lit a candle 4h agoMy dad used to bring up the '66 Packers every time we planted tomatoes together, said half that line crew knew more about dirt than football. Found out Vandersea gardened too, figures. 83 years, that's a good long season.
Their story
Phillip John "Phil" Vandersea was born on 25 February 1943 in Whitinsville, a village in the town of Northbridge, Massachusetts, the son of Sydney and Mildred VanderSea. He grew up alongside an older brother, Howard, and a younger brother, Mark. At Northbridge High School his athletic gifts showed early in…
Phillip John "Phil" Vandersea was born on 25 February 1943 in Whitinsville, a village in the town of Northbridge, Massachusetts, the son of Sydney and Mildred VanderSea. He grew up alongside an older brother, Howard, and a younger brother, Mark. At Northbridge High School his athletic gifts showed early in football, basketball and baseball. He graduated in 1961, and decades later he still held the school record for career two-point conversions. Northbridge inducted him into its athletic hall of fame in 1973.
He went on to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he became one of the finest fullbacks the Minutemen have produced. In 1963 he helped UMass to an 8-0-1 record, the program's only undefeated season and its second Yankee Conference title, while also serving as the team's second punter and making an interception on defense. As a senior in 1965 he rushed for 388 yards on 100 carries, scored six touchdowns and was named to the All-Yankee Conference team.
The Green Bay Packers had already chosen him as a "future" in the 16th round of the 1965 NFL Draft, 220th overall, and he signed with them in 1966. Under Vince Lombardi he scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Bart Starr in his first major training camp scrimmage, but with Jim Taylor, Allen Jacobs and first-round pick Jim Grabowski ahead of him at fullback, he was moved to linebacker. He appeared in all 14 regular-season games of 1966, including on special teams, played in the NFL Championship Game in Dallas, and on 15 January 1967 was one of 39 Packers who appeared in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, now known as Super Bowl I.
In early 1967 the New Orleans Saints selected him in their expansion draft along with Paul Hornung and Bill Curry, and he played eight games for the Saints that season. He returned to Green Bay in 1968, where he was tried at tight end, then defensive end and defensive tackle, appearing in all 14 games of 1969. Across four NFL seasons he played 46 games at five positions, as well as on special teams. After injuries cost him much of 1970 and 1971, he finished his playing career with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1972.
He then turned to coaching, serving as an assistant at the College of the Holy Cross from 1975 to 1978, a stretch capped by a 7-4 season in 1978 that included wins over Army, Air Force and Boston College. Afterwards he spent 20 years with the Massachusetts Department of Correction as a case worker, counselor, parole board liaison and community release supervisor. From 2001 to 2010 he was a charter member of the New England chapter of NFL Retired Players, serving as secretary and treasurer. He also took part in research into the long-term effects of concussions in football. UMass named him the starting fullback on its 100th anniversary All-Time Team in 1982 and inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame with the Class of 2012.
Away from football, Phil married his high school sweetheart, Sandra, and they were together for 59 years. They raised a son, Scott, and a daughter, Kathy, and later four grandchildren. His family remembered a man who loved fishing, gardening, history and reading, and who was known as a gifted storyteller.
Phil Vandersea, of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, died peacefully on Saturday, 24 October 2026, at the age of 83, following a long illness. He chose to donate his brain to the CTE research program at Boston University. His death left only nine living Packers who played in Super Bowl I. A Celebration of Life will be held on 8 November 2026 in Northborough, Massachusetts.
Biography adapted from Packers.com (Cliff Christl, 27 Oct 2026); Carr Funeral Home obituary; UMass Athletics Hall of Fame; WBAY-TV; Green Bay Press-Gazette; Wikipedia. Wikipedia ↗
Photos
2Phil Vandersea as a Green Bay Packer
by People Forever
Green Bay Packers tribute to Phil Vandersea, 1943-2026
by People Forever
My uncle said the same thing about that team, salt of the earth guys.