Lombardi moved to the New York Giants in 1954 as the offensive coach. It took him a little time to adjust to pro football, but soon he began to help the team. He suggested trades to improve the Giants' defense. "A good defense will help the club's morale," he said.

    In 1958, Wisconsin's Green Bay Packers had the worst season in their 40-year history. They finished with a miserable 1-10-1 record. The Packer management asked Lombardi to come to the rescue. When he arrived at Green Bay, he said to the players: "Gentlemen, I've never been associated with a losing team, and I don't intend to start now. And let's get one thing straight: I am complete boss here."

    His players had both fear and respect for their new master. Said Henry Jordan, "When coach Lombardi says, 'Sit down,' I don't even look for a chair. But he is very fair. He treats everyone alike - like dogs." He added, "We've got the best system and best coach in football. We're going to be big winners." Never before had the players seen such dedication as Lombardi showed. Fuzzy Thurston chuckled, "Thank the Lord, Vince didn't lead the Italian Army in World War II. If he had, we'd have probably lost."

    One of Vince's first moves was to go into the training room and chase out players with trivial injuries. "This pampering has got to stop," he shouted. "Only when a Packer is really injured does he go to the training room."

    Lombardi stressed teamwork. "We have to have a one-for-all unit," he preached. "When the game is over, it's not how I did but how the team did." Lombardi demanded strict discipline, but none of his players resented it. Indeed, they felt they had gained much through his tough, Spartan training.

    Vince Lombardi worked the players only an hour and a half at each practice session, but every second counted. He built up a strong defense and wisely chose which men to use at certain positions, making sure those men learned those positions. His offensive and defensive systems were not complicated or tricky. But each play had to be perfect. Lombardi would tolerate nothing less than perfection. He knew he was an impatient man. "It's either my greatest strength or my greatest weakness," he said.

    Vince was a master at knowing which players to push and which to flatter. Some he would snarl at, others he would joke with. Lombardi pushed Paul Hornung to surpass his already high level of performance. And he treated Jim Taylor like a traitor after he chose to play out his option. He had no use for players who played out their options. He could not understand how any player could cut himself loose from the great Packer team. But after every big win, Taylor and Hornung always hoisted their embarrassed coach up on their shoulders as the fans cheered. Lombardi had to fine Max McGee for breaking curfew and partying, and he scolded Jerry Kramer for seeking more money. Still, they were the fellows who came back to visit Lombardi in 1968 when he became general manager of the club.

    His warm sentimentality often showed. At a dinner in his honor in Green Bay after his first NFL championship, Lombardi cried when he accepted the trophy. He was also generous. One season he presented the wives of all the players with fur coats. Another time, it was diamond rings. Lombardi always gave freely of himself to his community. At Green Bay, he was a member of the Council for Human Relations, president of the Mental Health Association, chairman of the State Cancer Fund, director of the Pop Warner Football League, and co-chairman of the State Council on Physical Fitness.

    Vince Lombardi died of cancer after a single season as coach of the Washington Redskins. At his funeral in New York, scores of his former players cried unashamedly. They had lost not only a great coach, but also a great friend.