The International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) presented Green Bay, WI. native Cliff Christl with its Legacy Award during its annual conference hosted by the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame September 27-29, 2022.
Cliff Christl has spent the bulk of his professional life writing about and researching the Packers. He has served as Packers team historian since 2014, having spent 36 years as a sportswriter covering the team for four different Wisconsin newspapers.
A native of Green Bay, he worked for 14 months at the Manitowoc Herald-Times before spending close to 16 years at the Green Bay Press-Gazette and 20 years at The Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Christl served on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee from 2002 to 2014 and has been a member of the Packers Hall of Fame selection committee since 2007. He has authored or co-authored seven other books, mostly about the Packers and pro football. He also spearheaded the effort to create the Packers Heritage Trail with its 25 historical sites and impressive downtown plaza, which recounts the story of the Packers’ rich history from Lambeau to Lombardi. He recently published The Greatest Story in Sports, a four-volume definitive history of the Green Bay Packers.
“The Packers are proud to see Cliff honored with the Legacy Award from the International Sports Heritage Association,” said Aaron Popkey, director of public affairs for the Packers. “Cliff’s work as a historian has been incredibly valuable to the organization. His hard work and dedication to capturing our history thoroughly and accurately are unmatched. We’re pleased to celebrate his contributions to sports heritage as a whole.”