Packers HOF home to our traveling exhibit

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in currently touring a traveling exhibit titled Pro Football and the American Spirit.

The popular display tells the story of professional football players and personnel who served our nation in the armed forces from World War II to Desert Storm to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The popular exhibit is currently showing at the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame which is located at Lambeau Field. It has been on display there since October. We recently extended its showing in Green Bay so that it will remain on display through the end of February.

There are more than 40 artifacts in the exhibit including Hall of Famer Art Donovan's Marine Corps uniform; the career medals of General Ernest Cheatham, the highest ranking former player; and the Cleveland Browns sideline jacket of Don Steinbrunner, one of only two NFL players to lose his life during the Vietnam War.

Another area of the well-received exhibit pays special tribute to former Arizona Cardinals safety and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman. After putting his NFL career on hold in the spring of 2002 to serve his country, Tillman tragically lost his life in Afghanistan while taking part in Operation Enduring Freedom in April 2004. Visitors to Pro Football and the American Spirit can view Tillman's Army Ranger Uniform, his playing jersey, and a maquette of a statue that is on display outside the Cardinals' home at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

New to Pro Football and the American Spirit is a football which Tillman intercepted from then-Packers quarterback Brett Favre during the second quarter of Green Bay's 49-24 victory during the Week 17 of the 1999 NFL season. After the play Tillman celebrated his pick, one of just three in his career, by punting the ball into the stands at Lambeau Field. The ball was retrieved by Mike Janse of Appleton, WI who recently donated the ball to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We immediately added the memento to the exhibit.

If you're traveling anywhere near Green Bay in the near future, you'll definitely want to make a detour and visit the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. It will be well worth your time and you'll also get a chance to take a glimpse at one of our newest artifacts.