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7343357
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Pool through Green Bay Packers Headquarters [Pool Report]
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7343357
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document
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Pool through Green Bay Packers Headquarters [Pool Report]
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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7343357
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3
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1976-04-03
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4
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1976
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320ab7901ee646be
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Digitized from Box 24 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
APRIL 3, 1976
POOL THROUGH GREEN BAY PACKERS HEADQUARTERS
The President arrived on schedule and was greeted at the front door of the
Packer Administraton building by Coach Bart Starr, Dominic Clejnickzak,
President of the Green Bay Packer Corporation, who led them on a 15-minute
tour of the Administrative offices and some training facilities for the team.
Room No. 1 - Names of pro-ball players from every NFL teams were listed
on the wall along with their ratings, as determined by the Packers' coaches
and scouts.
Room No. 2 - College talent names covered a much larger wall. 600 names
overall. and : grades for each of the players. The Green Bay coaches
make their draft selections based on this information on ratings and player
positions.
On leaving Room No. 2, the President turned to the pool and said, "You
know, maybe we should rate the press that way. " (The Pool considered
reminding the President that ratings that high do not exist, but decided that
would be imprudent.)
Down the hall, the President stopped to inspect the film room - a small
room lined with ceiling-to-floor racks holding literally hundreds of canisters
of 16 mm films of the Packers games.
Next stop was Coach Starr's small corner office on the second floor, where
the President was presented with a regulation gold and green Packers'
helmet. He was most appreciative, but did not put it on: Cn leaving the
office, the President remarked, "I need that helmet for some of those
questions you ask. "
Then the entourage walked down stairs to the locker room, where the
President went through an informal receiving line of approximately 30
Packers' employees -- secretaries, ticket agents, corporation executives,
trainers, assistant coaches, etc. Then he walked into the adjacent weight
room (the only room where television taping was allowed). Nine players in
green shorts and regulation Packer jerseys of green and gold demonstrated
the use of several strength-building machines. President Ford resisted
the temptation to try one out himself. "Don't asked me to do one, " he
jokingly warned Packer Assistant Coach (and former quarterback) Zeke
Bratkowski.
Just before leaving the room, the President began waxing nostalgically
about his days as a jock. He told the story that he later told at the Hall
of Fame dedication about how he almost became a Packer when he caught
the attention of then-Packer coach Curley Lambeau during the East-West
Shrine game following Ford's senior year season at Michigan. "He offered
me $200 a game, which was the going rate in those days. But I decided to
go and coach at Yale, so I could go to law school. That's as close as I got to
being a Packer. 11 Starr responded, "We wish you had gotten closer."
The Fresident, with his thumbs tucked in his belt, told the players, "I'll
be watching. That's how I get a little relaxation on Sunday afternoons."
ANN COMPTON - ABC
TOM DeFRANK- NEWSWEEK
ED WALSH POST
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