AllGreenBayPackers.Com

Da Crusher from Milwaukee and Dick the Bruiser, a former Packer, dominated wrestling's tag team division for over 10 years.

We continue our “Sunday Storytime” with chapter 3 in a series examining the history of the NFL, the Green Bay Packers and professional wrestling. The introduction to the series can be read here. Chapter 1 can be read here and Chapter 2  can be read here.

Remember when pro wrestlers had barrel chests and round bellies instead of bulging biceps and chiseled physiques? Remember when wrestlers looked like larger and meaner versions of your dad’s drinking buddies? Remember when old ladies used to sit in the front row at wrestling events and swing their purses at the bad guys?

If you do, then you also probably remember Dick the Bruiser. Dick the Bruiser’s wrestling career began in the mid 50s and lasted until the late 80s. He won multiple titles in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and started his own promotion in Indianapolis called the World Wrestling Association.

The Bruiser used his wrestling career to become a cross-media star and local celebrity in the Indianapolis area. But the first step on his rise to fame came with the Green Bay Packers.

Scary, Heroic and Goofy
Dick the Bruiser was born William Richard Afflis and played on the Packers offensive and defensive lines from 1951-54. Titletown was a ways off in Green Bay’s future as the Packers went 15-32-1 in Afflis’s 48 games. This group of Packers were more interested in drinking beer than winning. And Afflis fit right in.  Read more... (1438 words + 1 image, estimated 5:45 mins reading time)

---- Get AddToAny

McCarthy kept throwing, and throwing, and throwing on Sunday. His pass-happy strategy is a big reason why the Packers are Super Bowl champs.

It was no secret that the Green Bay Packers were going to have to pass and pass often if they wanted to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Conventional NFL wisdom often says that teams should build a lead through the air, then secure the win by killing the clock with the run late in the game.

Thankfully for the Packers, Mike McCarthy ignored conventional wisdom and stuck to his team’s strengths when the game was on the line and the Packers had the ball late in the fourth quarter. Instead of running the ball because “that’s what you have to do late in the game,” McCarthy kept doing what his team does best: throwing the ball. McCarthy put the game on the shoulders of Aaron Rodgers through the first three-and-a-half quarters, and he didn’t change course in crunch time.

Of course it’s much easier to stick with passing when your quarterback is as good as Rodgers. Rodgers especially validated McCarthy’s late playcalling when he zipped that seam route to Jennings for 31 yards on third and 10 on the Packers’ last drive. That throw will go down as one of the best in Super Bowl history.  Read more... (397 words + 1 image, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

---- Get AddToAny