Football Linemen Painting
In football linemen get little glory but the real football
battles are fought there, as they say, "in the trenches" My favorite
linesmen’s were from the "old school" Green Bay Packers. During late
summer of 1963 I spent a couple of weeks in Green Bay and had the opportunity to watch
the Packers daily
practice. In those days the practices were open and we could
actually sit on the player’s bench and talk with them.
My Favorite Linemen
My two favorite players were Frederick "Fuzzy" Thurston and
Jerry Kramer. They were key member of the Packers' offensive line during the
team's glory years from 1959 through 1967, when they won five NFL Championships
and the first two Super Bowls. Kramer was an All-Pro five times, and a member
of the NFL's 50th anniversary team in 1969. Thurston was named to the 1961 and
1962 All-Pro teams. Kramer , 6'3", 250 lb. right guard, (and "Fuzzy"
(Fuzzy was at left guard) were an integral part of the famous "Packer
Sweep", a signature play in which both guards rapidly pull out from their
positions on the line and lead-block for the running back going around the end.
"Fuzzy" is famous for his quote in response to a
sportswriter's question asked of him how he prepared for the famous Ice Bowl
game (where the game-time temperature was 15 degrees below zero). Thurston's
response was "about 10 vodkas."
This photo gives you a sense of the actual size of the painting. Painting of football linemen by sports artist
John Robertson is approximately 88"
x 60" (approx. 7 1/2 feet by 5 feet)
