Gary Knafelc, a Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer whose careers as a player and announcer spanned head coaches Lisle Blackbourn to Mike Sherman, died Monday at his Florida home.
Knafelc, 90, was a Packers wide receiver and tight end before spending 40 years as a stadium public address announcer in Green Bay and Milwaukee. He spent the majority of his post-football life in Green Bay before relocating to Florida about ten years ago.
Knafelc signed as a free agent with the Packers two games into the 1954 season. He was a Colorado native who played for the University of Colorado. The Chicago Cardinals selected him 14th overall in the NFL draft’s second round, but he was injured in the College All-Star Game and was waived by the Cardinals after the season opener.
Knafelc had 23 touchdowns in his 10-year career, but three of them, all game-winners, stood out.
His first game-winner came in 1955, when he caught an 18-yard pass from Tobin Rote with 20 seconds remaining against the three-time defending Western Conference champion Detroit Lions, giving the Packers a 20-17 victory. Cliff Christl, a Packers historian, explains what happened next in his story on Knafelc:
“Despite the fact that time was running out, hundreds, if not thousands, of ecstatic fans stormed out of the stands at old City Stadium, surrounded Knafelc in the end zone, and carried him off the field to the Packers’ bench, delaying the extra point and subsequent kickoff for several minutes.”
Knafelc caught a game-winning 21-yard pass from Lamar McHan in a 21-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in 1959, giving first-year coach Vince Lombardi three wins in his first three games.
However, current fans may remember him for his touchdown in 1957, the first game played at what is now Lambeau Field. To secure a 21-17 victory over the Western Conference champion Chicago Bears, Babe Parilli threw a 6-yard pass between the goal posts to Knafelc.
Knaflec was a wide receiver before Lombardi moved him to tight end, where he was primarily responsible for blocking linebackers during the famous Lombardi sweep.
“Lombardi’s first question was, ‘How much do you weigh?'” Knafelc stated this in a Packer Plus interview in 2013. He stood 6-foot-4 and weighed 217 pounds, but told Lombardi he weighed 220. “‘You’re going to play tight end for me,’ he said. For the first five years, I was a wide receiver. I was a tight end for the next five years. I had to work on everything because I was the league’s smallest tight end.”
Fear of Lombardi, he claimed, was a powerful motivator. “I feared (Lombardi) more than anyone.”
“I was one of his whipping boys, but he taught me how to be a better football player through dedication, hard work, and teamwork. Those values stayed with me and many of my teammates who went on to successful business careers.”
Knafelc returned to Green Bay after one season with the San Francisco 49ers, where he owned an interior design firm. From 1964 to 2004, he was the Packers’ public address announcer.
Lombardi was equally hard on his public address announcer. Knafelc told Packer Plus that he found out exactly how his former coach wanted it done in his debut.
“It was a Packer intrasquad game in Lambeau,” Knafelc recalled. “Paul Hornung took a pitch and ran for a good amount of yardage. I decided to add some colour by writing ‘Peerless Paul Hornung’ on the carry.'”
Lombardi responded immediately.
“Coach Lombardi was up in the press box, right next to us, because it was an intrasquad game. When Lombardi heard that, young Vince and I heard a folding chair collide with the tin wall. He came over and handed it to me. ‘Enough of that (expletive),’ yelled Lombardi. He only wanted the facts, nothing else.”
PACKERS OF GREEN BAY
Gary Knafelc, a former Green Bay Packers player and announcer, died at the age of 90.
Ryman, Richard
The Press-Gazette of Green Bay
Gary Knafelc, a Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer whose careers as a player and announcer spanned head coaches Lisle Blackbourn to Mike Sherman, died Monday at his Florida home.
Knafelc, 90, was a Packers wide receiver and tight end before spending 40 years as a stadium public address announcer in Green Bay and Milwaukee. He spent the majority of his post-football life in Green Bay before relocating to Florida about ten years ago.
Knafelc signed as a free agent with the Packers two games into the 1954 season. He was a Colorado native who played for the University of Colorado. The Chicago Cardinals selected him 14th overall in the NFL draft’s second round, but he was injured in the College All-Star Game and was waived by the Cardinals after the season opener.
During an event in 2001, former Green Bay Packers receiver Boyd Dowler, left, greets Ethel Pansier of Green Bay, right. Gary Knafelc, a former Packers receiver, is at centre.
Knafelc had 23 touchdowns in his 10-year career, but three of them, all game-winners, stood out.
His first game-winner came in 1955, when he caught an 18-yard pass from Tobin Rote with 20 seconds remaining against the three-time defending Western Conference champion Detroit Lions, giving the Packers a 20-17 victory. Cliff Christl, a Packers historian, explains what happened next in his story on Knafelc:
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“Despite the fact that time was running out, hundreds, if not thousands, of ecstatic fans stormed out of the stands at old City Stadium, surrounded Knafelc in the end zone, and carried him off the field to the Packers’ bench, delaying the extra point and subsequent kickoff for several minutes.”
Knafelc caught a game-winning 21-yard pass from Lamar McHan in a 21-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in 1959, giving first-year coach Vince Lombardi three wins in his first three games.
However, current fans may remember him for his touchdown in 1957, the first game played at what is now Lambeau Field. To secure a 21-17 victory over the Western Conference champion Chicago Bears, Babe Parilli threw a 6-yard pass between the goal posts to Knafelc.
Green Bay Press-Gazette, September 11, 1962: “Boys will be boys (especially when a camera is present): This photo was taken by Press-Gazette photographer Russ Kriwanek while attempting to get the Green Bay Packers lined up for a regular team picture. He eventually got rid of the mugging. Max McGee is missing from the picture.” Bottom row: Elijah Pitts, Ed Blaine, Earl Gros, Gary Barnes, Ron Gassert, Oscar Donahue, and Ron Kostelnik (from left). Willie Wood, John Symank, Hank Gremminger, Dan Currie, Herb Adderley, Nelson Toburen, John Roach, and Forrest Gregg are in the second row, from left. Jim Ringo, Bart Starr, Gary Knafelc, Jerry Kramer, Fuzzy Thurston, Jesse Whittenton, Lew Carpenter, and Tom Moore are in the third row, from left. Dad Braisher, Bob Skoronski, Ray Nitschke, Ken Iman, Willie Davis, Henry Jordan, and trainer Bud Jorgensen are in the fourth row, from left. Bill Quinlan, Norm Masters, Boyd Dowler, Jim Taylor, Ron Kramer, Bill Forester, Dave Hanner, and Paul Hornung are in the top row, from left.
Knaflec was a wide receiver before Lombardi moved him to tight end, where he was primarily responsible for blocking linebackers during the famous Lombardi sweep.
“Lombardi’s first question was, ‘How much do you weigh?'” Knafelc stated this in a Packer Plus interview in 2013. He stood 6-foot-4 and weighed 217 pounds, but told Lombardi he weighed 220. “‘You’re going to play tight end for me,’ he said. For the first five years, I was a wide receiver. I was a tight end for the next five years. I had to work on everything because I was the league’s smallest tight end.”
Fear of Lombardi, he claimed, was a powerful motivator. “I feared (Lombardi) more than anyone.”
“I was one of his whipping boys, but he taught me how to be a better football player through dedication, hard work, and teamwork. Those values stayed with me and many of my teammates who went on to successful business careers.”
Knafelc returned to Green Bay after one season with the San Francisco 49ers, where he owned an interior design firm. From 1964 to 2004, he was the Packers’ public address announcer.
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Lombardi was equally hard on his public address announcer. Knafelc told Packer Plus that he found out exactly how his former coach wanted it done in his debut.
“It was a Packer intrasquad game in Lambeau,” Knafelc recalled. “Paul Hornung took a pitch and ran for a good amount of yardage. I decided to add some colour by writing ‘Peerless Paul Hornung’ on the carry.'”
Lombardi responded immediately.
“Coach Lombardi was up in the press box, right next to us, because it was an intrasquad game. When Lombardi heard that, young Vince and I heard a folding chair collide with the tin wall. He came over and handed it to me. ‘Enough of that (expletive),’ yelled Lombardi. He only wanted the facts, nothing else.”
On Jan. 22, 1960, Dale Hackbart, Johnny Klippstein, Gary Knafelc, and Johnny Logan attend the first Green Bay Baseball Night at the Hotel Northland in Green Bay. Klippstein pitched in the 1959 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Logan, a shortstop for the Milwaukee Braves from 1953 to 1960, appeared in the 1957 and 1958 World Series. Klippstein and Knafelc both played for the Green Bay Packers from 1954 to 1962.
With the death of Knafelc, Jerry Kramer is the only surviving starter from Lombardi’s first game as head coach of the Packers. Knafelc was a member of the Packers’ Lombardi Trophy-winning teams in 1961 and 1962, and he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1976.
The family intends to hold a small funeral service in Florida.
