Vince Lombardi

On September 3, 1970, Vince Lombardi, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach with Green Bay Packers, NFL Coach of the Year and Super Bowl champion coach, died at the age of 57. An excerpt from the article:

"Esteemed Pro Coach
Lombardi's five seasons in New York, which included a league title in 1956, only elevated his status and his value to NFL owners. In 1959, Lombardi changed employers again, when he signed a five-year deal to head up the Green Bay Packers.

Under Lombardi's tight-fisted leadership, the struggling Packers were transformed into hard-nosed winners: Over the course of his career with the team, he led the club to a 98-30-4 record and five championships, including three straight titles, from 1965 to 1967. The team never suffered a losing season under the Hall of Fame coach.

Final Years and Death
After retiring from coaching following the 1967 season and working strictly as the Packers' general manager, Lombardi left Green Bay in 1969 to return to the field as the head coach of the Washington Redskins. With his new franchise, Lombardi proved to have his old touch, leading the club to its first winning record in 14 years.

A second year with the Redskins, though, never materialized for Lombardi. In the summer of 1970, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of colon cancer. He died nearly two months later, on September 3, 1970.

As a tribute, the NFL's Super Bowl trophy was named in his honor shortly after his passing. In 1971 the late coach was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame."