George Whitney Calhoun

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George Whitney Calhoun (1890–1963) was a gruff, profane sports and telegraph editor for the Green Bay Press-Gazette of Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. He was a co-founder of the Green Bay Packers with Curly Lambeau (although he rarely gets credit for it), and was the team's first publicity director.

Calhoun liked to guzzle beer, snack on limburger cheese and chew on stumpy cigars. But his favorite pastime was the Packers. Calhoun is a towering figure in the history of the club. He co-founded the team, gave them their name and solicited the money that initially kept it afloat by passing a hat during games.

Calhoun (who frequently signed his articles with his nickname "Cal"), wrote the Dope Sheet, which served as the Packers' official press release and game program from 1921 to 1924.

Honoring Calhoun, the first publicity director, the Packers are running this weekly feature as their release, which is being made available to fans exclusively on Packers.com.

In time, Calhoun became the Packers' leading ambassador. As a one-man public relations department, he endeared himself to big-city sportswriters, who, in turn, wrote nice things about the Packers and Green Bay. Calhoun won them over not only with his colorful personality, but also with the free beer he dispensed from his bathtub, wherever he was on the road.

A native of Green Bay, Calhoun served as PR director until Lambeau fired him in 1949. Reportedly, Calhoun had to read of his own firing on the wire service, as his replacement was announced. This unpopular move was one of the events that finally drove the Packers and Curly Lambeau apart.

Calhoun lived to see the second great era in Packers history. He died in 1963 at age 73.