Saw this little green triangle in Sheepshead Bay. Wasn't even sure if it was a Greenstreets deal; there was no sign saying so. Hidden around the base of the flagpole, surrounded by brush, were some dark squares I first took for shards of bluestone. Looking closer, I realized they were worn plaques honoring various Bay citizens. I didn't recognize any of the names except this one: Vince Lombardi.
The Green Bay Packers coach? Namesake of the Super Bowl trophy? Here? Oh yeah, I forget. He came from Sheepshead Bay. He always did seem like a New Yorker.
His NY ties were strong. He played at Fordham, was an assistant at the Army in West Point, then for the Giants (along with Tom Landry).
ReplyDeleteWhen Lombardi finally got the chance to be a head coach, it was in tiny Green Bay. A lot of old school Packer fans in New York as a result.
Vince Lombardi went to St. Francis Prep, which is now in Queens but was then on Baltic St. in Cobble Hill.
ReplyDeleteIn college he was one of Fordham's famous "Seven Blocks of Granite" line in 1936, at a time when Fordham was a major national football power. That team was undefeated throughout the season and may have gone to the Rose Bowl were it not for a tough 7-6 season ending upset loss to NYU on Thanksgiving Day in a packed Yankee Stadium.