Bob Harlan, a Des Moines native who became one of the most influential executives in Green Bay Packers history, died March 5 at age 89.
Harlan grew up in Des Moines and attended Dowling High School when it was an all-boys school. He was inducted to the Des Moines Sunday Register’s Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
“The Packers family was saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Harlan,” Packers president and CEO Ed Policy said in a release. “Bob was a visionary leader whose impact on the franchise was transformational. From his inspired hiring of Ron Wolf to turn around the club’s on-field fortunes to his tireless work to redevelop Lambeau Field, Bob restored the Packers to competitive excellence during his tenure and helped ensure our unique and treasured flagship NFL franchise was on sound footing for sustained generational success.”
Harlan dreamed of becoming a sportswriter for The Des Moines Register, working summers at the newspaper, but he ended up having a career with pro teams instead.
Harlan attended Marquette University in Milwaukee. He served as the school’s sports information director for six years before getting a job with the St. Louis Cardinals. With the Redbirds he served as community relations director and public relations director.
He went to the Packers in 1971, becoming the team’s first non-Green Bay native to serve as president 19 years later.
Green Bay had struggled in the 1970s and 1980s. Harlan returned the team to Super Bowl champion status.
Harlan’s duties with the Packers increased year to year until he was named president and CEO on June 5, 1989. His first significant move was to fire Tom Braatz in mid-season in 1991 and hire Ron Wolf as general manager and undisputed head of football operations.
Wolf hired Mike Holmgren as coach, traded for Brett Favre and signed free agent Reggie White.
The team won a Super Bowl in 1997 and lost one in ’98. The Packers were 261-154-1, a 63% winning percentage, from 1992-2017.
Tom Murphy, vice president and former archivist for the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, said Harlan would be near the top of his list for most influential Packers executives.
“Bob Harlan and Ron Wolf have to be right up there with Lambeau and Lombardi,” he said. “I don’t know why he’s not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
Murphy said Harlan’s hiring of Wolf and his work in getting the sales tax passed for the 2003 renovation of Lambeau Field were among the most important actions in franchise history.
Harlan was born on Sept. 9, 1936. His father, Sy Harlan, was the president of a trucking company, but died at age 56. Harlan said his mother, Alice, was a huge influence in his life because his dad traveled a lot and she was the one guiding his upbringing.
Harlan is survived by his wife, Madeline, and three son, Kevin, Mike and Bryan and their families. Kevin is an award-winning sports broadcaster, and granddaughter Olivia Harlan Dekker is a college and NFL reporter.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines native Bob Harlan, influential Packers executive, dies at 89
Reporting by Des Moines Register and Green Bay Press-Gazette, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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