The Green and Gold Standard

Overview

From Green Bay to Canton, a comprehensive and insightful autobiography from a Packers fan favorite

In Green Bay, football isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life.

At a moment when professional sports are defined by billionaire owners, stadium subsidies, and the growing influence of private capital, the Green Bay Packers remain a striking anomaly. The NFL’s oldest team and its winningest franchise is also the only major professional sports organization owned entirely by its fans. More than half a million shareholders around the world claim a piece of the Green and Gold, transforming a small Midwestern town into the epicenter of one of the most passionate and far-reaching fan communities in sports.

The Green and Gold Standard: A People’s History of the Green Bay Packers traces how this small-market, nonprofit, publicly owned franchise became one of the most successful and widely admired teams in North America. From Curly Lambeau’s first snap under center at Hagemeister Park in 1919 to the nascent Jordan Love era, Thomas M. Nelson offers the first comprehensive account of the Packers as both a football dynasty and a civic institution.

Beyond the playing field, it is the story of a fan base that bridges politics, generations, and geography—and a case study in how local values and democratic stewardship can endure in a multibillion-dollar industry.

Reviews

“A complete history of the team… Not just an exciting read, but an important one.”

—Bob Harlan, Packers president and CEO (1989–2008)

“Thomas Nelson expertly weaves the unique story of the Green Bay Packers through the experiences of the people who lead, played for, and followed this hallowed franchise from the beginning. The Green and Gold Standard is a new and fun take on the history of the people’s team.”

—Wayne Larrivee, play-by-play announcer, Packers Radio Network

“Tom Nelson approached this book like a football staff preparing for a championship game. No detail was overlooked, and the result was a testimony to the people who made a small-town team into the envy of professional sports.”

—Bill Jartz, Lambeau Field public address announcer; anchor, WBAY-TV (1998–2025)

“Thomas Nelson absolutely ‘Carries the G’ with this unique perspective on the history of the Green and Gold. A must-have for any Green Bay Packers fan.”

—Aaron Nagler, cofounder of Cheesehead TV

“I saw it firsthand for almost a decade: the way a community, a city, a region, a state, a vast Packer Nation wrap themselves around a football team, unlike anywhere else in professional sports. In a town of barely 100,000 people, the Packers not only survive, but thrive. It is one of the greatest stories in sports.”

—Andrew Brandt, Packers vice president (1999–2008) and author of Smarter About Sports: My Life Navigating Athletes, Agents, Media, and the Business of the NFL

“I grew up in Wisconsin. The Packers weren’t just a team—they were a civic religion, a shared identity, proof that where you come from still matters. The Packers shouldn’t work: smallest market, no billionaire owner, a model the NFL tried to stamp out. And yet—more titles than anyone. That’s the point. Nelson makes a clear, compelling case that Green Bay’s success isn’t a fluke. It’s a blueprint: community over ego, shared ownership over concentrated power, roots over flash. As a Wisconsin native—and lifelong fan—this one hit home. It reminded me why the Packers matter, and why they always will.”

—Jim VandeHei, cofounder and CEO, Axios; cofounder and former CEO, Politico

“A true history of the Packers, full of the kinds of trivia and facts that our uncle, Lee Remmel, used to tell wherever he went. Tom faithfully captures the spirit of the team in all its eras and skillfully weaves together connected institutions like the Press-Gazette and the history and more about Green Bay and the state of Wisconsin. Lee would be proud.”

—Rosemary Bieker, TQ Berg, Ellen Batchelor, and other nieces and nephew of Lee Remmel, vice president and team historian (1974–2007) and book dedicatee

“Tom Nelson brings the same energy, curiosity, and deep commitment to community that I’ve seen firsthand over the years to The Green and Gold Standard. From the opening story of a young fan discovering the Packers through a janitor’s season tickets, Tom makes clear that this is a book about people as much as football. He captures the essential aspect of the franchise, that its success has always rested on ordinary individuals who believed in it and sustained it together as a community. It is no small accomplishment to take on a project of this scope while serving the public, and Tom writes with both rigor and heart.”

—Sachin Shivaram, Green Bay Packers board member

“Tom Nelson captures the history and excitement of the Green Bay Packer franchise.”

—Peggy Kostelnik, wife of Ron Kostelnik, Packers Hall of Fame inductee (DT, 1961–68)

“Tom Nelson, a unique political leader, gets regular folks in small Wisconsin cities and towns. That’s why he gets the Packers. The Green and Gold Standard should be required reading for all political writers covering Wisconsin.”

—Bill Kaplan, columnist, Wisconsin State Journal (1995–2009)

“I loved this well-written, well-researched book. It’s a perfect anthology for any Packers fan, of course. It’s also a great resource for anyone curious about how a small city like Green Bay rose to global prominence and became a defining member of the NFL.”

—Laura Kostelnik Biskupic, coauthor of Lambeau Ladies—Stories of the Boundary-Breaking Women Behind Lombardi’s Packers and cohost of the Lambeau Ladies podcast

Author Biography

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