LAMBEAU, CURLY

born April 9, 1898, Green Bay, Wis., U.S. died June 1, 1965, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. byname of Earl Louis Lambeau American football coach who had one of the longest and most distinguished careers in the history of the game. A founder of the Green Bay Packers in 1919, he served through 1949 as head coach of the only major team in U.S. professional sports to survive in a small city. After playing briefly for the University of Notre Dame, Lambeau collaborated with George Calhoun, a Green Bay newspaperman, in organizing a professional football team, called the Packers because it received a subsidy from a local meat-packing firm. In 1921 the Packers entered the American Professional Football Association (in 1922 the National Football League ). Lambeau led the team to six NFL championships (1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1944). In addition to coaching and serving as general manager, he played halfback (191929) and was noted as a forward passer. Lambeau was dismissed after the 1949 season in a dispute with the Packers' business management. Subsequently he coached the Chicago Cardinals (195051) and the Washington Redskins (195254).