Verne Lewellen -- Passed Over For Six Decades

By John Turney 

When a commentator on this blog defined a Hall-of-Fame player, he had no trouble. He ran down a handful of criteria that, he believed, are necessary for someone to qualify for Canton he made great sense.

"You have to play at least 9-10 years," he said, "(and have) at least 4-5 or more All-Pro first-team nods ... (be) top five at your position for at least half a decade ... played in some big games ... and left a mark on the game."

Exactly.

And you know what? That describes former Green Bay Packers' back Verne Lewellen. He fits all that and more.

Yet he's been bypassed by various Pro Football Hall-of-Fame boards of selectors over the years. I just wish those voters held candidates to the same standard as the broadcaster. If they did, Lewellen would've had a bust in Canton a long time ago. Take a look at his career, and I think you'll agree.

-- He did play "9-10 years." In fact, it was nine. And he was first-team All-Pro four times and second-team once.

-- He was a "top five" player for at least a half-decade -- probably more.  In his book, "The NFL's 60-Minute Men: All-Time Greats of the Two-Way Player Era, 1920-1945," pro football historian Chris Willis said Lewellen likely would have been the NFL MVP twice had such an award existed.

-- Furthermore, Willis named Lewellen the seventh-best player of the first 25 years of the NFL's existence.

-- He played in big games, and his Packers won enough to be crowned three-time NFL champions, dominating a 1929 game against the Giants that determined that year's title.

-- As far as making his mark on the game, he was a prolific scorer and one of the best two punters of his era ... if not the best.

Now I know what you're thinking: What does it matter that he was an outstanding punter? Well, you might as well say you don't know about early pro football. Because punting mattered.

A lot.

Teams would punt on any down if they thought it was to their advantage. In Lewellen's era, the passing game was in its infancy. Football was a running game, and defense had most of the advantages. So, if a team was pinned inside its own 10-yard line, it might choose to punt on an early down -- especially if it had a good punter -- to win a game of field position. 

Or, if it was beyond the range of a placekicker or drop kicker, it might surprise its opponent by punting over the head of the last defender .... again, to win a game of field position. And, if that was the case, there was one guy you wanted to call on.

Verne Lewellen.

"No one who ever saw Lewellen kick could ever forget him," said New York Times columnist Arthur Daley. "He was the finest punter these eyes ever saw."

Daley wrote that in 1962, or four decades after Lewellen retired.

Now, remember what I said about him being "a prolific scorer?" He held the NFL record with 51 touchdowns when he retired, a mark that stood until Hall-of-Fame end Don Hutson broke it in 1941. 

But that's well-documented. What isn't are the findings of David Neft, a respected football historian and editor of "The Football Encyclopedia." who meticulously studied NFL statistics from the pre-stats' era. Drawing from his unofficial and occasionally incomplete league-wide data, he determined that Lewellen concluded his career as the NFL's second-highest scorer, second-leading rusher, fifth-ranked receiver in receptions and tied for fifth in interceptions.

Impressive? Ask former Hall-of-Fame voter Cliff Christl, who was a Packers' beat writer and now serves as the team's historian. He insists that Lewellen is more than the Packers' best player of his era.

"I believe Lewellen is one of a handful of players who deserves to be in the discussion about the greatest Packers’ player ever," he said 

OK, let's assume that's the case. Then why didn't he gain more support ... any support ... in the Hall's formative years? He was never a finalist for almost a century after his retirement in xxx. Yet, plenty of Packers from Lewellen's era were elected in the early-to-mid 1960s, including Curly Lambeau, Cal Hubbard, Johnny "Blood" McNally, Mike Michalske, Arnie Herber, Clarke Hinkle, and Don Hutson. 

Then, in the 1970s and 1980s, the Lombardi legends began getting their Gold Jackets. There was Jim Taylor, Forrest Gregg, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Herb Adderley, Willie Davis Jim Ringo, Paul Hornung Willie Wood and, of course, Lombardi himself. Also chosen was back Tony Canadeo, enshrined in 1974 as a seniors' finalist, and defensive tackle Henry Jordan, elected in 1995.

The field was so crowded with Packers that perennial All-Pros like Dave Robinson and Jerry Kramer had to wait until well into the 21st century for their enshrinements. It's understandable, then, if a traffic jam of Packers sucked the oxygen out of the room and provoked voters to move on from Lewellen. But it doesn't make it right.

Voters had a  chance to correct that oversight in 2020 when Lewellen was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame's Centennial Class, named to celebrate the NFL’s 100th anniversary and Lewellen was a finalist. Ten seniors were chosen, but the Blue-Ribbon Centennial Committee composed of Hall voters, media members and Hall of Famers didn't include Lewellen -- instead picking a class of mostly recent players, leaving Lewellen and others who played before World War II behind.

What a shame.

To this day, Verne Lewellen remains one of the most underrated NFL players of all time. He was someone who was an outstanding defensive back noted for his sure tackling, as well as someone who would gain yards with his legs and, when called upon, could (and did) win games as a passer. Plus, when the analytics of the time -- as displayed by coaching decisions -- called for punting his team out of a hole or putting his opponent into one, no one was better than the 6-1, 184-pound halfback out of Nebraska.

It shouldn't matter that eight pre-WW II Green Bay Packers are in the Hall or that a dozen from the Lombardi dynasty were elected. What should is that players who are Hall-of-Fame worthy are honored. After all, the mission statement of the Pro Football Hall of Fame says that its purpose is to "honor and celebrate the greatest players, coaches, and contributors in the history of professional football ... "

Well, then, why is Verne Lewellen still waiting? The Hall of Fame is not complete when players of his caliber are left out. Remember what our commentator said -- namely, if someone who played a decade, was a four-time All-Pro, considered a top-five player, played in big games and left a mark on the game, he should be enshrined.

He might as well have been talking about Verne Lewellen because he described him.

Exactly.