Forrest Gregg

Born on October 18, 1933, in Birthright, Texas,"Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6P9-PQB : March 13, 2018), Gregg, October 18, 1933; citing , Hopkins, Texas, United States, certificate 81236, Texas Department of Health, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,283,232. Gregg attended Sulphur Springs High School in Sulphur Springs and played college football at Southern Methodist University in Dallas."U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Southern Methodist University; Year: 1954 Playing on both the offensive and defensive line at SMU, Gregg earned All-Southwest Conference honors in his final two seasons.{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2019/SMU-Remembers-Forrest-Gregg|title=SMU Remembers Forrest Gregg '55 - SMU}}

Gregg was a key player in the Packers dynasty of head coach Vince Lombardi that won five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls. He played mostly at right tackle, but also filled in at guard. He earned an "iron man" tag by playing in a then-league record 188 consecutive games in 16 seasons from 1956 until 1971. He also won All-NFL honors for eight straight years from 1960 through 1967 and nine Pro Bowl selections.{{cite news |url=http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/packers-great-gregg-faces-the-battle-of-his-life-jr5hqgs-161696785.html |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |last=Dunne |first=Tyler |title=Packers great Gregg faces the battle of his life |date=July 7, 2012 |access-date=January 25, 2016}}

Gregg closed his career with the Dallas Cowboys, as did his Packer teammate, cornerback Herb Adderley. They both helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl VI in January 1972, making them the only players (along with former teammate Fuzzy Thurston, who was on the Baltimore Colts NFL championship team in 1958 and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) in professional football history to play on six NFL title teams. Gregg wore the number 75 for 15 seasons in Green Bay, but that number belonged to Jethro Pugh in Dallas, so Gregg wore number 79 for his final season in 1971.{{cite web |title=Forrest Gregg, Green Bay Packers, Class of 1977 |url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/7810999326960986/ |website=pinterest.com |access-date=December 31, 2019}}

It has been reported that Vince Lombardi said, "Forrest Gregg is the finest player I ever coached!" but official Packers team historian Cliff Christl can find no evidence of Lombardi ever saying or writing that.{{cite web |last1=Christl |first1=Cliff |title=It's time Canton got it right |url=https://www.packers.com/news/it-s-time-canton-got-it-right |website=Packers.com |access-date=November 4, 2021}} In 1999, he was ranked 28th on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, putting him second behind Ray Nitschke among players coached by Lombardi, second behind Anthony Muñoz (whom he coached) among offensive tackles, and fourth behind Munoz, John Hannah, and Jim Parker among all offensive linemen.{{cite news |last1=Matthews |first1=Bob |title=wings' Streak Was Rochester's Best |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=4589336&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjEzNjUwNTk3MSwiaWF0IjoxNTc3NzU5NzgzLCJleHAiOjE1Nzc4NDYxODN9.SS3wjOkXkZD3VWLjq_67c3YPJq_WaNTxIj94TpMpOkI |access-date=December 31, 2019 |agency=Democrat and Chronicle}} He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1977.{{Cite web | url = https://www.packers.com/history/hof/forrest-gregg | title = Forrest Gregg | last = Christl | first = Cliff | author-link = Cliff Christl | website = Packers.com | access-date = September 20, 2023 | archive-date = September 29, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230929170210/https://www.packers.com/history/hof/forrest-gregg | url-status = live }}

After serving as an assistant with the San Diego Chargers in 1973, he took a similar position the following year with the Browns. After head coach Nick Skorich was dismissed after the 1974 season, Gregg was promoted to head coach in 1975, a position he held through 1977.{{cite web |last1=Shook |first1=Nick |title=Pro Football Hall of Famer, former Browns coach Forrest Gregg passes away at 85 |url=https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/pro-football-hall-of-famer-former-browns-coach-forrest-gregg-passes-away-at-85 |website=clevelandbrowns.com |publisher=Cleveland Browns |access-date=December 28, 2019}} According to Dave Logan, safety Thom Darden and Gregg once had a fist fight after a game.{{cite web|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/254351431|url-access=subscription|id={{ProQuest|254351431}}|title=BROWNS NOTEBOOK; SILVER LINING: JOHNSON AWAKENS DURING DRUBBING: [CITY Edition]|work=Dayton Daily News|author=McClelland, Sean|accessdate=April 8, 2024|date=October 16, 2000|page=5D|quote=Logan, who broke in with the Browns in 1976, said one of his lasting memories involves a postgame fistfight between his first head coach, Forrest Gregg, and safety Thom Darden.}} Darden has explained that the 1977 Cleveland Browns did not respond to Gregg's coaching style, which contributed to his firing with one game remaining.{{cite web|url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&t=&sort=YMD_date%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=%22Thom%20Darden%22%20%22Forrest%20Gregg%22&docref=news/0EB6D83BC410D2F3|title=IN GREGG'S CASE, THE SPY CAME IN FROM THE HALL - BROWNS COACH UNCOVERS MODELL'S AGENT, THEN IS FIRED|accessdate=April 8, 2024|date=August 25, 1999|work=Akron Beacon Journal|author=Butler, Jason|page=C1|quote=As the season went on, the team didn't respond well to the way Gregg pushed. Cliques formed, as players' differences polarized the locker room and broke down the team chemistry. "It was tough going to practice," said defensive back Thom Darden. "It was not a good working environment. You could cut the tension with a knife when we were in practice."}} In 1977, Darden was one of the vocal dissidents that led to the ouster of Gregg as head coach of the Cleveland Browns.{{cite web|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/424024679|url-access=subscription|id={{ProQuest|424024679}}|title=The Cardiac Champions|work=The New York Times|author=Anderson, Dave|accessdate=April 6, 2024|date=December 22, 1980|page=C.1|quote=}}

After sitting out the 1978 season, Gregg returned to coaching in 1979 with the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. In 1980, he became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals for four seasons through 1983. His most successful season as a head coach was in 1981, when he led the Bengals to a 12–4 regular season record.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=i-AjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LyoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7014%2C2606174 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305142441/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=i-AjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LyoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7014%2C2606174 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Van Sickle |first=Gary |title=King of the Forrest |date=January 17, 1982 |page=3, sports }} They defeated the San Diego Chargers 27–7 in the AFC championship game (known as the Freezer Bowl),{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=heAjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LyoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3671%2C168991 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Van Sickle |first=Gary |title=Bengals are hot on a cold day |date=January 11, 1982 |page=1, part 3 |access-date=January 25, 2016 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305143743/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=heAjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LyoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3671,168991 |url-status=dead }} earning them a trip to Super Bowl XVI, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 26–21.{{cite news |last1=Attner |first1=Paul |title=49ers Stifle Bengals Late to Win, 26-21 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/nfl/longterm/superbowl/stories/sb16.htm |newspaper=Washington Post |publisher=WP Company, LLC |access-date=December 28, 2019}}

When his longtime former teammate Bart Starr was fired after nine years as head coach of the Packers in December 1983, Gregg was allowed out of his Bengals' contract to take over in Green Bay.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I24aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BioEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6810%2C2030997 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Salituro |first=Chuck |title=Gregg shortened Parins' search |date=December 25, 1983 |page=1, sports }} He finished his NFL coaching career with the Packers, leading them for four seasons, 1984–1987, with a record of 25–37–1. Gregg's overall record as an NFL coach was 75 wins, 85 losses and one tie. He was also 2–2 in playoff games, all with the Bengals.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/GregFo0.htm|title = Forrest Gregg Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks|website = Pro-Football-Reference.com}} He is one of only two coaches, the other being Marvin Lewis, to have left the Bengals with a winning record.

Gregg resigned from the Packers in January 1988 and took a pay cut to take over at SMU, his alma mater.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cGgaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ryoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6431%2C5331720 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Perkins |first=Eddie |title=The rebuilding starts for SMU, Packers |date=January 15, 1988 |page=1C }}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g7YmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uqUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3313%2C3102488 |newspaper=Tuscaloosa News |agency=Associated Press |title=Forrest Gregg eager to resurrect Mustangs |date=January 15, 1988 |page=15 }} He was brought in to revive the Mustang football program after it received the "death penalty" from the NCAA for massive violations of NCAA rules. Though the NCAA had only canceled the 1987 season, school officials later opted to cancel the 1988 season due to fears that fielding a competitive team would be impossible; nearly every letterman from the 1986 squad had transferred elsewhere.Frank, Peter. "'88 football season canceled by SMU." The New York Times, April 11, 1987. Gregg knew that any new coach would be essentially rebuilding the program from scratch, but when acting president William Stalcup asked him to return, he felt he could not refuse.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/sports/ncaafootball/forrest-gregg-who-revived-smu-football-looks-back-with-pride.html | title=Coach Who Revived S.M.U. Looks Back With Pride | work=The New York Times | date=August 1, 2012 | access-date=April 26, 2013 | author=Drape, Joe | pages=B20}}

As it turned out, when Gregg arrived, he was presented with a severely undersized and underweight roster composed mostly of freshmen. Gregg was taller and heavier than nearly the entire 70-man squad. The team was so short on offensive linemen that Gregg had to make several wide receivers bulk up and switch to the line. By nearly all accounts, it would have been unthinkable for the Mustangs to return for the 1988 season under such conditions.Woodbury, Richard. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090911075805/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968906,00.html Rebuilding a Shattered Team]. Time, November 4, 1988.

In 1989, the Mustangs went 2–9, including a 95–21 thrashing by Houston—the second-worst loss in school history. In that game, eventual Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware threw six touchdown passes in the first half, and David Klingler added four more in the second, even with the game long out of reach. Gregg was so disgusted that he refused to shake Houston coach Jack Pardee's hand after the game.{{cite news | url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19960811/2343737/death-penalty-still-hurts-smu | title='Death Penalty' Still Hurts SMU | work=The Seattle Times | date=August 11, 1996 | agency=Associated Press | access-date=April 26, 2013 | author=Drago, Mike | archive-date=January 15, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115035853/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19960811&slug=2343737 | url-status=live }} Nonetheless, Gregg reflected fondly on the experience. In a 2012 interview with The New York Times, he said the players on the two teams he coached should have had their numbers retired for restoring dignity to the program. "I never coached a group of kids that had more courage," he said. "They thought that they could play with anyone. They were quality people. It was one of the most pleasurable experiences in my football life. Period."

After the season, Gregg was named SMU's athletic director. The Mustangs went 1–10 in 1990, and after the season, he resigned as coach to focus on his duties as athletic director. Gregg's coaching record at SMU was 3–19,{{cite web |title=Forrest Gregg Coaching Record |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/forrest-gregg-1.html |website=sports-reference.com |publisher=SportsReference, LLC |access-date=December 28, 2019}} and he served as athletic director until 1994.{{cite web |title=SMU Remembers Forrest Gregg '56 |url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2019/SMU-Remembers-Forrest-Gregg |website=smu.edu |publisher=Southern Methodist University |access-date=December 28, 2019}}

He returned to the CFL with the Shreveport Pirates in 1994–95, during that league's brief attempt at expansion to the United States. His overall record in the CFL was 13–39.{{cite book |last1=Blevins |first1=David |title=The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer, Volume 1 |date=2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=382}}

When former Shreveport Pirates owner Bernard Glieberman bought a stake in the Ottawa Renegades in May 2005, Gregg was appointed Ottawa's vice president of football operations, a position he held through 2006.{{cite web |title=Forrest Gregg, a former CFL coach and ex-lineman for the Packers, dead at 85 |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/sports/football/cfl/ex-cfl-coach-forrest-gregg-lineman-for-packers-dies-at-85/wcm/a657cdee-eb51-4f91-a530-774202501c90 |website=Ottawa Citizen|access-date=December 29, 2019}}

Gregg had two marriages. He married Barbara Sue Leach in 1954. He married his second wife, Barbara Dedek in 1960.

In the 1970s, he had multiple surgeries for skin cancer.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mbBeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nC8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2946%2C2972320 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=(Dallas Times Herald) |last=Luksa |first=Frank |title=Gregg had to beat cancer first |date=January 23, 1982 |page=2B}}

He retired to Colorado Springs, Colorado. In October 2011, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, thought to be caused by concussions from playing over two decades of high school, college, and professional football.{{cite news |publisher=NPR |agency=Associated Press |title=Hall Of Famer Forrest Gregg Fighting Parkinson's |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=142398570 |date=November 16, 2011 |access-date=November 18, 2011}}{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/9183208/forrest-gregg-fighting-parkinsons-not-nfl |work=ESPN.com |agency=Associated Press |title=Forrest Gregg won't sue NFL |date=April 17, 2013|access-date=January 25, 2016}}

On April 12, 2019, Gregg died at the age of 85 due to complications from Parkinson's disease.{{cite web | last=Harrison | first=Elliot | title=Forrest Gregg's legacy? One of the best offensive linemen ever | website=NFL.com | date=2019-04-12 | url=https://www.nfl.com/news/forrest-gregg-s-legacy-one-of-the-best-offensive-linemen-ever-0ap3000001026196 | access-date=2024-08-07}}

In addition to his wife, he was survived by a son, Forrest Jr.; a daughter, Karen Gregg Spehar; and several siblings.

{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = SMU Mustangs

| conf = Southwest Conference

| startyear = 1989

| endyear = 1990

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1989

| name = SMU

| overall = 2–9

| conference = 0–8

| confstanding = 9th

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| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

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{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

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| name = SMU

| overall = 1–10

| conference = 0–8

| confstanding = 9th

| bowlname =

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| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = SMU

| overall = 3–19

| confrecord = 0–16

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record End

| overall = 3–19

| bowls = no

| poll = no

| polltype =

| legend = no

}}

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Category:1933 births

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