| Additional Information: | A 'site file' titled "Sunset Circle Residential Historic District" exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. Vincent Lombardi was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1913. He played football at St. Francis Preparatory School before playing at Fordham University from 1934 to 1936. In 1939, he became assistant coach at St. Cecilia High School. He married his wife, Marie, in 1940. Lombardi later became an assistant coach at Fordham University New York City and then the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. From 1954 to 1958 he was an offensive backfield coach for the New York Giants.
When the couple first came to Wisconsin they lived in a rented house in Allouez, which was constructed in 1929 on Mission Road. In 1959, Lombardi became head coach of the Green Bay Packers, a team that just finished its record worst season with 1 win, 10 losses, and 1 tie jeopardizing the financial viability and future of the franchise. At that time, he had a new house constructed in Allouez on Sunset Circle.
The first season of Lombardi’s punishing training regime and expectation of absolute dedication and effort from his players, pushed the Packers to vast improvement, ending the season with 7 wins and 5 losses. In his rookie year as head coach, Lombardi was named AP NFL Coach of the Year in 1959. In his second season as head coach, he led the Packers to first place in the NFL Western Conference for the first time in fifteen years, taking the team to the NFL Championship Game. In 1960, Lombardi experienced his first and only loss in a Championship game. He went on to coach the Packers to win their subsequent nine post-season games, a record streak not matched until 2006. Lombardi led the Packers to win NFL Championship Games in 1961, 1962, and 1965. He coached the Packers to win the first two Superbowls, in the 1966 and 1967 seasons.
Lombardi became the team’s general manager in 1968, retiring the following year. He later became the head coach for the Washington Redskins for the 1969 season. Vincent Lombardi passed away in 1970 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame the following year. For the 1971 season’s Super Bowl V, the NFL Championship trophy was officially renamed in memory Vince Lombardi to commemorate his victories in the first two Super Bowls.
2023
The Vincent and Marie Lombardi House was constructed in 1959. The house is a one-story single-family ranch type dwelling. It is cross-gabled and irregular in plan with a side-facing attached garage and prominent front-facing gable on opposite ends of the house. The exterior is clad in red brick with wood siding in the gable ends. The eaves are narrow and only overhang along the principal (south) elevation. An internal brick chimney rises from the north slope of the living space roof. A square ornamental cupola has been removed from the garage roof since 2013. An at-grade, open-air porch is recessed into the center of the house and is accentuated by turned posts with shallow arched trim between. It shelters the main entrance and two picture windows which are single central panes flanked by diamond patterned side lights. Other windows include six-over six hung windows and one-over-one hung windows and are accentuated by stone sills. |
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| Bibliographic References: | “About Vince Lombardi.” Vince Lombardi. Vince Lombardi c/o Luminary Group LLC, 2010. June 5, 2013.
“Hall of Famers: Vince Lombardi.” The official site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. June 4, 2013.
“Vince Lombardi Trophy.” Wikipedia website.
Brown County Deed Records
Building permits on file at the Village of Allouez, Wisconsin
Wright's Green Bay City Directory including Allouez, De Pere, and Preble |
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