On Jan. 29, 1959, the Green Bay Packers tabbed Vincent T. Lombardi — a bespectacled, gap-toothed, bratwurst-fingered, obscure assistant coach as their new head coach and general manager. In 1959 Lombardi’s Packers went 7-5, snapping an 11-year futility run in which the Packers never won more games than they lost. The NFL commemorated and cemented Lombardi’s eminence by naming the Super Bowl Trophy the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Packers lost the 1960 NFL championship, 17-13. The loss vexed Lombardi and the Packers.