Social Equality

Willie Davis

Willie Davis had an interesting experience living in Green Bay, he was once famously quoted as saying

“I was told by many residents usually after having to gently nudge them into a conversation, that I was not only the first black person they had ever talked to, but I was also the first they had ever seen in real life.” 1 

When he first arrived he said people would often make jokes that he made up one-fifth of Green Bay’s African American population. In his book closing the gap he had said

“I feel awful saying it now, but I expected it to be bad. This was the Siberia of football, and last I had heard, there wasn’t a booming black population in Siberia. I heard that there were literally a small handful of black residents in the city of Green Bay, less than 100. That constituted less that 1 percent of the city’s entire population. Its reputation was that of a small town with a redneck population that was just fine staying behind in the times.” 2 

Willie mentioned he would run into people who would be afraid to approach black players, because they were unsure about them. He would be told a common line such as

“Maybe those things about you people aren’t true.” 3 

He didn’t take it in a negative way though. He realized that they had no real-life experiences with black people and were naïve. Over the years Green Bay would acquire more black players, more than the rest of the league in fact, and over time the population of Green Bay became more familiar and accepting of these players. He has since been quoted

“The residents of Green Bay were some of the nicest in the country.” 4 

Willie Davis in his book attributed the change to Lombardi saying

“I would say that nobody had more impact in creating diversity in the NFL than Coach Lombardi. It was partly because he took a new approach, almost playing ignorant to any kind of racial tension in the league. He didn’t buy into debates or arguments about his drafting, trading (or in the case of Willie Wood) letting black players walk on. Right from the start, he treated us as equals, just players competing for a spot on the team. He chose not to see color in an era where most chose to look the other way in terms of blacks. It was as if he felt the best way to fix the problem of segregation and racism in the league was to actually pretend it didn’t exist, at least to us.” – 5

“’I tell you right now, Green Bay would be totally, totally misled if they felt for a minute that Lombardi didn’t blaze the way, open the way for black players. Not only in Green Bay, but for the rest of the league, because he took black players and built us into champions…’” – Willie Davis 6

Dave Robinson

Dave Robinson joined the Packers in 1963 as their first round draft pick.  Robinson was an African American who has faced discrimination like many before him.  When he first moved to Green Bay, there weren’t a large amount of African Americans, which is why his wife lived in New Jersey his rookie year.  However, finding a place to live was difficult. Dave mentioned,

“You have to remember, the Civil Rights Act, which changed everything, was signed by (President Lyndon) Johnson in 1964, but it didn’t take effect until 1968. Obviously, not all the (landlords) did that to us, but some did.  The nice apartments wouldn’t rent to blacks.” 7

When his family finally moved together, people always wanted to touch his children’s hair because they were different.  Racial equality was a process, not an event.  When it came to the field, Vince made it clear to the players on how it was going to be.

“Vince said, ‘I’m drafting football players, I’m not drafting white or black, I’m just drafting the best players out there. You guys run the business end of the thing, and I’ll run the Green Bay Packer football operation.’” 8

Later, Robinson would help write a book about Lombardi and his advanced equality.  The book is titled Lombardi’s Left Side.

  1. Davis, W., Martyka, J., & Davis, A. E. (2012). Closing the gap: Lombardi, the Packers dynasty, and the pursuit of excellence. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books.
  2. Davis, W., Martyka, J., & Davis, A. E. (2012). Closing the gap: Lombardi, the Packers dynasty, and the pursuit of excellence. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books.
  3. Davis, W., Martyka, J., & Davis, A. E. (2012). Closing the gap: Lombardi, the Packers dynasty, and the pursuit of excellence. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books.
  4. Davis, W., Martyka, J., & Davis, A. E. (2012). Closing the gap: Lombardi, the Packers dynasty, and the pursuit of excellence. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books.
  5. Davis, W., Martyka, J., & Davis, A. E. (2012). Closing the gap: Lombardi, the Packers dynasty, and the pursuit of excellence. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books.
  6. Davis, W., Martyka, J., & Davis, A. E. (2012). Closing the gap: Lombardi, the Packers dynasty, and the pursuit of excellence. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books.
  7.  Dave Robinson and Royce Boyles, The Lombardi Legacy: Thirty People Who Were Touched by Greatness (Kentucky: Goose Creek Publishers, 2009), 218.
  8.  Dave Robinson and Royce Boyles, The Lombardi Legacy: Thirty People Who Were Touched by Greatness (Kentucky: Goose Creek Publishers, 2009), 218.