John Gordon, designer of original Green Bay Packers 'G' logo, dies at age 83
GREEN BAY - The creator of the iconic Packers "G" logo, John Gordon, died Saturday. He was 83 years old.
Gordon told the Press-Gazette in a 2013 interview that he designed the "G" logo that has become an icon of the Packers that have been on the team's helmets for over 60 years.
While Gordon was an art student at St. Norbert College, he worked part time as an assistant equipment manager for Gerald "Dad" Braisher from 1960 to 1968. On the side, he would draw portraits of the players and their families, according to the 2013 Press-Gazette story.
One day, he was assigned a big art project that would become one of the most well-known pieces of art in the NFL.
Before training camp started in 1961, coach Vince Lombardi had an idea — he wanted to have a logo on the players' helmets. Braisher handed Gordon a piece of paper with the instructions that it be football-shaped with a football-shaped G inside.
Gordon brought in the design the next day and it was immediately approved, Gordon said in a 2013 St. Norbert College video.
"At the time, I was very nervous for Coach Lombardi to see it," Gordon wrote in a letter to Tom Murphy of the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame in 2010. "I don't want to diminish Dad's contribution, but the fact remains that Dad and I were both involved, and I'm proud to have been a part of it. I look at it as a collaborative effort."
The logo continues to live on. The football-shaped log was eventually changed into a more oval design. Gordon was honored for the logo in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
Gordon died Saturday after living with Alzheimer's. He was born in Marshfield and grew up in Green Bay. Art was always a part of his life. He taught art at Parkview Middle School in Ashwaubenon and became an adjunct professor of art at St. Norbert College.
In lieu of flower, donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association or Unity Hospice of Brown County.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Designer of original Green Bay Packers 'G' logo dies at age 83