What you should know about the Green Bay Packers and the Super Bowl through the years
The Packers aren't in the Super Bowl this year, but here's a look at the five Super Bowls and four Lombardi Trophies that they've brought home to Green Bay.
How many Super Bowls have the Green Bay Packers won?
Green Bay has won four championships in the Super Bowl era:
Super Bowl I (the 1966 season): 35-10 over Kansas City on Jan. 15, 1967 (at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum)
Super Bowl II (the 1967 season): 33-14 over Oakland on Jan. 14, 1968 (at Orange Bowl in Miami)
Super Bowl XXXI (the 1996 season): 35-21 over New England on Jan. 26, 1997 (at Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans)
Super Bowl XLV (the 2010 season): 31-25 over Pittsburgh on Feb. 6, 2011 (at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas)
The one Green Bay didn't win:
Super Bowl XXXII (the 1997 season): 31-24 loss to Denver on Jan. 25, 1998 (at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego)
Is 4-1 the best Super Bowl record for any team?
The New York Giants are also 4-1 (for an .800 winning percentage) and four teams are undefeated in Super Bowls, though they have fewer chances. Tampa Bay and Baltimore are both 2-0, while the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints are both 1-0.
The Patriots (6-5) and Steelers (6-2) have both won six Super Bowls, while the Cowboys (5-3) and 49ers (5-2) have both won five.
Which Super Bowl was the one the Packers won after the Ice Bowl?
That would be Super Bowl II; on Dec. 31, 1967, two weeks before beating the Raiders in the AFL-NFL championship game, the Packers won the iconic Ice Bowl game at Lambeau Field over the Dallas Cowboys. Green Bay also beat the Cowboys in the NFL Championship (basically what became the NFC later) to reach Super Bowl I and, to rub some salt in the wound, won their fourth Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium (now called AT&T Stadium) in Dallas, home of the Cowboys.
How many titles did the Packers win before the Super Bowl?
Green Bay has 13 championships, more than any other NFL franchise. Prior to the Super Bowl era, the Packers won titles in 1929, 1930 and 1931 by virtue of their regular-season finish and in 1936, 1939, 1944, 1961, 1962 and 1965 by virtue of the NFL playoff system. The Packers have made 10 NFL title-game appearances and three additional Super Bowls after the AFL/NFL merger.
Did Green Bay get the nickname 'Titletown' after winning the first two Super Bowls?
Actually, the nickname predates the Super Bowls, bestowed in 1961 during a breakfast at Green Bay's Beaumont Hotel. The Packers hadn't even won their first NFL title yet but were about to play for one.
Packers historian Cliff Christl has the details:
"The Packers flew from Milwaukee to the West Coast for their final two regular-season games, but the people of Green Bay were so giddy they immediately started planning for a New Year's Eve day title game. Presumptuously, they adopted the Titletown name and mapped plans that included hanging Titletown banners throughout the city's downtown, holding a Dec. 23 Christmas party for the team at the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena and adopting the theme song, "Titletown, U.S.A.," sung to the tune of "Mr. Touchdown." The breakfast essentially launched a nearly month-long civic party and set the stage for maybe the most raucous New Year's Eve celebration in Green Bay's history when the Packers crushed the Giants, 37-0, in the championship game to justify the Titletown name."
Who was head coach when the Packers won their titles?
Curly Lambeau was head coach for the first six Packers titles (1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1944)
Vince Lombardi was head coach for the next five (1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967)
Mike Holmgren was head coach in 1996
Mike McCarthy was head coach in 2010
Was it called the Lombardi Trophy for those first two Super Bowls?
No, the trophy was renamed after Lombardi died in 1970. It was just the "World Professional Football Championship Trophy," which just rolls off the tongue. It was first presented as the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl V.
Who were the Packers Super Bowl MVPs?
Super Bowl I: Quarterback Bart Starr (though you could have made a strong case for Max McGee), 16 of 23 passing for 250 yards and two touchdowns, one interception
Super Bowl II: Starr, 13 of 24 passing for 202 yards and a touchdown, no interceptions
Super Bowl XXXI: Return man Desmond Howard, record 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that kept the Patriots at bay
Super Bowl XLV: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 24 of 39 passing for 304 yards and three touchdowns, no interceptions
Super Bowl XXXII (the one Green Bay lost): Denver running back Terrell Davis, 157 yards rushing and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:45 left.
Who were the best players on the Super Bowl teams?
If we're looking at All-Pro teams (according to pro-football reference), these Packers were first-team selections by the Associated Press:
1966 season: Cornerback Herb Adderley, quarterback Bart Starr, defensive end Willie Davis, safety Willie Wood, linebacker Ray Nitschke, right guard Jerry Kramer, linebacker Lee Roy Caffey.
Defensive tackle Henry Jordan was second team. Players given mention by other publications were fullback Jim Taylor, left guard Fuzzy Thurston and linebacker Dave Robinson. Additionally, offensive tackle Bob Skoronski made the Pro Bowl. All players save for Caffey, Thurston and Skoronski are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1967 season: Davis, Wood, Kramer, Robinson, cornerback Bob Jeter, right tackle Forrest Gregg.
Adderley and Nitschke were second team. Those mentioned by other publications were kicker Don Chandler, receiver Boyd Dowler and Jordan. Gregg is also a Hall of Famer.
1996 season: Quarterback Brett Favre, safety LeRoy Butler.
Defensive end Reggie White was second team. Others given mention elsewhere included tight end Keith Jackson and return specialist Desmond Howard, who was named first team by four publications but not given an AP nod. Center Frank Winters was selected to the Pro Bowl. Favre, Butler and White are all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2010 season: Linebacker Clay Matthews.
Cornerback Charles Woodson and safety Nick Collins were named second team. Players not mentioned who received honors elsewhere include quarterback Aaron Rodgers, center Scott Wells, right guard Josh Sitton, defensive tackle B.J. Raji and cornerback Tramon Williams.
Additional Pro Bowlers include wide receiver Greg Jennings and offensive tackle Chad Clifton. Woodson is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
What are the greatest Packers moments in Super Bowl history?
Obviously it's a subjective list, but if we were to rank them…
Desmond Howard's 99-yard kickoff return to keep the Packers ahead in Super Bowl XXXI, helping the Packers win their first Super Bowl in nearly three decades.
Nick Collins returning an interception 37 yards for a touchdown to give the Packers a 14-0 lead in Super Bowl XLV.
Max McGee's iconic one-handed catch in Super Bowl I, part of his legendary seven-catch, 138-yard performance after a night of partying.
Brett Favre's 54-yard touchdown pass Andre Rison in Super Bowl XXXI that gave the Packers the 7-0 lead on the second offensive snap of the game, with Rison duck-walking the final few steps and Favre memorably raising his helmet over his head as he ran downfield.
Clay Matthews forcing a Steelers fumble in Super Bowl XLV after assistant coach Kevin Greene's memorable "It is time" proclamation.
Herb Adderley's pick-six in Super Bowl II, the first defensive touchdown in Super Bowl history.
Willie Wood's interception to set up a short touchdown in Super Bowl I.
Reggie White's three sacks against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI.
The flawless pass from Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings to seal Super Bowl XLV.
Favre's 81-yard touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXXI to Antonio Freeman, the longest touchdown pass in Super Bowl history (and still No. 2 on the list).
Super Bowl records you may not have realized the Packers had
Offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga is the second-youngest player to win a Super Bowl (21 years, 322 days) after he started in Super Bowl XLV.
Desmond Howard holds the Super Bowl record for most punt-return yardage in a Super Bowl with 90 yards in Super Bowl XXXI … and that's in addition to his 99-yard kickoff return. It's the most punt-return yardage in a Super Bowl by nearly 30 yards.
The Packers are the only team to go on two Super Bowl runs in which they played no home playoff games (as was the case for Super Bowl I and Super Bowl XLV). It's been done four other times, most recently by Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV after the Bucs beat the Packers at Lambeau Field in the NFC championship game.
Super Bowl I is the only Super Bowl to not sell out but still drew 61,946 fans to the Coliseum and was a bigger deal than you might realize despite how novel it was.
No team has staged a three-peat in the Super Bowl era, but that's also a little misleading; the Packers won the NFL championship the year before the Super Bowls began, then won the next two titles as Super Bowl champions.
Don Chandler has the most field goals in a Super Bowl when he made four in Super Bowl II. San Francisco's Ray Wersching matched the feat in Super Bowl XVI (after the 1981 season).
In Super Bowl XXXI, the Packers and Patriots combined for 24 points (14-10 Green Bay lead), the most combined first-quarter points in Super Bowl history. On two occasions, teams have combined for 21 first-quarter points.
The Packers did not commit a turnover in three of their four Super Bowl wins. The exception was Super Bowl I.
Former Packers backup quarterback Doug Pederson (Super Bowl XXXI) is one of four players to win as a player and a head coach after he led Philadelphia to the title in Super Bowl LII.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Green Bay Packers Super Bowl history through the years, championships
