Vince Lombardi, the legendary pro football coach, has now been profiled by editor Paul Hehn.
And just in time: the NFL Super Bowl trophy has his name on it. (Lombardi, not Hehn.) Lombardi is a “gapper” — someone we should have profiled long ago.
Vince Lombardi was “an unrelenting workhorse with no patience for tomfoolery,” as Mr. Hehn calls him. He won an NFL championship coaching the New York Giants (in the pre-Super Bowl days), then moved to the Green Bay Packers and won five more league titles (’61, ’62, ’65’, ’66, ’67) and the first two Super Bowls with the rival American Football League (in 1967 and 1968 — those two Super Bowls being played in January after the ’66 and ’67 seasons ended).
Lombardi died of cancer 40 years ago, having racked up a career coaching record of 105-35-6.
Here’s something I didn’t know until reading the profile: Lombardi was a member of the famous Fordham University defensive line known as the “Seven Blocks of Granite.”
And the Lombardi Trophy is hand-made by Tiffany.