Former Packers great Whittenton, 78, passes away

By foxsports
Published

Jesse Whittenton, once a fixture on Vince Lombardi's Green Bay defenses, passed away Monday at age 78, according to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. The cause of death has not yet been announced, though Whittenton had suffered from Alzheimer's Disease in recent years.

Whittenton was a standout cornerback for the Packers in the early 1960s, a run that included NFL championships in 1961 and ‘62. He had 20 interceptions during seven seasons with Green Bay.

Whittenton played for the Packers from 1958-64 after spending his first two years with the Los Angeles Rams. The 1960 season was arguably his best in Green Bay, as he led the club with six interceptions. He earned Pro Bowl accolades in 1961 and 1963 and was an All-Pro in 1961.

Whittenton's most memorable moment with Green Bay may have been against the New York Giants in a 1961 playoff game, when he stole the ball from running back Alex Webster to set up a key Packers score.

Later, in the 1980s, Whittenton's golf skills briefly earned him a spot on the Senior PGA Tour, after he had purchased a golf course in Horizon City, Texas.

Whittenton was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1976. 

"He's going to be terribly missed," Rich Fercy, who runs the Packers Hall of Fame website, told FOXSportsWisconsin.com. "The Lombardi guys were tremendous from the standpoint that they were accessible in public, and always happy to pose for a picture or sign an autograph, and Jesse was no different.

"He was just a tremendous natural athlete. He was one of those larger-than-life characters."