Sports Collectibles

We were recently searching for Vince Lombardi motivational posters on the internet, and realized that other than the one shown below from PosterCheckout.com, there aren’t really a heck of a lot.

A search on eBay seems to turn up a few more items at any given point:

• VINCE LOMBARDI GREEN BAY PACKERS 1968 SUPER BOWL POSTER
• Vince Lombardi Poster/Inspirational Quote/Trophy
• Old 1963 Vince Lombardi Packers Schedule Poster REPRO
• New York Giants '56 Poster FRANK GIFFORD Vince Lombardi
• NEW YORK GIANTS '56 POSTER Frank GIFFORD Vince LOMBARDI
• VINCE LOMBARDI LITHOGRAPH POSTER PRT IN PACKERS JERSEY

“Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach. He was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from 1959-67, winning five league championships during his 9 years. Following a one-year retirement from coaching in 1968, he returned as head coach of the Washington Redskins for the 1969 season. Lombardi’s record in the post-season was 9-1, the loss coming in the first of those games, the 1960 NFL championship.

With the Green Bay Packers, Lombardi went on to accomplish a 105-35-6 record as head coach (.750, discarding ties as was the NFL policy); and he never suffered a losing season. He led the Packers to a still-unmatched three consecutive NFL championships in 1965, 1966, and 1967; winning the first two Super Bowls. Lombardi’s popularity was so great that Richard Nixon supposedly considered him as a running mate for the 1968 election, only to be reminded by an advisor that Lombardi was a Kennedy Democrat who had campaigned on behalf of Wisconsin U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson (although Lombardi’s wife, father and brother were Republicans).

Vince Lombardi has become virtually synonymous with the NFL. This began during his career: he was featured as the face of the NFL on the cover of Time on December 22, 1962 as part of the magazine’s cover story on “The Sport of the ’60s”. Lombardi’s players were wholeheartedly devoted to him, and his emphasis on hard work and dedication endeared him to millions who admired his values.

In addition to Lombardi’s contributions to the history of professional football, Lombardi is legendary for his coaching philosophy and motivational skills. Many of Lombardi’s speeches continue to be quoted frequently today, and he is well known as being unequivocally committed to winning. One of his most famous maxims is “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing”, although he did not coin the phrase and the exact words he used are disputed. “Lombardi time” is the principle that one should arrive 10-15 minutes early, or else be considered late.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Vince Lombardi“.

The official Vince Lombardi website can be found here at: www.vincelombardi.com.