Former GM Ron Wolf's Name Added To Lambeau Facade
PACKERS HONOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO ORGANIZATION'S SUCCESS
Packers fans attending Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions will notice a new name on the stadium facade inside Lambeau Field: Ron Wolf, the Green Bay Packers' General Manager from 1991 to 2001. Packers Chairman/CEO Bob Harlan oversaw the name's installation Tuesday in the northeast corner of the stadium between the upper and lower indoor club seats.
Wolf has joined prominent company inside the hallowed stadium. While the former G.M. is not a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and thus not listed alongside the other former Packers as a member in Canton, Ohio, Harlan wanted to recognize him in a way that is befitting of his enormous legacy with the organization.
"Ron Wolf is a person that is vitally important in the history of this franchise, a select few that includes Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi," said Harlan. "We wanted to honor him in such a way that allows all our fans to know we appreciate the contributions he made to the organization. His name forever will be included with the all-time greats. It's a new tradition for Lambeau Field and he deserves it."
Wolf, understandably, was surprised when informed of the honor.
"I was tremendously shocked when I heard," said the New Freedom, Pa., native. "To have this honor bestowed upon me is simply awesome. It's an incredible feeling for me to be placed in such company with outstanding people that made the game what it is today. When you're with those people, you're with tall cotton. It's an incredible feeling.
"This is the best thing that's happened to me in my service in the National Football League. It's not just me, but it means a lot to everyone who helped with what we did.
"To have the opportunity to work with a franchise that was one of the founding fathers of the NFL was outstanding. There aren't many jewels in the crown; Green Bay is one of those jewels."
Wolf was hired on Nov. 27, 1991, with a mandate to rebuild the football operations of the organization after a quarter-century of mediocrity, an assignment which prompted him to succinctly assert, "I was brought here to win."
His record speaks volumes about accomplishing just that task.
Over Wolf's tenure, the Packers compiled the NFL's second-winningest regular-season record from 1992-2000, a 92-52 mark for a .639 percentage, recorded nine straight .500-or-above campaigns, made six consecutive playoff appearances, including three consecutive conference championship games and two Super Bowls, and captured it all with a victory in Super Bowl XXXI following the 1996 season.
Wolf, who was appropriately enshrined in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in July 2000, launched the stewardship in 1992 with the hiring of Mike Holmgren as head coach and the acquisition of Brett Favre as a franchise quarterback. In 1993, he added prized free agent and eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White.
{sportsad300}The team's other impressive accomplishments under his guidance include 101 total victories, three consecutive NFC Central Division Championships (1995-97), the NFL's best regular-season record since the 1993 start of free agency, the NFL's best regular-season record since the 1994 advent of the salary cap, a 53-10 record in Lambeau Field, the NFL's second-longest home winning streak (25 games, Game 2 of 1995 through Game 4 of 1998) and the first 16-victory season in the Packers' 80-plus year history (16-3 in 1996).
When Wolf retired in 2000, he observed with satisfaction, "What people said couldn't happen here, happened here (building a winner in Green Bay)...I'm proud of that."
