The man who has held an all-time Packers record for longer than most NFL teams have existed has died. Bobby Dillon was 89.
The team announced Dillon’s passing on Wednesday; he passed on August 22. From 1952 through 1959, Dillon played safety for Green Bay. Dillon intercepted 52 passes.
In three different seasons, Dillon had nine interceptions. Dillon was named to the team’s 50th anniversary squad in 1969, Green Bay’s all-modern era team in 1976, and the franchise’s all-century team in 1999.
Dillon had planned to retire after the 1958 season, but new coach Vince Lombardi persuaded him to play one more year. Dillon could be a very good candidate for the 2020 Hall of Fame supersized “let’s clean up our past mistakes” class.
“Look what he did,” former Packers G.M. Ron Wolf said in 2008, via Cliff Christl of Packers.com. “Six years on a first team all-pro. [Detroit’s] Yale Lary got in there because he was a really good player, but he also was an exceptional punter. But Dillon played on a much poorer team and he had six years he was All-Pro.”