The Neville Blog

Moving from New York to Green Bay in 1959 was a bit of a culture shock for Emlen Tunnell. Housing, as always, was hard to find. Tunnell ended up staying at the Hotel Northland in downtown Green Bay during his two seasons with the Packers. It is rumored that Coach Lombardi even paid for the room and board.  Coach Lombardi brought the New York Giants veteran player with him when he took the job in Green Bay. Not only was Tunnell a seasoned defensive veteran, he was also a well-respected leader on and off the field. He assisted Coach Lombardi in changing the mindset of the team and led the defense. He also aided in bringing other talented black players to Green Bay.  “Em was a very bright guy who helped me tremendously. He had been around so long, one of the first black stars in the league, and for me just to have the opportunity to hang around him, I was awed by that.”- Willie Wood Tunnell played for Green Bay for three seasons after which he became an NFL scout. In 1967, t...

Imagine moving to a new city for a dream job. The first thing you do is look for a place to live. What do you do if you can’t find one? This is what African American players faced when they moved to Green Bay. Jim Crow laws and racism were most evident in the South, but racism was also present in the North. For example, a De Pere development barred African Americans and Jewish people from living there in 1948.[1] This was only two years before Bob Mann (the first African American player to start for the team) joined the Packers.   With few places willing to rent to them, African American players were forced to live in small cabins, the YMCA, and hotels. Some even stayed in a room at an extermination business owned by former player Tony Canadeo’s brother.[2] When Herb Adderley came to Green Bay, he lived in the “little shack down by the tracks.” In 1961, Adderley, Davis, and Pitts shared a one-bedroom place on Velp Avenue.[3]   African Americans living in Green Bay face...

During my internship at the Neville, I had the opportunity to work on Delay of Game: Experiences of African American Football Players in Titletown (2018-2019) . When first told about the exhibition, I was thrilled to hear of the museum’s plans to explore African American history. But, because Delay of Game centers on the Packers, I worried football would overshadow the stories off the field. Thankfully, I was wrong. Not only did I learn more about the Packers, but also more about the community I grew up in. I found that the African American history of the Packers, and Brown County, reflected wider social histories. Packers First African American Player Bob Mann was the first African American Packer to play a regular season game. Recruited in 1950, Mann joined the team just four years after Kenny Washington signed to the Rams in 1946 (One year before Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers). Washington was the first black NFL player since 1933. Bob Mann was the first African A...

Bob (Robert) Mann became the first African American player to play in a regular season game for the Green Bay Packers in 1950. Mid-season in 1950, a line coach for the Packers called Mann and asked him to play. He said no. They called again. This time they were successful in recruiting the receiver to Green Bay. Mann arrived on Saturday and played on Sunday. But before that, Mann was one of the first African American players signed to the Detroit Lions. He played with them for two seasons. In 1949, during Bob Mann’s second season with the Detroit Lions, the team played the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans. Southern tradition banned African American players from playing at the stadium. Mann and his teammates Mel Groomes and Wallace Triplett were not allowed to play. After discussion with the league, the Lions’ head coach Bo McMillin was given the option to break the color barrier. He refused. Instead of playing alongside their teammates, Mann, Groomes, and Triplett listened to the...