Alumni update: Syd Kitson, Alan Veingrad
A couple of former Packers linemen were out and about at tailgate parties before Sunday's game against Washington at Lambeau Field.
Bob writes from the Twin Cities:
"We got to tailgate with a Packer alumni from the early 80’s. ... Syd Kitson works with a friend of a friend, and he was in town for a game at Lambeau for the first time since he left the Packers. Was a lot of fun. Terrific guy. He roomed with Larry McCarren. He had some terrific stories (about) Bart Starr."
That's Kitson on the left, standing with Mike Steffen, the president of Bob's group -- the Grassy Knoll Tailgators Association. The group has a bunch of folks from the Wausau area and some Wisconsin expatriates.
Kitson, 49, a real estate developer in Florida, played in 49 games for the Packers from 1980 to 1984.
Bob also says: "His best story of the day was about draft day back when he was selected (in 1980). Three players at Wake Forest were expected to go pretty high in the draft. It wasn’t like it is now with all of the ESPN TV coverage. They were in a room at Wake Forest, and Syd was expected to go the first day. They had no idea of where the draft picks were at the time. One of his buddies called the room and claimed to be Chuck Noll, from Pittsburgh, said a few things and then burst out laughing. A while later, he got another call claiming to be another coach -- same thing. Finally, when the real deal came -- Bart Starr -- Syd had to be convinced to take the call, that it really was Coach Starr. It turns out that Syd grew up in New Jersey and was always a Packers fan. He also calls Bart Starr the finest human being he’s ever met."
Also in town: Alan Veingrad, who co-hosted a tailgate party for a group of 10 Orthodox Jews and their sons. They dined on kosher meats and said morning prayers, then most of them went to the game.
Veingrad, 44, lives in Florida and spends some of his time speaking about his faith. That's Veingrad at the center of this photo, which was posted at Chabad.org News.
Veingrad played in 59 games for the Packers from 1986 to 1990.
-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com
Bob writes from the Twin Cities:
"We got to tailgate with a Packer alumni from the early 80’s. ... Syd Kitson works with a friend of a friend, and he was in town for a game at Lambeau for the first time since he left the Packers. Was a lot of fun. Terrific guy. He roomed with Larry McCarren. He had some terrific stories (about) Bart Starr."
That's Kitson on the left, standing with Mike Steffen, the president of Bob's group -- the Grassy Knoll Tailgators Association. The group has a bunch of folks from the Wausau area and some Wisconsin expatriates.Kitson, 49, a real estate developer in Florida, played in 49 games for the Packers from 1980 to 1984.
Bob also says: "His best story of the day was about draft day back when he was selected (in 1980). Three players at Wake Forest were expected to go pretty high in the draft. It wasn’t like it is now with all of the ESPN TV coverage. They were in a room at Wake Forest, and Syd was expected to go the first day. They had no idea of where the draft picks were at the time. One of his buddies called the room and claimed to be Chuck Noll, from Pittsburgh, said a few things and then burst out laughing. A while later, he got another call claiming to be another coach -- same thing. Finally, when the real deal came -- Bart Starr -- Syd had to be convinced to take the call, that it really was Coach Starr. It turns out that Syd grew up in New Jersey and was always a Packers fan. He also calls Bart Starr the finest human being he’s ever met."
Also in town: Alan Veingrad, who co-hosted a tailgate party for a group of 10 Orthodox Jews and their sons. They dined on kosher meats and said morning prayers, then most of them went to the game.
Veingrad, 44, lives in Florida and spends some of his time speaking about his faith. That's Veingrad at the center of this photo, which was posted at Chabad.org News.Veingrad played in 59 games for the Packers from 1986 to 1990.
-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at
8:18 AM
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