jim ringo

Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Ringo, who helped the Green Bay Packers win back-to-back NFL titles in 1961-62, passed away Monday morning at the age of 75 after a short illness.
Ringo, a center, played 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers (1953-63) before wrapping up his career with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1964-67.

Ringo was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981. He was an All-Pro eight times, seven with the Packers, over his career and played in 10 Pro Bowls, seven as a Packer. He also was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1960s.

"As Vince Lombardi once observed, Jim epitomized the toughness and determination needed to not only play the center position but to become one of the game's most dominant offensive linemen of his era," commented Steve Perry, the Pro Football Hall of Fame's President/Executive Director.

"On behalf of all of us at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Jim's family," Perry said.

The Packers selected Ringo in the seventh round of the 1953 NFL draft out of Syracuse. Though he was considered vastly undersized at 211 pounds, he was not, however, unfit for the role, using his outstanding quickness and excellent technique as one of the game's best centers.

Ringo played for four different head coaches in his Packers tenure. in his first six seasons in Green Bay, playing under Gene Ronzani (1953), Lisle Blackbourn (1954-57) and Ray "Scooter" McLean (1958), the Packers went 20-50-2.

But Vince Lombardi's arrival in 1959 changed everything, and for Ringo's final four seasons the Packers went 50-15-1. Ringo certainly knew individual success before the Lombardi era, attending his first of seven straight Pro Bowls in 1957, but he flourished under the coaching legend, earning consensus All-Pro honors from 1959-63.

Ringo's speed and mobility made him an ideal blocker for Lombardi's famous power sweep, and all but one of running back Jim Taylor's five 1,000-yard seasons, including his then-record 1,474-yard effort in 1962, came with Ringo at center.

The details of Ringo's trade to Philadelphia in 1964 have been the subject of speculation. For years it was said that following the 1963 season, Ringo showed up in Lombardi's office, with an agent in tow, looking to negotiate a raise. Lombardi, according to this account, was so angered that he excused himself for five minutes only to return and announce that he had traded Ringo to the Eagles. Over the years it has been suggested that that story is more fiction than fact. In reality, Lombardi had probably been negotiating a trade for some time.

The Packers also traded fullback Earl Gros and received in return linebacker Lee Roy Caffey as a first-round draft pick that they used to select fullback Donny Anderson. Still, the legend persists. Ringo, who played 126 consecutive games for the Packers from 1954-63, finished out his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, attending 3 more Pro Bowls before retiring after the 1967 campaign.

Ringo went on to work on the coaching staffs of the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots and New York Jets.
Hall of Fame center Ringo dies
Reuters
Monday, November 19, 2007; 5:52 PM


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Ringo, a center who was a stalwart on the offensive line for Vince Lombardi's title-winning Green Bay Packers, died on Monday.

Ringo, a 15-year NFL veteran who was two days shy of his 76th birthday, died after a short illness, Hall of Fame president Steve Perry said in a statement.


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"As Vince Lombardi once observed, Jim epitomized the toughness and determination needed to not only play the center position but to become one of the game's most dominant offensive linemen of his era," Perry said.

The Packers selected Ringo out of Syracuse in the seventh round of the 1953 draft. He played for Green Bay from 1953 to 1963 and the Philadelphia Eagles from 1964-67.

Ringo played in a then-record 182 consecutive games from 1954 to 1967. He earned All-NFL acclaim seven times, was voted to 10 Pro Bowls, and was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1960s.

He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981

Calling hours will be held at Rupell Funeral Home in Phillipsburg, N.J. Final
Jim Ringo
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Jim Ringo
Date of birth November 21, 1931(1931-11-21)
Place of birth Orange, New Jersey
Date of death November 19, 2007 (aged 75)
Position(s) Center
College Syracuse
NFL Draft 1953 / Round 7 / Pick 79
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls 1957, 1958, 1959,
1960, 1961, 1962,
1963, 1964, 1965,
1967 [1]
Honors NFL 1960s All-Decade Team [2]
Career Record 3-20-0 [3]
Stats
Playing Stats Pro Football Reference
Playing Stats DatabaseFootball
Coaching Stats DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a player
1953-1963
1964-1967 Green Bay Packers
Philadelphia Eagles
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1976-1977 Buffalo Bills
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1981
James Stephen Ringo [4] (November 21, 1931 – November 19, 2007) was American football player and coach. He was a ten time Pro Bowler during his career. [1]

Ringo played high school football at Phillipsburg High School in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. He went on to play college football at Syracuse University.

Contents
1 Pro Football career
1.1 Green Bay Packers
1.2 Philadelphia Eagles
1.3 Coaching
1.4 Death
2 References
3 External links


Hall of Fame Center Jim Ringo, Former Packer, Dies at Age 75

By Mason Levinson

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Jim Ringo, a 10-time Pro Bowl center who played for Green Bay and Philadelphia, died today, two days shy of his 76th birthday.

Ringo died this morning after a short illness, the Hall of Fame said in a news release without disclosing the nature of the ailment.

Ringo played 15 National Football League seasons and was named All-NFL seven times in a career in which he never weighed more than 235 pounds, the weight of many of today's running backs and receivers. Centers now commonly weigh more than 300 pounds.

He played in Green Bay from 1953-63 and then four years with the Eagles, overcoming injuries to start a then-record 182 consecutive games from 1954-67.

``As (Packers coach) Vince Lombardi once observed, Jim epitomized the toughness and determination needed to not only play the center position but to become one of the game's most dominant offensive linemen of his era,'' Hall of Fame President Steve Perry said in a statement.

James Stephen Ringo was born Nov. 21, 1931, in Orange, New Jersey. He was selected out of Syracuse University by the Packers in the seventh round of the league's 1953 draft.

Ringo earned his first All-Pro honor in his fifth season and helped running back Jim Taylor to four 1,000-yard rushing years, including a then-record 1,474 yards in 1962.

``It turned out (Ringo) had a great work ethic, and as a result that paid great dividends for him and the Packers,'' team historian Lee Remmel said in a statement.

Details of funeral arrangements are pending for Ringo, the Hall of Fame said. Calling hours will be held at Rupell Funeral Home in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York

[edit] Pro Football career

[edit] Green Bay Packers
The Packers selected him in the seventh round of the 1953 NFL draft out of Syracuse. Ringo was considered vastly undersized at 211 pounds.

He was not, however, unfit for the role, using his outstanding quickness and excellent technique to build a 15-year NFL career, including 11 seasons with the Packers, as one of the game's best centers.

Ringo played for four different head coaches in his Packers tenure. in his first six seasons in Green Bay, playing under Gene Ronzani (1953), Lisle Blackbourn (1954-57) and Ray "Scooter" McLean (1958), the Packers went 20-50-2.

But Vince Lombardi's arrival in 1959 changed everything, and for Ringo's final four seasons the Packers went 50-15-1. Ringo certainly knew individual success before the Lombardi era, attending his first of seven straight Pro Bowls in 1957,but he flourished under the coaching legend, earning consensus All-Pro honors from 1959-63.

Ringo's speed and mobility made him an ideal blocker for Lombardi's famous power sweep, and all but one of running back Jim Taylor's five 1,000-yard seasons, including his then-record 1,474-yard effort in 1962, came with Ringo at center.


[edit] Philadelphia Eagles
Ringo was a member of the Packers' NFL Championship teams of 1961 and 1962, but he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles before the Packers went on to win three more titles from 1965-67.

The details of Ringo's trade have been the subject of speculation. For years it was said that following the 1963 season, Ringo showed up in Lombardi's office, with an agent in tow, looking to negotiate a raise. Lombardi, according to this account, was so angered that he excused himself for five minutes only to return and announce that he had traded Ringo to the Eagles. Over the years it has been suggested that that story is more fiction than fact. In reality, Lombardi had probably been negotiating a trade for some time. The Packers also traded fullback Earl Gros and received in return linebacker Lee Roy Caffey as a first-round draft pick that they used to select fullback Donny Anderson. Still, the legend persists. Ringo, who played 126 consecutive games for the Packers from 1954-63, finished out his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, attending 3 more Pro Bowls before retiring after the 1967 campaign.


[edit] Coaching
He went on to work on the coaching staffs of the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots and New York Jets.

Ringo was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.