohane papers; Fordham Research Library scrapbooks. Ints. Herb Seidell, Joe Lombardi, John DeGasperis, Dick Tarrant, Andrew Palau, Dominic Principe.

  4. Lombardi neither pushed: Cohane papers; ints. Wellington Mara, Herb Seidell.

  6: FIELDS OF FRIENDLY STRIFE

  1. Lombardi drove north: Heinz notes; Cohane papers; Blaik, You Have to Pay the Price, p. 436.

  2. Lombardi and Warmath had met: Int. Murray Warmath; 1934 Fordham-Tennessee game program.

  3. When spring practice opened: Ints. Murray Warmath, Doug Kenna. Also Heinz notes, Cohane papers.

  4. There was one dominating characteristic: Cohane papers; ints. Doug Kenna, Murray Warmath, O. C. Krueger, Red Reeder.

  5. “Dauntless Doug”: Assembly, Spring 1964: “MacArthur of West Point”; Phillips, “Douglas MacArthur: Father of the New West Point” (senior thesis, United States Military Academy). Ints. Red Reeder, Doug Kenna.

  6. Blaik and MacArthur were regular correspondents: Blaik-MacArthur letters in West Point Library archives.

  7. Lombardi slept in Cabin No. 2: Cohane papers; Cohane, Bypaths, p. 217; Heinz notes; ints. Murray Warmath, Doug Kenna, Red Reeder, Fred Russell.

  8. West Point then was dominated: Lombardi speech to Reader’s Digest executives, May 1970; ints. Red Reeder, Doug Kenna.

  9. They also studied the Michigan offensive players: Heinz notes; Cohane papers.

  10. In a sense Tim Cohane: Account of Army-Fordham game from Tim Cohane papers; Cohane, Bypaths, p. 7; Heinz notes; ints. Herb Seidell, Doug Kenna, Red Reeder, O. C. Krueger, Joe Lombardi. Also New York Journal American.

  11. What about family?: Ints. Red Reeder, Vincent H. Lombardi, Russell Reeder III, Red Reeder, O. C. Krueger, Julia Reeder McCutchen, Susan Lombardi, Doug Kenna, Harold Lombardi.

  12. The overconfident Cadets: Blaik letter to MacArthur, Dec. 27, 1950; Blaik letter to General D. D. Eisenhower, Dec. 14, 1950; Assembly, January 1951; ints. Doug Kenna, Murray Warmath; Cohane papers.

  7: BLAIK’S BOYS

  1. An unraveling had begun: Ints. Murray Warmath, Doug Kenna, Red Reeder. Also Cohane papers; Blaik letter to Eisenhower, May 1951.

  2. He already seemed besieged: Blaik cablegrams to MacArthur, Jan. 24, 1951; April 12, 1951; letter to MacArthur, May 28, 1951.

  3. Not long after: Blaik letter to John O’Donnell, March 24, 1952. West Point Library. Cohane, Bypaths, p. 225; Cohane papers.

  4. The spring of 1951: Account of Lombardi trip to Far East from Annual Report of the Superintendent, 1951, USMA. Also ints. Murray Warmath, Doug Kenna, O. C. Krueger, Red Reeder.

  5. The trouble for Blaik’s boys: Proceedings of a Board of Officers, May 28, 1951. This document, known as the Collins report, recorded the USMA’s investigation of the cribbing scandal. It was declassified in 1970 and is now on file at West Point. Also, Assembly, Fall 1951, “The Recent Violations of the Honor Code at West Point,” Maj. Gen. Frederick A. Irving, U.S.A., Superintendent.

  6. The next afternoon: Blaik, Pay the Price, p. 289; Cohane papers.

  7. Cadets 1-5 and A-C: Collins report transcript.

  8. During the third week of July:Ints. Doug Kenna, Murray Warmath, Red Reeder.

  9. At the end of that week: Learned Hand reviewed Collins report findings as part of three-board panel with two retired generals, Lt. Gen. Troy H. Middleton and Maj. Gen. Robert M. Danford, July 23-25, 1951.

  10. How did Lombardi behave: Ints. Murray Warmath, Doug Kenna, Rex Reeder, O. C. Krueger. Also Cohane papers.

  11. Early the next morning: Blaik, Pay the Price, p. 299; Cohane papers.

  12. Blaik returned to Bull Pond: Account of Blaik press conference at Leone’s from Red Smith’s “Views of Sport” column, New York Herald Tribune, Aug. 10, 1951; Time, Aug. 20, 1951; New York Times, Aug. 10, 1951. Also ints. Doug Kenna, Red Reeder, O. C. Krueger.

  13. Blaik and his assistants: Ints. Murray Warmath, Doug Kenna. Also New York Daily News, Aug. 14, 1951. Joseph P. Kennedy’s anonymous offer was reported by AP from South Bend, Aug. 21, 1951.

  14. With every national scandal: Dozens of newspaper editorials and sports columns excoriated West Point scandal. Headline over Sokolsky column, Aug. 9, 1951, in Christian Science Monitor read: “Nation’s Morals the Issue in Scandal at West Point.”

  15. In an effort to head off: Second Board of Officers appointed Aug. 13, 1951 (Bartlett board), issued report Sept. 7, 1951.

  8: NO SUBSTITUTE FOR VICTORY

  1. Blaik was so unfamiliar: Blaik letter to MacArthur, Sept. 4, 1951, West Point Library special collections. Also New York Times, Aug. 28, 1951.

  2. For Lombardi: Ints. Red Reeder, O. C. Krueger, Doug Kenna, Lowell Sisson, Gerald Lodge. Also, Cohane papers, Heinz notes.

  3. “He was a driver”: Time, Dec. 21, 1962.

  4. The technical aspects: Ints. John Druze, Red Reeder, Herb Seidell.

  5. As the Army coaches: Ints. Doug Kenna, Vincent H. Lombardi, Red Reeder, Gerald Lodge. Also Cohane papers (Blaik int., May 8, 1967); Blaik, Pay the Price, p. 322.

  6. The next July: Ints. Red Reeder, Russell Reeder III, Vincent H. Lombardi. Also Reeder, Born at Reveille, pp. 273-285; Cohane, Bypaths, p. 219; O’Brien, Vince, pp. 98-99; “Daybreak on D-Day Was Calm,” New York Times, June 6, 1984; Fred Russell column, Nashville Banner, Aug. 3, 1995.

  7. Dear General MacArthur: Blaik letter to MacArthur, June 24, 1952, West Point Library special collections.

  8. The Cadets were competitive: Int. Gerald Lodge.

  9. Lombardi’s ability to see everything: Lombardi speech to Reader’s Digest executives, May 1970; ints. Doug Kenna, Red Reeder, O. C. Krueger.

  10. Lombardi was anxious: Cohane papers; Cohane, Bypaths, p. 225.

  11. In June, Lombardi had turned forty: Ints. Red Reeder, Russell Reeder III, Vincent H. Lombardi.

  12. Not much was expected: Account of Army football’s 1953 season drawn from Blaik letters to MacArthur, March 26, May 18, Sept. 4, Nov. 4, 20, 30, 1953, West Point Library; Cohane papers; Heinz notes; ints. Gerald Lodge, Lowell Sisson, Doug Kenna, Red Reeder, O. C. Krueger, Tim Cohane Jr., Vincent H. Lombardi; Joe Cahill, “Down the Field,” Assembly, September-November 1953; New York Times, Oct. 19, 1953; Red Smith column, “Old Soldiers Never Give Up,” New York Herald Tribune, Oct. 13, 1953.

  9: CULT OF THE NEW

  1. Grantland Rice wrote those lines: Rice, Tumult; Cohane papers; New York Times, July 13, 1954.

  2. the new age of television: Greenfield, Television; Winship, Television; NFL documents; 1954 letters from Commissioner Bell to New York Giants.

  3. “THE LIGHT OF A NEW AGE”: Newsweek, July 5, 12, 19, 26, Aug. 16, 1954.

  4. It was in the spirit of the new: New York Daily News, Dec. 11, 1953; ints. Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh, Red Reeder, O. C. Krueger, Doug Kenna; Blaik, Pay the Price; Whittingham, Giants, p. 262; Steinbreder, 70 Years.

  5. The new job brought the Lombardis: Heinz notes; Cohane papers; ints. Vincent H. Lombardi, Wellington Mara, Joe Lombardi.

  6. The pros, for their part: Ints. Bill Austin, Herb Rich, Frank Gifford, Wellington Mara, Ken Kavanaugh. Also Heinz no
tes.

  7. Young Vincent: Int. Vincent H. Lombardi.

  8. After his difficult early weeks: Heinz notes. Ints. Frank Gifford, Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh, Bill Austin; Whittingham, Giants.

  9. These were still only faint glimmers: Int. Herb Rich.

  10. For the league to rise: Ints. Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh; Heinz notes. Whittingham, Giants, p. 90.

  11. Lombardi and Landry: Ints. Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh, Bill Austin, Frank Gifford; Tom Landry, “Vince Lombardi,” Sport, 1986; Landry interview in Whittingham, Giants, p. 91; New York World-Telegram, Nov. 15, 1958.

  12. We do, or die:“From Rose Hill to Oblivion,” New York Times, Dec. 17, 1954; Rev. Laurence J. McGinley, S.J., letter to alumni, Dec. 15, 1954, Fordham Research Library Archives; ints. Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh; Vincent H. Lombardi papers; Cohane papers; Cohane, Bypaths, p. 3.

  10: THIS PRIDE OF GIANTS

  1. No name in sports: Cohane papers; Heinz notes; Vincent H. Lombardi papers.

  2. Huff, a two-way lineman: New York Football Giants player file on Robert Lee “Sam” Huff, Giants administrative headquarters, The Meadowlands, N.J.; Whittingham, Giants, p. 71; Gifford, The Whole Ten Yards; ints. Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh.

  3. The sophistication of his playbook: Heinz notes; Cohane papers; ints. Ken Kavanaugh, Bill Austin, Frank Gifford.

  4. Special Bulletin No. 12A: Document from NFL office, July 6, 1956.

  5. It had been seventeen years: “Crowley Had Role in TV’s First Sports Production,” Scrantonian, May 9, 1982; Stanley Grosshandler, “About 500 Saw the Game,” Fordham Bulletin.

  6. Another twelve years passed: Winship, Television; int. Ray Scott.

  7. Old pros might not make mistakes: Heinz notes; Cohane papers.

  8. a sporting intellectual: Sunday News, Nov. 25, 1956.

  9. Lombardi did not have to wait: Account of Giants-Bears championship game drawn from ints. Frank Gifford, Bill Austin, Wellington Mara, Ken Kavanaugh, Ray Walsh, Vincent H. Lombardi; Cohane papers; Sports Illustrated, Jan. 7, 1957; Heinz notes; Whittingham, Giants, p. 205; New York Times, Dec. 30, 31, 1956; Jan. 1, 1957; Red Smith, “Frost on the Punkin’ Heads,” New York Herald Tribune, Dec. 31, 1956; Chicago Tribune, Dec. 31, 1956.

  10. Money was just then emerging: Report of 1st Players Association Meeting (notes taken by Norm Van Brocklin), Dec. 28-29, 1956; New York Times, Dec. 30, 1956.

  11. All smiles when the Lombardi family: Long Branch Daily Record, Dec. 4, 1956. Description of Lombardi family drawn from interviews with Vincent H. Lombardi, Susan Lombardi, Joe Lombardi, Madeline Werner, Dorothy Pennell, Steve Werner, Harold Lombardi, Clara Parvin, DeDe Clark.

  12. Marie had been married to Vince: Ints. Joe Lombardi, Vincent H. Lombardi, Susan Lombardi, Madeline Werner.

  13. Lombardi’s mind was quickly elsewhere: Heinz notes, Vincent H. Lombardi papers (on Marie’s state of mind); Cohane papers; ints. Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh, Vic Del Guercio, Father Tim Moore.

  14. Two minutes left: Ints. Wellington Mara, Ken Kavanaugh, Ray Walsh, Bill Austin, Frank Gifford. Also Steinbreder, 70 Years, pp. 43-44; Whittingham, Giants, p. 32; Sports Illustrated, Dec. 10, 1958; Red Smith column in Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 30, 1958.

  15. affected by the strike: Dorothy Schiff Papers at New York Public Library Center for Humanities, Box 132; New York Times, Dec. 12-20 (two-page strike edition), 29, 1958; Editor and Publisher, Dec. 20, 1958; Columbia School of Journalism Report, Dec. 12-17, 1958.

  16. The weather on December 28: Account of championship game drawn from ints. Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh, Frank Gifford, Ken Kavanaugh, Vincent H. Lombardi, Joe Lombardi, Susan Lombardi; Heinz notes; Cohane papers; Sports Illustrated, Jan. 3, 1959; New York Football Giants archives; Red Smith column in Inquirer, Dec. 29, 1958; Whittingham, Giants, p. 18; Steinbreder, 70 Years, pp. 48-49; William Gildea, “The Colts of ’58 Have a Fine Time to Remember,” Washington Post, Nov. 21, 1998.

  11: THE FOREIGNER

  1. Christmas Eve 1958: Ints. Ruth McKloskey, Art Daley,Jerry Van, Tom Van.

  2. Now Scooter was fleeing: Ints. Bud Lea, Art Daley, Bob Skoronski; Green Bay Press-Gazette, Dec. 17, 1958.

  3. Olejniczak had been president: Ints. Bud Lea, Art Daley, Lee Remmel, Tom Olejniczak; Olejniczak papers; Press-Gazette, Jan. 14, 1959.

  4. Scooter chose to hang out with players: Ints. Gary Knafelc, Tony Canadeo, Paul Mazzoleni, Bert Turek, Art Daley, Ray Scott, Max McGee, Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Lew Anderson.

  5. Lombardi was in the kitchen: Heinz notes; Cohane papers.

  6. Even Earl Louis Lambeau: Ints. Tony Canadeo, Ruth McKloskey, Art Daley. Press-Gazette series on Packer history, Feb. 15, 22, March 1, 8, 1998; Lambeau obituary, Press-Gazette,June 2, 1965.

  7. Following up on Vainisi: Ints. Wellington Mara, Tony Canadeo.

  8. Early on the evening of January 22: Heinz notes; ints. Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh, Tony Canadeo; Wiebusch, Lombardi, p. 78; Press-Gazette, Jan. 19, 1959; Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 21—23, 1959.

  9. once he had made a tentative decision: Cohane papers; Heinz notes; ints. DeDe Clark, Wellington Mara.

  10. The board of directors: Ints. Art Daley, Lee Remmel, Bud Lea, Tony Canadeo; Press-Gazette, Jan. 27, 1959; New York Times, Jan. 29, 1959.

  11. There were no round-the-clock: Ints. Wayne Vander Patten, Mike Blindauer, John Ebert, Art Daley, Bart Starr.

  12: PACKER SWEEP

  1. The Lombardis drove to Green Bay: Ints. Vincent H. Lombardi, Susan Lombardi; Vincent H. Lombardi papers.

  2. Green Bay was more a blur: Ints. Mary Antil, Mary Jo Johnson, Vincent H. Lombardi, Susan Lombardi, Lois Bourguignon.

  3. The offices of the Green Bay Packers: Int. Ruth McKloskey.

  4. John Thurman Cochran and John Philip Bengtson: Ints. Red Cochran, Pat Cochran, Bill Austin, Ruth McKloskey; Bengtson (with Todd Hunt), Packer Dynasty, pp. 7-9; Heinz notes.

  5. the antithesis of the happy-go-lucky Scooter: Ints. Ruth McKloskey, Tony Canadeo; Press-Gazette, Feb. 4, 1959.

  6. “We knew Lombardi was going to be disciplined”: Ints. Red Cochran, Bill Austin, Ruth McKloskey; Heinz notes, Cohane papers.

  7. Hornung knew about Gifford: Int. Paul Hornung.

  8. The dominant figure: Int. Gary Knafelc; Heinz notes.

  9. Lombardi vacillated: Ints. Vincent H. Lombardi, Pat Cochran, Ruth McKloskey, Bill Austin, Bart Starr; Heinz notes.

  10. Only a few miles south: Ints. Gary DeBauche, Father Dennis Burke, Father Thomas Dewane.

  11. On Thursday evening, July 23: Press Gazette, July 24—27, 1959; Heinz notes; Cohane papers; ints. Bill Butler, Max McGee, Bart Starr, Bob Skoronski, Gary Knafelc.

  12. Young Vincent was there: Ints. Vincent H. Lombardi, Ray Nitschke, Art Daley, Bud Lea.

  13. The nutcracker was Lombardi’s “test of manhood”: Ints. Bob Skoronski, Ray Nitschke, Gary Knafelc, Max McGee.

  14. Images of pain: Cestaro, Vietri di Potenza, pp. 120-121; Levi, Christ Stopped at Eboli, p. 42; Whitfield, Painting in Naples, 1606-1705, pp. 16-29; ints. Francesco Izzo, Madeline Werner, Harold Lombardi, Joe Lombardi.

  15. Lombardi had used the sweep: Heinz notes; ints. Red Cochran, Bill Austin, Ken Kavanaugh, Gary Knafelc, Bob Skoronski, Paul Hornung, Bart Starr, Fuzzy Thurston, Ron Kramer, Max McGee.

  13: TRINITY

  1. Here stood the Fordham wall: New York World-Telegram, Aug. 20, 1960; ints. John Druze, Father Tim Moore.

  2. Coach of the Year: Press-Gazette, Dec. 22, 1959; Chicago Tribune, Oct. 13, 1959; New York World-Telegram, Oct. 13,1959; Sports Illustrated, Oct. 19, 1959; Heinz notes; Cohane papers; ints. Ron Kramer, Lamar McHan, Bart Starr, Ruth McKloskey, Max McGee; Susan Lombardi tapes (for Frank Gifford radio show, “It’s Sports Time,” Oct. 1959).

  3. the dawn of a new decade: Ints. Susan Lombardi, Vincent H. Lombardi, Mary Antil, Lois Bourguignon, Victoria Vidani, Shirley Koeppler, Jack Koeppler, Father Dennis Burke, Tony Canadeo.

  4. Willie Wood seemed an exception: Ints. Willie Wood, Art Daley, Lee Remmel, Gaylord Ne
lson, Tony Canadeo, Jack Koeppler; Heinz notes; Cohane papers; “World of Women,” Milwaukee Sentinel, Nov. 1, 1960.

  5. The trinity of life: Ints. Susan Lombardi, Vincent H. Lombardi, Joe Lombardi, Harold Lombardi, Father Dennis Burke, Father William Spalding, Father Tim Moore, Eugene Brusky, Jack Koeppler, Gary DeBauche, David Picard, Jim Huxford, Frances Hassell; Lombardi religious books maintained by Vincent H. Lombardi.

  6. The Packers opened the 1960 season: Ints. Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Gary Knafelc, Red Cochran, Bill Austin, Willie Wood, Bob Skoronski.

  14: REMEMBERING JACK

  1. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving: Press-Gazette, Nov. 28—29, 1960; Jack Vainisi papers; ints. Jackie Vainisi, Sam Vainisi, Paul Hornung, Art Daley, Lee Remmel, Bud Lea, Bob Skoronski.

  2. The images Riger came away with: Robert Riger, “Again and Again,”Green Bay Packers Yearbook, 1961.

  3. He would often tell his cronies: Ints. Bart Starr, Jack Koeppler, Tony Canadeo, Art Daley, Murray Warmath; Heinz notes; Starr and Olderman, Starr, pp. 14-15.

  4. Bart Starr usually slept soundly: Starr diary, Saturday, Dec. 17, 1960; Green Bay Packers Yearbook, 1961. Ints. Bart Starr, Gary Knafelc, Max McGee; Press-Gazette, Dec. 19, 1960; Milwaukee Sentinel, Dec. 19, 1960.

  5. “From Los Angeles to New York”: Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 22, 1960.

  6. Lombardi was in a generous mood: Account of Packers-Eagles championship game drawn from ints. Bob Skoronski, Bart Starr, Gary Knafelc, Willie Wood, Lew Anderson, Tom Olejniczak, Ray Scott, Steve Sabol, Paul Hornung, Max McGee, Red Cochran; Vincent H. Lombardi, Coaching for Teamwork, p. 17; Green Bay Packers Yearbook, 1961 (Robert Riger photos and article and reprint of Red Smith column); Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 24—27, 1960; Press-Gazette, Dec. 24—27, 1960.

  7. An important aspect of the mythology: New York Football Giants document, Jan. 10, 1961; Olejniczak papers; ints. Wellington Mara, Ray Walsh, Father Tim Moore, Tony Canadeo. Dick Young, New York Daily News, Dec. 29, 1960; The Record, Aug. 8, 1961; Press-Gazette, Dec. 28, 1960; Harold Weissman, “The Sports Whirl,” New York Mirror, Jan. 12, 1961.