The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football club that was founded in 1919. They are the third-oldest franchise in the National Football League. The fact that they are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports club in the United States distinguishes them.
The Packers play their home games at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It is the longest-running uninterrupted season in North American professional sports history. The team's annual salary cap of $113 million makes them one of the most financially successful franchises in the NFL.
Green Bay has had only three mayors since its incorporation in 1847: Edward Poulson (1847-1849), Hugh McGarvey (1850-1854), and Joseph McCarthy (1855-1921). The current mayor is Mike Zais, who won a special election in February 2015 after former Mayor Tom Barrett took office as governor of Wisconsin.
McCarthy was elected to his first of six terms as mayor in 1955 and retired in 1991 after 50 years as a member of the city council and twenty-one years as mayor. He is considered by many to be the father of modern-day Green Bay, Wisconsin because of his work to bring an NFL team to town and build Lambeau Field. McCarthy also played a role in bringing a minor league baseball team to Green Bay named the Green Bay Brewers.
Since 1923, when the Green Bay Football Corporation was created, the Packers have been a community-owned franchise. After being thrown into receivership in 1933, the team was reformed as Green Bay Packers, Inc. in 1935, and it is still in operation today. The corporation's members include more than 100,000 people who hold shares totaling more than $70 million.
The Packers currently play in the North American Soccer League (NASL), which has franchises in the United States and Canada. The league is a semi-professional soccer organization that began in 1984. In 2007, after 21 seasons of playing home games at County Stadium, the club moved into its new stadium, Lambeau Field. The team has won two NFL Championships (1966, Super Bowl II) and six division titles.
In addition to their work with the corporation, the members of the board of directors are responsible for hiring the team's president, general manager, and head coach. They also have control over player personnel decisions and budget allocations.
The board of directors consists of 12 individuals, including the team's owner. It is expected that each member will contribute at least $100,000 per year towards the cost of operating the team.
There are several categories through which members can receive compensation from the board of directors. Employees of the team can be awarded shares of stock in the corporation.
The legal name of the publicly held nonprofit organization that owns the Green Bay Packers football franchise in the National Football League is The Green Bay Packers, Inc. (NFL). They are not the property of a person, partnership, or corporate organization, but are owned by 360,760 shareholders as of 2016.
The NFL was founded in Chicago on February 4, 1920, when attorney Robert W. Deutsch bought the rights to the American football game from its creator, Yale's Walter Camp. The first season ended with Camp's Crimson Club defeating William H. Griffith's Ohio State Buckeyes 7-0 before 70,000 spectators at Cleveland's Wrigley Field. The Green Bay Packers were born six years later when Myra Sands Morgan, a wealthy widow from Milwaukee, donated $100,000 ($1.5 million in today's money) to create a permanent source of financing for the team. She also served as the club's president until her death in 1944.
The Green Bay Packers have won more than 30 games every year since they began playing professional football in 1945. Their most recent victory over Oakland in the 2015 NFC Championship Game marked their seventh straight playoff appearance. Currently, the only team with more wins than the Packers is the Dallas Cowboys' league-leading 11th win this season.
However, the Packers have never appeared in the Super Bowl; instead, they have played in five NFL Championships.
The Green Bay Acme Packers, formed in 1919 (entered the NFL in 1921, currently known as the Green Bay Packers), are the oldest NFL club to have operated in the same area continuously....
The Indianapolis Racers were founded in 1920 and joined the NFL in 1922. However, due to a conflict of interest with their existing baseball franchise, they only played two seasons before being replaced by another Chicago team, which continues to this day.
Thus, the Packers are not only the oldest team but also the first modern-day team. They're also the only team to have never moved city during their existence. The closest any other team has come is the Baltimore Colts when they were located in Indiana from 1953 to 1969.
However, both the original Cleveland Browns and the current Pittsburgh Steelers were founded as members of the American Football League and then adopted their current name in 1950. They've also never relocated during their existence.
In addition, both the original Philadelphia Eagles and the current Dallas Cowboys were members of the American Football League and then became part of the National Football Conference in 1949. Again, neither has relocated during their existence.
Finally, the current San Francisco 49ers were members of the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949.
The Packers are the last of the "small town teams" that were prevalent in the NFL during its early years in the 1920s and 1930s. Earl "Curly" Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun founded the franchise in 1919, although it may trace its roots back to prior semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. The Packers are the only team with a 100% winning record (632-60-15).
They are also one of only three teams (the Chicago Bears, who play in Cook County, Illinois, and the Detroit Lions, who play in Wayne County, Michigan) that have never moved their headquarters. The others are the original Cleveland Browns, who became a permanent part of American football history when they moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season.
The Packers currently play in the cold weather city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, a small city about an hour north of Milwaukee that is home to University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The team's official slogan is "America's Favorite Team", a title that has been given to them by ESPN since 1987.
Although they have never won the Super Bowl, the Packers are considered one of the best NFL franchises of all time due to their consistent success over the years. They have only missed the playoffs seven times since 1955. The Packers' current owner is Mark Murphy, who took over from his father, Dorothy, in 2011.
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