Gregg, Forrest (Alvin Forrest)
Football
b. Oct. 18, 1933, Birthright, TX
Called by Vince Lombardi "the finest player I ever coached," Gregg was a two-way tackle at Southern Methodist University and expected to play defense with the Green Bay Packers when he joined them in 1956, but the Packers put him on offense.
Small for an offensive tackle at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Gregg used intelligence and intensive study of game films to learn how to handle larger defensive ends by anticipating their moves. His speed made it possible for the Packers to design some plays that called for a tackle, rather than a guard, to pull out and lead interference, which was very unusual at the time.
Because of injuries, Gregg played extensively at guard in 1961 and 1965. He was named an All-Pro eight consecutive years, 1960 through 1967. In 1965, United Press International named him an All-Pro tackle and he was a guard on the Associated Press All-Pro team.
Gregg retired after the 1970 season but joined the Dallas Cowboys after that team suffered a series of injuries to offensive linemen. Having won two Super Bowl rings with the Packers, Gregg won a third with Dallas before retiring for good.
Gregg became head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1975 and was fired with one game remaining in the 1977 season after compiling an 18-23 record.
In 1979, Gregg coached the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The following year, he took over the Cincinnati Bengals. He was named AFC coach of the year in 1981, when he took the Bengals to the Super Bowl, where they lost 26-21 to the San Francisco 49ers. He had a 32-25 record in four seasons at Cincinnati, then returned to Green Bay as head coach in 1984.
After compiling a 25-37-1 record in four seasons, Gregg went back to Southern Methodist. The school had been banned from playing football for two seasons because of recruiting violations, so he had to rebuild the program completely. He had a 3-19 record in 1988 and 1989 and then left coaching to become the school's athletic director.
The CFL briefly expanded into the United States beginning with the 1994 season, when Gregg coached the league's Shreveport Pirates. He left that position after two losing seasons.