Gerald Francis Clifford
Encyclopedia
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
. Clifford served as the team’s vice-president and attorney for nearly three decades, setting up the unique and enduring corporate structure, fighting off near bankruptcy several times and quashing an attempt to move the team.
Clifford was born on June 19, 1889 in Chilton, Wisconsin
Chilton, Wisconsin
Chilton is a city in and county seat of Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,708 at the 2000 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Chilton.-History:...
. He was the son of Jeremiah M. and Catherine Connelly Clifford. His father was employed with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and the family lived in Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain, Michigan
Iron Mountain is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,154. It is the county seat of Dickinson County, in the state's Upper Peninsula....
and later Escanaba, Michigan
Escanaba, Michigan
Escanaba is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the banana belt on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140, making it the third-largest city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie...
.
After graduating from high school, Clifford traveled throughout Europe, then returned to attend the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, receiving an LL.B. in 1912. He began his practice of law that same year in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, where his father was now regional superintendent.
Throughout his career, Clifford practiced in a variously arranged small firm in Green Bay. He defended twenty-six first degree murder cases, with no clients convicted of the original charge. Clifford made many appearances before the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.-Location:...
and served as both a special prosecutor
Special prosecutor
A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...
and Special Assistant Attorney General of Wisconsin.
Politically, Clifford was a liberal Democrat and a supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
. As Wisconsin’s Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1924)
The Progressive Party of 1924 was a new party created as a vehicle for Robert M. La Follette, Sr. to run for president in the 1924 election. It did not run candidates for other offices, and it disappeared after the election except in Wisconsin. Its name resembles the 1912 Progressive Party, which...
collapsed, he worked to bring its members into the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He was a long time member of the State Central Committee and was a frequent speaker at state conventions. Clifford served as a delegate to all four national conventions that nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
. He was the Democratic Party nominee for Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1934.
Clifford’s contributions as a member of the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors
Green Bay Packers Board of Directors
The Green Bay Packers Board of Directors is the organization that serves as the owner of record for the Green Bay Packers football club. The Packers have been a publicly owned, non-profit corporation since August 18, 1923. The corporation currently has 111,921 stockholders, who collectively own...
include:
- As one of the "Hungry FiveHungry FiveThe Hungry Five is the collective name given to five Green Bay, Wisconsin area businessmen who were instrumental in keeping the Green Bay Packers franchise in operation during its early years...
", he begged, borrowed and otherwise cajoled money to keep the team going during the many lean years. - As the team's attorney, he incorporated the team as a not-for-profit corporation, removing financial incentive for owning or moving the team.
- He established the current ownership and governance structure, helping to organize the original stock sales.
- He promoted the team throughout northern WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and the Upper Peninsula of MichiganUpper Peninsula of MichiganThe Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...
, both through his personal contacts and his connections with the railroads. - In 1949-1950, he led the fight to prevent the conversion of the organization to a "for profit" business.
Clifford died in 1952 and was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame was the first hall of fame built to honor a single professional American football team. After receiving approval from coach Vince Lombardi, William L. Brault, a Green Bay restaurateur and Packers fan, founded the Hall of Fame in 1966...
in 1991.
Resources
- Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography (1960), Madison,: State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
- Holmes, Fred L (1946). Wisconsin: stability, progress, beauty, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company.
- Names, Larry D (1987). The History of the Green Bay Packers: The Lambeau years, part one, Wautoma, Wisconsin: Angel Press.
- Torinus, John B (1982). The Packer Legend: an inside look, Neshkoro, Wis.: Laranmark Press.
- Ward, Arch (1946). The Green Bay Packers; A story of professional football, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.