Bill Lueck

Hard core high school football fans who follow the history of the sport in their specific states know that some schools churn out collegiate and professional football players on a regular basis while others struggle to achieve sporadic winning records. The athletic tradition at Agua Fria High School in Avondale, Arizona, a thirty mile jaunt from downtown Phoenix, usually recognizes NFL great Randall McDaniel as the best player to come from the Agua Fria Owl program. However it was the earlier, 1963 team that posted a 7-2 mark and outstanding statistics that put the football program among the best in the state. Led by All State two way tackle Bill Lueck who cleared the way for his younger brother fullback Fred Lueck, and All State quarterback and future NFL special teams fanatic Rusty Tillman, the ’63 verstion of the red and gray clad Owls caught the attention of the entire state.

Bill Lueck (71)

Unfortunately, Lueck’s college career at the University Of Arizona was not as rewarding. Playing for Head Coach Jim LaRue his first two seasons and then finishing his varsity career under new mentor Darrell Mudra, three consecutive three-victory seasons did not bring the team rewards that Lueck had known at Agua Fina. Lueck’s individual career was perhaps reflective of what he would find later with the Green Bay Packers. While his own efforts always received high ratings from peers and observers alike, the overall team win-loss record did not deliver the satisfaction that a dedicated athlete seeks.

Lueck (62), Gillingham (68), and Dick Himes (72) were very much underrated as an offensive front through the Packers immediate post-Lombardi era

As the Packers first round choice, Lueck lived through the transition from Lombardi to Phil Bengston, and again from Bengston to Dan Devine. He had the wonderful experience of playing with some of the best of the Packers’ greats, though by 1968, most were aging. Still, as the rushing attack changed from Donny Anderson, Jim Grabowski, and Elijah Pitts to John Brockington and MacArthur Lane, the Green Bay offensive line did their job. Despite what would be termed mediocrity in the win-loss column, the Packers interior group of Ken Bowman, the recently deceased Gale Gillingham, and Lueck was consistently effective in paving the way for a rushing attack that remained respected and in some seasons, feared. At 6’3” and 250 pounds, the quiet, steady Lueck epitomized the understated comportment of the offensive linemen of his era. His seven years with the Packers and final season with the Eagles left a legacy that fit the descriptions given to him throughout his entire career: “solid,” “steady,” and “very good at all phases of the game.” With brothers that played the game and a family steeped in the tradition of dairy farming, Lueck’s work ethic made him very much an unsung but necessary component to any success the Packers enjoyed from 1968 through the 1974 season. Because our staff at HELMET HUT recognizes the sterling contributions of players like Lueck as much as those with instant name recognition and huge statistical numbers, we were thrilled to hear from him recently.

Sticking one’s face into Dick Butkus will weaken the face mask clips on anyone’s helmet!

Bill Lueck’s brief note read, “I have 2 of my Green Packer helmets from the 60's and 70's that need the grey clips to attach the face mask. The old ones have broken.” That they were after so many decades, “broken” was no surprise.

None of the plastics from those years had UV protection and thus become brittle with age. As almost every helmet is picked up by the face mask the clips are often the first part of the helmet to need replacement. Needless to say, it was our great pleasure to provide the clips to the masks for Mr. Lueck so that his keepsakes and reflections of what was a very good and solid pro career, could be preserved. We wanted his helmets to be in the best condition possible, almost as much as Bill Lueck did!