Curly Lambeau helped found the Green Bay Packers with George Calhoun in 1919. He was a player-coach until 1929 when the Packers took back the first NFL Championship to Wisconsin. Lambeau coached until 1949, winning over 200 games and six NFL championships (1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, and 1944).

Green Bay's longevity in the NFL can be directly attributed to Lambeau's success on the gridiron and passion for the game of football. Green Bay, Wisconsin was (and still is) the smallest market team in the NFL. Yet, they managed to energize their fan base, and perhaps most importantly, win titles.

In 1931, Lambeau and his Packers took home the NFL Championship for the third straight year after team stakeholders voted to not engage in a tentatively scheduled match against the second place Portsmouth Spartans at the end of the season. Perhaps that would have changed the future for the Portsmouth Spartans, as some have argued that had the Spartans won a championship the city may have been able to keep their NFL franchise. In the short term, however, the Spartans managed to avenge the missed opportunity by knocking the Packers out of championship contention in 1932.