Bob Dilweg is the son of a legendary National Football League (NFL) Green Bay Packer offensive and defensive end and the father of a former NFL Green Bay Packer quarterback.
“Clearly, my father’s athletic gene missed me. But I must have passed it on while it lay dormant in me.”
At eighty-five years old, Dilweg is self-deprecating about his own athletic talent. But he is unabashedly proud and vocal about the accomplishments of his family. In particular, Bob Dilweg has led the charge to have his father, LaVern “Lavvie” Dilweg, an NFL legend in the 1920s and 1930s, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
It is a journey that has required pain-staking research, diplomatic delicacy, hard-nosed force, single-minded dedication, eternal optimism and a lot of faith. And more than anything, this is a journey has required incredible resilience.
But through all the rejection, all the false hopes, all the highs and all the lows, Bob Dilweg has never lost the faith.
“I am an optimist by nature. And I believe my father will get in because he deserves to get in.”
Bob Dilweg has long been pounding the drum to make the case for his father. But now the whole world is listening.
As part of the Centennial Anniversary of the NFL, the Hall of Fame Committee just approved a one-time proposal to expand the number of Hall of Fame inductees in the 2020 Class. This would include an unprecedented number (ten) of “senior” players (those who have been retired for more than twenty-five years.) This approval finally addresses the ranks of highly qualified senior candidates who have been forgotten, ignored or overlooked in the modern era. Lavvie Dilweg would be at the top of that list.
But this is a story that is bigger than football, and records and athletic accomplishments. This is a story of love, dedication and perseverance. This is a story of breaking down brick walls to honor the family.
The Case for Lavvie Dilweg
Lavvie Dilweg was a three-sport athlete at Marquette University (basketball, track and field, and football) and an All-American football end who played in the very first East-West Shrine game in 1925. Upon graduation, he played a year of professional football for the Milwaukee Badgers (until they folded) and signed with the Green Bay Packers in 1927.
From 1927 until his retirement 1934, Lavvie Dilweg was the greatest two-way player in the the NFL and universally considered the greatest end in NFL history at that time. A ferocious blocker, he also caught twelve career touchdown passes (an astonishing number in the run-heavy old NFL days) to go with a (then) NFL record 27 career interceptions. He was named All-Pro in eight of his nine seasons and a unanimous choice in four of those seasons. He also led the Green Bay Packers to three straight NFL titles (1929-31) on a team that was at the height of its dynasty.
As if that weren’t enough, Lavvie Dilweg was one of eleven players selected to the NFL’s “All-1920s” first-team, along with fellow legends Red Grange, Bronco Nagurski, George Halas and Jim Thorpe. He remains the only member of this team NOT in the Hall of Fame.
But beyond the stats, Lavvie’s peers have gone out of their way to lavish praise on him over the years. Red Grange, the Hall of Fame running back for the Chicago Bears, called Dilweg “the greatest end who ever brought me down”. And Bronco Nagurski, the Hall of Fame fullback named Dilweg as “one of the top five players in the history of the NFL.”
But despite the individual accomplishments and records, the NFL championships and the peer recognition, Lavvie Dilweg remains on the sidelines of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“I can’t explain it. Every year that goes by is another one removed from my dad’s playing days. There aren’t many people left who remember the incredible impact he had on professional football.”
One popular notion is that legendary Packers tight end Don Hutson overshadowed Dilweg. Hutson took over for the retired Dilweg at a time when there was a sea change in the NFL. Teams moved to more of a passing philosophy and Hutson was at the forefront of that transformation. He smashed every receiving mark in the Green Bay and NFL record books.
“My dad and Don Hutson were good friends. In fact, one of my first memories is driving with both of them in the car after a big Green Bay win. Don Hutson had just received the game ball and offered it to me right there in the car. But I didn’t accept it.”
And why not?
“The football was full of blood and dirt. I didn’t want to get that all over me!”
But that was Bob Dilweg as a little boy. Today, Bob Dilweg is not afraid of anything. He embraces the quest of educating the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the world on the candidacy of his father. And he isn’t afraid of a little blood and dirt on the journey to Canton, Ohio!
The Quest Begins
Bob Dilweg vividly remembers the excitement in his father’s eyes when he heard he was getting into the Hall of Fame.
And then he found out it was the Wisconsin Hall of Fame, not the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“It was still an honor. But I could tell he was disappointed. Right then, I knew how much Canton, Ohio meant to him.”
Lavvie Dilweg died the following year in 1968 at the age of 64, just two days after the famed “Ice Bowl” game at Green Bay.
Lavvie wouldn’t have the opportunity to put on the distinctive gold jacket in his lifetime.
“But I thought it was only a matter of time before they voted him in.”
Fifty-one years later, the Dilweg Family is still waiting.
It’s All About Family
Bob Dilweg has been described as the kind of guy who would break through a brick wall for his teammates. He wasn’t blessed with incredible athletic talent. But he made up for it with desire.
As such, he is perfectly suited to carry on his father’s legacy. Bob has been been breaking down brick walls in pursuit of his Hall of Fame quest since he first saw the look of disappointment in his dad’s eyes.
But two events catapulted this mission into an even higher gear.
The first was an 1986 article on Lavvie Dilweg entitled “The Best End We Ever Forgot”.
“That really got me thinking that this wasn’t going to happen by itself. I had to be proactive. I had to do something!”
And so Bob started actively submitting articles, statistics, and personal accounts into the Hall of Fame Committee. Every year without fail.
“Everyone needs a champion. And I didn’t want to disappoint my dad.”
The second event had to do with legacy.
Bob’s son, Anthony, was a standout quarterback at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD. But he was a borderline college prospect before he had a monster game in an upset win over local powerhouse Springbrook High School, coached by the legendary Bob Milloy.
“Bob Milloy told the papers that his team was beaten by a college quarterback that day. And that really put Anthony on the map.”
Anthony went on to become the Maryland Player of the Year and accepted a full scholarship to play football for Duke University, where he starred as a quarterback and punter for Coach Steve Spurrier.
In the 1989 NFL draft, Anthony Dilweg was selected in the 3rd round by none other than the Green Bay Packers!
“He had a one in thirty-two shot of going to the Packers. That was a great coincidence.”
Stories of the Dilweg legacy re-surfaced in Green Bay. And it helped cement the significance of Lavvie’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame.
“I realized that it was so important to honor the memories of the family for our children and grandchildren. The NFL was all about family. And so was the Hall of Fame for the Dilweg Family”
It was time to break down a few more brick walls.
The Unbreakable Bonds
Bob Dilweg beams when talks about his three daughters, Robin, Suzanne and Amy and his son, Anthony. They each have created a legacy in their own way. And, in addition to his children, Bob can rattle off the just about every personal detail of his ten grandchildren. He is deeply involved in all of their lives.
Family members acknowledge the entire process of rallying for the Hall of Fame has provided a common goal and mission for the Dilweg Family to bond. And the pursuit has provided Bob with the focus and purpose to keep him mentally sharp and personally connected.
When there is so much effort and raw emotion poured into a journey, sometimes a “quest” can turn into an “obsession”. And that obsession can cause bitterness and negativity. But Bob Dilweg’s campaign for his father Lavvie has had the opposite effect on Bob and The Dilweg Family.
“I’ve felt so many times he was close to getting in. Been let down every time. But I remain optimistic. This really could be the year.”
Optimism is important in this type of endeavor. But so is a healthy perspective.
“If my father doesn’t get in this year, of course I will be disappointed. But I look at the success and togetherness of my children and grandchildren, and that is what really matters.”
It is not easy to maintain this healthy outlook during such an emotional process. But that doesn’t mean Bob will give up easily on his mission.
“I will never stop. As long as I am breathing, I will never stop.”
And what if Lavvie Dilweg DOES get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year?
“I couldn’t even begin to put it into words. So many years of my life. The whole family. For all of the old NFL legends, it would just mean SO much!”
What Does it Mean for Us?
Bob Dilweg’s decades-long quest to have his father, Lavvie Dilweg, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame holds lessons for all us.
How many of us maintain optimism in the face of countless defeats?
How many of us are proactive rather sitting back and waiting for something to happen?
How many of us maintain a healthy perspective in the midst of a personal quest?
How many of have the focus and desire to break through brick walls in the pursuit of our goals and dreams?
It’s all about family and legacy. And Bob Dilweg will never stop.
On Saturday, February 1st, 2020, the NFL will announce their next Class for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And the world may soon find out what is on the other side of that brick wall.