Thanksgiving night will be more than the continuing of the 94-year rivalry between the Packers and Bears. It will be the game in which Brett Favre's name and retired No. 4 are officially unveiled on the north facade at Lambeau Field.
Favre's number will be retired July 18 at a Packers Hall of Fame induction banquet. But it's four months later when Favre will be honored at halftime and join the names and numbers of Reggie White (No. 92), Bart Starr (No. 15), Ray Nitschke (No. 66), Don Hutson (No. 14) and Tony Canadeo (No. 3) on the facade.
"It will be an incredible honor to be in Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving night with Packers fans and have my name and number placed among the greatest players in Packers history," Favre said in a statement. "With the great history and tradition of the Packers-Bears rivalry, and remembering the great matchups we had during my career, it seems only fitting to have Chicago as the opponent."
Favre had a 22-10 record in 32 career starts with the Packers against Chicago.
Favre won't be the only Packers legend honored at halftime of a game in 2015. Former general manager Ron Wolf will have his name unveiled on Lambeau Field's east side during the Nov. 15 game against Detroit. Wolf will be enshrined as a Pro Football Hall of Famer in August.
"The Packers are fortunate to have had many great players and general managers in our storied history," Packers CEO / president Mark Murphy said in a statement. "You would be hard pressed, though, to name any that have had a bigger impact on the organization than Brett Favre and Ron Wolf. It is fitting that they will be honored in the same season, since they teamed together to return winning football to the Packers in the '90s. We're looking forward to two very memorable ceremonies to honor these men for their accomplishments."
It was Wolf who traded for Favre in 1992 and helped turn around the fortunes of the Green Bay franchise.
"To be elevated and officially enshrined in football's most glorious cathedral will put an exclamation point on my pro football career," Wolf said. "It is an honor to be included alongside those greats that made the Green Bay Packers so unique in NFL history."
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