Gene Ronzani Eugene A . " Gene " Ronzani ( March 28 , 1909 – September 12 , 1975 ) was a professional football player and coach in the National Football League . He was the second head coach of the Green Bay Packers , from 1950 to 1953 , and resigned with two games remaining in the 1953 season . A three - sport athlete at Marquette University , Ronzani earned nine varsity letters in college and was a backfield player in the NFL with the Chicago Bears for six seasons in the 1930s and two more in the mid - 1940s . Early years . Born and raised in Iron Mountain , Michigan in the state ' s Upper Peninsula , Ronzani ' s parents immigrated from Italy ; his father Giovanni ( John ) arrived in 1898 and worked as miner and was naturalized in 1904 . He was then able to send for his wife in Italy , Caterina Broglio Ronzani ( Catherine ) , and their two oldest siblings . Five more children were born in Michigan , Gene was the fifth of the seven . He graduated from Iron Mountain High School in 1929 , just across the state border with Wisconsin . Following two older brothers , he headed south to Milwaukee and enrolled at Marquette University . Rare athlete at Marquette . Gene " Tuffy " Ronzani was a chief contributor to Marquette sports in the early 1930s as the first of two MU nine - letter athletes . He was born in Iron Mountain , a small mining town in Michigan ' s upper peninsula ( on the Wisconsin border ) and entered Marquette in the fall of 1929 , following his two brothers Anthony and David Ronzani of a first generation Italian family . Gene went out for freshman football , track and basketball and made all three varsity teams his sophomore year . " I wasn ' t interested in individual records , " he once mentioned . " What good does it do if you score all the points and the team loses ? Why , I can ' t even remember my records . " But his records were history . In football under Coach Frank Murray , the 1930 team marched to a nine game undefeated season under the sparkling leadership of Ronzani and John Sisk . tuffy played either quarterback or fullback on offense and safety or linebacker on defense . He and Sisk both were to become All - Americans . Ronzani was second in scoring his sophomore year . During Ronzani ' s junior year the Hilltoppers ( as Marquette teams were called then ) compiled an 8 - 1 record . As a senior , he led the gridders to a 5 - 3 - 1 record , not fully indicative of the hard fought games and near misses . While Ronzani was on the basketball squad the cagers did not suffer a losing season . Marquette garnered records of 11 - 7 , 11 - 8 and 14 - 3 under Coach Bill Shandler . The Tribune said , " Ronzani particularly had a rollicking time of it , as he roamed all over the floor , scrambling anyone in his path and usually coming up with the ball in the wildest sort of melee . " In track , Ronzani under Coach Con Jennings , was a consistent team man in shotput and javeline . He competed with Marquette ' s 1932 Central Collegiate champions , and also tried out for the US Olympic team in the Spring of 1932 . After graduation Tuffy joined the Chicago Bears ' National Football league championship drive . After Ronzani ' s playing days , he joined the Bear coaching staff and served in a coaching position under The Coach and Bear owner George " Papa Bear " Halas until 1950 . In 1950 he was hired as head coach and General Manager of the Green Bay Packers . Tuffy introduced the first Black American player into the Packer lineup as Green Bay ' s coach , a move he was widely criticized for at the time . As head coach and General Manager , Ronzani ' s first game was against the Detroit Lions at aging City Stadium in Green Bay . The 22 , 096 fans were first introduced to new green and gold uniforms . Both jerseys and pants were kelly green with gold numbers on the tops , two gold stripes around the upper sleeves , and a one inch gold stripe down the side of each leg . Ronzani ' s football genius originated such formations as the double - wing , the shotgun offenses and the umbrella defense . It is now believed that many of his formations were his way of confusing his good friend and then arch - rival George Halas . Both coaches knew all too well each other ' s onfield football tactics . In tribute to his fantastic career at Marquette , a Marquette Tribune story in 1932 honored him saying that " Ronzani easily finds a place for himself among Marquette ' s immortals . " Pro playing career . Ronzani entered the NFL three years before the first NFL Draft and played in the backfield for the Chicago Bears from 1933 to 1938 . At age 35 , he returned to the Bears during World War II in 1944 as a replacement for quarterback Sid Luckman , and also played in 1945 . Coaching career . Minor league . In 1939 , Bears ' owner George Halas purchased the Newark Tornadoes of the American Association and renamed them the " Newark Bears . " Ronzani was named the head coach of the New Jersey team and stayed for three years , until the league suspended play before the 1942 season . The American Association returned in 1946 as the " American Football League , " and the minor league Bears moved from Newark to Akron , Ohio , where Ronzani resumed his duties as head coach . Notre Dame . Ronzani was hired as the backfield coach at Notre Dame in March 1945 , but he left in early September to rejoin the Bears as a player , weeks before the opener in late September . Chicago Bears . Starting in 1947 , Ronzani was brought up to the parent NFL club in Chicago . He was the backfield coach for three seasons under owner and head coach Halas . Green Bay Packers . Ronzani became only the second head coach of the Green Bay Packers in February 1950 , following the resignation of founder Curly Lambeau . After two 3 – 9 seasons in 1950 and 1951 , the Packers were 6 – 3 in 1952 , but finished at . 500 with three straight losses . In January 1953 , Ronzani agreed to a second three - year contract offered by the executive committee . The 1953 season held promise , but the Packers had a 2 – 6 – 1 record entering the Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit , in which they were defeated 34 – 15 on national television , outscored 27 – 0 in the second half . Ronzani resigned the next day with two games remaining and received a $ 7 , 500 severance . The Packers lost all eight games with the Lions in his four seasons as head coach , while Detroit won the NFL title in both 1952 and 1953 . Packer assistant coaches Hugh Devore and Ray McLean shared the interim head coaching duties in final two games in California , both losses , and Green Bay ended 1953 at 2 – 9 – 1 , last in the Western Conference . Ronzani was present in the press box at the San Francisco game . Ronzani ' s legacy with the Packers includes an emphasis on green as a primary team color , having discarded his predecessor Curly Lambeau ' s blue - and - gold uniforms : During the December 1952 game against the Rams in Los Angeles , the Packers arrived with only their gold jerseys , similar in shade to what the Rams normally wore at home . Both teams wore gold and the Rams played the game under protest ; with a strong second half Los Angeles won by 18 points . Kelly green uniforms were worn in the first game of the 1950 season ; Vince Lombardi is credited with introducing the present shade of dark green in 1959 . Pittsburgh Steelers . Ronzani was hired in March 1954 as the backfield coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers , under head coach Joe Bach . After three straight home defeats to open the pre - season , the third a 36 – 14 loss to the lowly Packers , Bach resigned during training camp in late August . He was succeeded by line coach Walt Kiesling , a previous head coach with the team . The Steelers won four of five to open the 1954 regular season , but then lost six of the final seven and finished at 5 – 7 , fourth in the Eastern Conference . With the fast start , attendance in Pittsburgh was high and the season was profitable ; days before the final game , Kiesling was rewarded by owner Art Rooney with a new two - year contract , estimated at $ 12 , 000 per year . Less than two weeks after the final game , Ronzani was encouraged by Rooney to resign . Death . Ronzani had heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic in 1968 , and died in 1975 at age 66 . He was buried at Cemetery Park in Iron Mountain .