On May 5, 1964 the Green Bay Packers took a step toward
revamping their defense by trading C Jim Ringo and FB Earl Gros to the
Philadelphia Eagles for LB Lee Roy
Caffey and a first round draft pick for 1965.
The trade of the 32-year-old Ringo (pictured at right) was considered a shocking
move at the time. Already an established star when Vince Lombardi arrived as
head coach/GM in 1959, he had been chosen to seven straight Pro Bowls and was
coming off his sixth year (fifth straight) as a consensus first-team All-Pro. Undersized
at 6’1” and 235 pounds, Ringo made up for it with outstanding mobility and was
recognized for his downfield blocking ability as well as pass protection. He
was the savvy veteran that Lombardi built his offensive line around and played
a major role in bringing two championships to Green Bay . Ringo was also durable, having not
missed a game in ten years.
While it was rumored in later years that Lombardi dealt the
star center because he showed up for contract negotiations with an agent (a
story that Ringo denied and that also didn’t account for the fact that Lombardi
had an assistant GM who handled contract negotiations), the trade was motivated
by a perceived need to retool on defense, in particular at linebacker. RLB Bill
Forester had retired and LLB Dan Currie was becoming more brittle with age.
“We fell down a little bit on defense last year and we had
to help it,” explained Lombardi. “Caffey has great speed and he was good enough
to play regular in his first year.”
The 6’3”, 230-pound Lee Roy Caffey was drafted in the
seventh round by the Eagles in ‘63, having played as a fullback and linebacker
at Texas A&M, and became a starter as a rookie at left LB. A promising
player, the highlight of his first season was returning a pass interception 87
yards for a touchdown. It was anticipated that, along with Dave Robinson,
another second-year linebacker, he would help augment the position.
The deal left Green
Bay without an experienced center, and OT Bob
Skoronski, who occasionally backed up at the position, was shifted there.
However, Ken Bowman had been drafted in the eighth round out of Wisconsin and took over
the starting job in 1965. He withstood a challenge from Bill Curry (who was
dispatched to the Colts) and a shoulder injury to hold down the starting job
until 1973.
As for the Eagles, it was the fourth major trade in two
months by the new head coach/GM, Joe Kuharich. The center for the previous two
years, Jim Schrader, had once been a Pro Bowl-level player (three times with
the Redskins), but was now playing on bad knees. Combined with the drafting of
OT Bob Brown out of Nebraska
in the first round, the move promised to make the offensive line much better.
The other player acquired from the Packers, Earl Gros (pictured at left), was a
highly-regarded young fullback who had been drafted in the first round out of
LSU in 1962 but was stuck behind star FB Jim Taylor in Green Bay. Fast for his
size (6’3”, 230), he rushed for 358 yards in 77 carries (4.6 avg.) in his rare
appearances, but was also considered to be fumble-prone.
The trade ultimately worked out well for both clubs. The
aging Ringo still had plenty of talent and lasted four seasons in Philadelphia . He was
selected to the Pro Bowl three more times in 1964, ’65, and in his final year,
1967, when he also broke the record for consecutive games played with 182 (the
record lasted until 1970, when it was surpassed by Green Bay teammate Forrest
Gregg). He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
Gros stepped into the starting lineup and led the Eagles in
rushing in 1964 with 748 yards. While injuries diminished his performances
thereafter, he gained 1623 yards on the ground over three seasons and proved to
be an able receiver out of the backfield, catching 76 passes for 719 yards. He
was dealt to Pittsburgh following the 1966
season and put in another three years before finishing up in 1970 with a short
stint in New Orleans
(a homecoming of sorts for the Louisiana Cajun).
As for Lee Roy Caffey in Green Bay (pictured below) , he immediately moved into
Forester’s spot at right linebacker and played there for six seasons, becoming
a part of three consecutive NFL titles from 1965 through ’67. He was selected
to the Pro Bowl once, in ’65, and was also a first-team All-Pro in 1966.
The first round draft pick obtained from the Eagles was used
to select HB Donny Anderson out of Texas Tech in 1965 (as a future choice for
’66), who played six years for the Packers as a multi-talented back and punter
and went to one Pro Bowl.
