You don't have to hand it to them

Part of the hype leading up to last Sunday's Patriots-Jets game was the anticipation of continued animosity between Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Jets coach Eric Mangini.

The Boston Globe's Jim McCabe put together a list of 10 memorable instances in which football players and coaches expressed their disdain for traditional pregame or postgame handshakes.

The Packers figure in three of the 10 items. Imagine that.

7. Close encounter. Postgame handshake? Heck, head coaches Mike Ditka of the Bears and Forrest Gregg of the Packers nearly came to blows beneath the stands of Milwaukee County Stadium in 1984 -- and that was in an exhibition game.

8. Bear necessity. Someone once asked the Packers' Gary Knafelc if Vince Lombardi shook hands with George Halas and encouraged his players to do so at the end of a game. "Hell, no, you didn't do that kind of stuff. They were Bears. We hated them."

9. Punch lines. Asked if he ever shook George Halas's hand after a game, Green Bay coach Curly Lambeau bristled. "If I lost, I wanted to punch Halas in the nose. If he lost, Halas wanted to punch me."

Good stuff, but we must set the record straight.

See? Lombardi and Halas did shake hands, although seemingly somewhat grudgingly, after the Packers' 24-0 victory over the Bears at City Stadium on Oct. 1, 1961. It was the Packers’ first shutout of the Bears since 1935.

It's one of the pictures from today's gallery of historic Packers photos. All week, you'll see pictures from memorable Packers-Bears games.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com