Why did the Green Bay Packers survive?

[Galloping Ghost]

This sentence from the Packers' wikipedia page caught my eye.


The Packers are the last vestige of "small town teams" that were once common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s.


I'm not too familiar with the early history of the NFL. Why did the Packers survive while Akron, Canton, Pottsville, etc. fell by the wayside? Was it as simple as just a matter of serious financial problems and small populations? I can't imagine the NFL granting a new franchise to a "small town" ever again.

[efin98]

The years playing in Milawaukee saved them...as did being the only major pro sports team in the area for years and those strong years in the 30s and 60s.

[Seattle1]

I think a lot of it probably had to do with all their early success. If you look at all the teams that went by the wayside and went defunct over the years, most of them didn't really have any success.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams

[efin98]

I think a lot of it probably had to do with all their early success. If you look at all the teams that well by the wayside and went defunct over the years, most of them didn't really have any success.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams

There were teams with better earlier success but still folded(Providence, Canton, Frankfort, Providence). There are teams that outright stunk for years but are cornerstone franchises for the league today(Arizona, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia) It had more to do with a lack of major competition from other sports in the area and a stable fanbase who would pay money to see them.

[Seattle1]

There were teams with better earlier success but still folded(Providence, Canton, Frankfort, Providence). There are teams that outright stunk for years but are cornerstone franchises for the league today(Arizona, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia) It had more to do with a lack of major competition from other sports in the area and a stable fanbase who would pay money to see them.

Right, Pittsburgh stunk for 35+ years before they started taking steroids and succeeding in the 1970s. But the Steelers, Cardinals, and Eagles were located in major metropolitan areas with fanbases large enough who could stay interested and support the team enough even in the down times.

The Packers started in 1921 and reeled off 12 winning seasons in a row right from the beginning before suffering one losing season in 1933. Then they picked back up again in 1934 and reeled off another 14 winning seasons in a row. That's got to be good for business.

[GreenBayRay]

It's worth remembering that during and immediately after the war with the AAFC, the Packers were in big financial trouble. That led to the second stock sale, which provided enough money to keep going after the AAFC merger. However, the team's leadership was weak on the field, and it was a bad decade. In addition, City Stadium was falling apart. The vote to build a new stadium in 1957, and the sharing of television revenues after that, have made the Packers solid.