Ringo was the Packers' 7th-round pick in 1953, and played for the Pack from 1953-63. He was their starting center in all but his rookie season, and made the Pro Bowl in his last 7 seasons with Green Bay. He was also named 1st-team All-Pro in 6 of those 7 seasons.
As the story goes, after the 1963 season he went into Vince Lombardi's office to negotiate a pay raise. Lombardi excused himself for a few minutes, and when he returned to his office, he notified Ringo that he had just been traded - and to the lowly Eagles to boot. (Lombardi pulled a similar move on Jim Taylor 3 years later.)
The Eagles also got fullback Earl Gros in the deal, in exchange for linebacker Lee Roy Caffey and a first-round pick that ended up being running back Donny Anderson.
Ringo anchored the Eagles' offensive line for the next 4 seasons, then retired. He made 3 more Pro Bowls as an Eagle. He had started EVERY game from 1955 to 1967.
Jim was the Buffalo Bills' head coach for the '76 and '77 seasons. After that he was an offensive line coach for the Patriots (1979-81) and the Bills (1984-88).
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981. He was only the 2nd center to be inducted whose career was primarily after the 1940s. (Jim Otto having been inducted in 1980.)
Ringo passed away in 2007, 2 days before his 76th birthday.
Where's
No comments:
Post a Comment