Jim Ringo James Stephen " Jim " Ringo ( November 21 , 1931 – November 19 , 2007 ) was a professional American football player , a Hall of Fame center and coach . He was a ten - time Pro Bowl er during his career . Ringo grew up in Phillipsburg , New Jersey and played high school football at Phillipsburg High School . He went on to play college football at Syracuse University . Professional career . Green Bay Packers . The Packers drafted him in the seventh round of the 1953 NFL Draft out of Syracuse . Ringo was considered vastly undersized at 211 pounds . He was not , however , unfit for the role , using his outstanding quickness and excellent technique to build a 15 - year NFL career , including 11 seasons with the Packers , as one of the game ' s best centers . Ringo played for four different head coaches in his Packers tenure . In his first six seasons in Green Bay , playing under Gene Ronzani ( 1953 ) , Lisle Blackbourn ( 1954 – 57 ) and Ray " Scooter " McLean ( 1958 ) , the Packers went 20 - 50 - 2 ( . 291 ) . But Vince Lombardi ' s arrival in 1959 changed everything , and for Ringo ' s next five seasons the Packers went 50 - 15 - 1 ( . 765 ) and 2 - 1 in championship games . Ringo certainly knew individual success before the Lombardi era , attending his first of seven straight Pro Bowl s in 1957 , but he flourished under the coaching legend , earning consensus All - Pro honors from 1959 - 63 . Ringo ' s speed and mobility made him an ideal blocker for Lombardi ' s famous power sweep , and all but one of running back Jim Taylor ' s five 1 , 000 - yard seasons , including his then - record 1 , 474 - yard effort in 1962 , came with Ringo at center . Philadelphia Eagles . Ringo was a member of the Packers ' NFL Championship teams of 1961 and 1962 , but was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1964 ; the Packers went on to win three more NFL titles from 1965 - 67 . The details of Ringo ' s trade have been the subject of speculation . For years it was said that following the 1963 season , Ringo showed up in Lombardi ' s office , with an agent in tow , looking to negotiate a raise . Lombardi , according to this account , was so angered that he excused himself for five minutes only to return and announce that he had traded Ringo to the Eagles . Over the years it has been suggested that that story is more fiction than fact . In reality , Lombardi had probably been negotiating a trade for some time . The Packers also traded fullback Earl Gros and received in return linebacker Lee Roy Caffey and a first - round draft pick that they used to select fullback Donny Anderson . Still , the legend persists . Ringo , who played 126 consecutive games for the Packers from 1954 - 63 , finished out his career with the Philadelphia Eagles , attending three more Pro Bowls before retiring after the 1967 season . Coaching . He went on to work on the coaching staffs of the Los Angeles Rams , Buffalo Bills ( 2 separate engagements ) , Chicago Bears , New England Patriots and New York Jets and served as Bills head coach after the resignation of Lou Saban in 1976 , posting a 3 - 11 record . He is best known as a coach for creating the dominant Bills offensive line of the early - mid ' 70s , called the Electric Company , in support of running back O . J . Simpson . He returned to Buffalo as the Bills offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 1985 . He held the positions until his retirement after the 1988 season . Ringo was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981 . Death . Ringo died in Virginia Beach , Virginia , on November 19 , 2007 after a short illness .