Walter CruiceWalter Cruice (April 13, 1913 - December 7, 2001 (Indianapolis Star, December 9, 2001) was a professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player, assistant coach, and scout

Scout (sport)

In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 with the Green Bay Packers

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...

. He served as Chief Scout for 31 years under every head coach from Curly Lambeau

Curly Lambeau

Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...

 through Bart Starr

Bart Starr

Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....

. During his time with the team, the Packers won five league championships, including the first two Super Bowls.

Playing career

Cruice played high school football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 at Washington High School

Washington High School (Milwaukee)

Washington High School is a magnet high school located in the Sherman Park neighborhood on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of the oldest schools in the Milwaukee Public Schools system. In 2011 WHS will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding...

 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

. His high school coach was future Packers' coach Lisle Blackbourn

Lisle Blackbourn

Lisle "Liz" Blackbourn was an American football coach who was the third head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He coached the Packers from 1954 to 1957....

, for whom he would later serve under as Chief Scout from 1954-1957. He then played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 as a halfback

Halfback (American football)

A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...

 at Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 from 1934–1936 and was the team's co-captain and most valuable player as a senior. After his final season, he played in the East-West Shrine Game

East-West Shrine Game

The East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners...

.

Cruice was drafted

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

 by the Packers as the 70th pick in the 1936 NFL Draft

1936 NFL Draft

The 1936 National Football League Draft was the first draft of the National Football League. It took place on February 8, 1936 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has taken place every year since. The draft was instituted in an effort to equalize strength amongst the...

, but turned down the contract offer. Instead, he went to work for an oil company in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 and played for the Chicago Gunners, a regional professional team.

Coaching career

Cruice began his coaching career by coaching freshman football at Northwestern in 1938 and 1939 and served as an assistant coach at Naval Station Great Lakes

Naval Station Great Lakes

Naval Station Great Lakes is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near the city of North Chicago, Illinois, in Lake County. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center and Navy Recruiting District Chicago...

 in 1942 and 1943. He was hired by the Packers in 1946

1946 NFL season

The 1946 NFL season was the 27th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden resigned as NFL Commissioner and Bert Bell, co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced him...

 and worked for them through 1949

1949 NFL season

The 1949 NFL season was the 30th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins asked the league to fold his team due to financial woes, and give him a new one in New York City...

. When Curly Lambeau

Curly Lambeau

Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...

 resigned as the Packers' coach and took over the Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Cruice left with him for two seasons. Cruice returned to the Packers in 1952

1952 NFL season

The 1952 NFL season was the 33rd regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, New York Yanks owner Ted Collins sold his team back to the NFL...

 under Gene Ronzani

Gene Ronzani

Gene Ronzani was the second head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He coached the Packers from 1951 until 1953. He resigned with two games remaining in the 1953 season and was replaced on an interim basis by the tandem of Hugh Devore and Ray Scooter McLean....

 and scouted for them through the 1976 season

1976 NFL season

The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...

, Bart Starr

Bart Starr

Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....

's second as head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

. Cruice also served under Scooter McLean, Phil Bengtson

Phil Bengtson

John Phillip Bengtson was a college football player and longtime assistant coach on the collegiate and NFL levels, chiefly remembered as the successor to Vince Lombardi as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1968....

 and Dan Devine

Dan Devine

Daniel John Devine was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the University of Notre Dame from 1975 to 1980, compiling a career college football mark of...

.