59. Verne Lewellen
Football, Track & Field, Baseball, Basketball / Lincoln / 1901-1980
QUICK FACTS:
Played for: Lincoln High, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Green Bay Packers
Best athlete from Nebraska played with or against: The combination of Lewellen and Roy "Rhody" Lamb made Lincoln High a powerhouse. Among former Husker greats Lewellen played alongside were Dave Noble and Ed Weir.
Best moment as an athlete: One to remember was Lewellen's first five punts in the 14-7 upset of Notre Dame in 1923, traveling 69, 65, 47, 52 and 50 yards. In the Huskers' previous game, he intercepted a pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown for a 7-7 tie with Missouri.
The resume almost seems too much to comprehend.
Four-sport star at Lincoln High. Nebraska football great. Pittsburgh Pirates baseball signee. Four-time football all-pro with the Green Bay Packers.
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Longtime Packers front-office executive (once replaced by Vince Lombardi). NU law degree recipient. Brown County (Wis.) district attorney.
Verne Lewellen was known for a little of everything.
At Nebraska, Lewellen captained and quarterbacked the 1923 team that stunned Notre Dame 14-7. Once into professional football, he played nine seasons at halfback for Green Bay, leading the team in scoring every year from 1926 to 1930 while playing for Curly Lambeau.
His Packers career coincided with his entrance into the law and political fields. Later, he would serve as the NFL team's general manager and business manager before retiring in 1967.
Lewellen's greatest skill might have been punting, which earned him the nickname "Long Distance Lew." In 1962, longtime New York Times writer Arthur Daley called him "the finest punter these eyes ever saw."
Lewellen's do-it-all style started at Lincoln High, where he led the school to two track championships and back-to-back unbeaten basketball seasons. His baseball career spilled into his NU days, and he later earned a tryout with Pittsburgh before arm trouble sent him back to football.
-- Rich Kaipust
QUICK FACTS:
Played for: Lincoln High, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Green Bay Packers
Best athlete from Nebraska played with or against: The combination of Lewellen and Roy "Rhody" Lamb made Lincoln High a powerhouse. Among former Husker greats Lewellen played alongside were Dave Noble and Ed Weir.
Best moment as an athlete: One to remember was Lewellen's first five punts in the 14-7 upset of Notre Dame in 1923, traveling 69, 65, 47, 52 and 50 yards. In the Huskers' previous game, he intercepted a pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown for a 7-7 tie with Missouri.
