Before the days of sports sponsorship sas we know them now, local businesses like the Gordon Bent Company Sporting Goods, Bertrand’s Sporting Goods, and Stiller Photography played key roles in early Packers’ history. And then there were the bars.
Packer’s team historian Cliff Christl walked us through a list of local bars that were popular with early Packers’ players. In the 1920’s there was Guertz’s Bar. According to Christl “I think there were a couple others that stayed open during Prohibition.
In the 1940’s and 1950’s, Don Hutson’s Packers Playdium was the place to be. Hutson owned the combination bar and bowling alley at 114 N. Adams Street with another player, “Buckets” Goldenberg. “That’s were Ruth Canadeo told me that she met Tony, one of the instances were one of the Packers married a local girl,” said Christl.
Towards the end of the 1950’s the Piccadilly, “where Hornung and McGee had all their fun in ’58,” was a hot spot according to Christl. But after Vince Lombardi’s arrival in 1959, he banned the players from going there. Says Christl, “I think he banned the Picadilly because he heard all the stories when he got here in ’59.”
After Lombardi banned the Picadilly, the players shifted to Speed’s according to Christl, “(Former Packers Public Relations Director) Chuck Lane told me that Lombardi actually knew Speed, the owner, and he felt comfortable with his players going there. He felt the place was well run.”
In the 1970’s and 1980’s the players headed south to Nicky’s in De P ere , with the Carlton also attracting players.
