Lombardi, Vince (Vincent Thomas Lombardi), 1913–70, American football coach, b. New York City. As a student at Fordham Univ., he was a member of the famed "Seven Blocks of Granite" line. After great success as a high school coach (1939–46), Lombardi coached at Fordham and West Point. Entering professional football in 1954, he was a coach with the New York Giants. In 1958 he became head coach of the Green Bay Packers. In nine seasons with the Packers (1958–68), he led the team to six conference titles and five championships, including victories in the first two Super Bowls (1967–68). In 1968 he became general manager of the club, but in 1969–70 he moved to coach the Washington Redskins. He was elected to the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1971.

Bibliography

See D. Maraniss, When Pride Still Mattered (1999).

Lombardi, Vince(nt Thomas)

(born June 11, 1913, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—died Sept. 3, 1970, Washington, D.C.) U.S. football coach. He attended Fordham University, where he played on the famous line known as the “Seven Blocks of Granite.” As head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers (1959–67), he imposed a strenuous regimen and led the team to five NFL championships (1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967) and to victories in Super Bowls I and II (1967, 1968). Because of his success, he became a national symbol of single-minded determination to win. As coach, general manager, and part owner of the Washington Redskins in 1969, he led that team to its first winning season in 14 years.

Lombardi, (Vincent Thomas) Vince (1913–70) football coach; born in New York City. A starting guard for Fordham's "Seven Blocks of Granite" line in the 1930s, he won great respect as a National Football League (NFL) assistant coach before being named head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1959. He proved a driving, charismatic leader, winning five NFL championships in only nine seasons. His Packers were victors in Super Bowls I and II. His supposed maxim, "Winning isn't the most important thing; it's the only thing," is probably a misquote of his statement on making the effort to win.