Cliff Christl, sportswriter

Cliff Christl worked as a sportswriter for four Wisconsin newspapers during a career that spanned 36 years. And much of his time was spent writing about the Green Bay Packers.

A native of Green Bay, Christl grew up following the Lombardi Packers and started covering the team on a regular basis in 1974. He is one of 40-plus media members nationwide who serves on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, and he’s also a member of the Packers Hall of Fame selection committee. In addition, he has authored or co-authored three books about the Packers: A Championship Team: The Packers and St. Norbert College in the Lombardi Years; Mudbaths & Bloodbaths: The Inside Story of the Bears-Packers Rivalry; and The Twenty-Five Greatest Moments in Lambeau Field History.

Christl began his career at the Manitowoc Herald-Times before spending close to 16 years at the Green Bay Press-Gazette and 20 at The Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He won numerous awards for his work, including being named sportswriter of the year in Wisconsin seven times. Twice, in 1999 and 2001, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association honored him in Salisbury, N.C., for writing the best national sports story. Three times in the 1990s, he placed in the enterprise reporting category in the Associated Press Sports Editors national writing contest. He also won two Milwaukee Press Club awards for best state sports story and a Wisconsin Newspaper Association award for best state sports column.

Christl was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a “friend of basketball” in 2006 and was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in a special citation category in 2007. In 2009, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award.

 Christl’s latest venture was spearheading the effort to create the Packers Heritage Trail, which will include 22 stops and was patterned after The Freedom Trail in Boston. The Packers Heritage Trail should be finished in mid-June following the installation of 22 bronze plaques. One of the sites on the Trail will be St. Norbert College, home of the Packers’ training camp since 1958.