John Des Jardins was born in Champion, a small rural crossroads outside Green Bay, and played football at Green Bay East High School where he was a classmate of Curly Lambeau. Des Jardins played for the Packers in 1919 and died Aug. 11, 1969, on the team's 50th birthday. A guard, Des Jardins played in four of the Packers' final five games that first season. At East High, Des Jardins started two years, but was declared ineligible because of his age on the eve of the East-West game his senior year. Under John Des Jardins' class picture in the 1917 East annual, it was noted, "Grit and muscle combined to make one of our football men." Under Lambeau's picture, it read: "When I get thru with athletics, I'm going out and conquer the rest of the world." In the class will, Des Jardins passed on his "quiet manner." There's at least one Packers history book that lists Jim Desjardin as playing for the Packers in 1919, but I've found no evidence that a Jim Desjardin ever played. On the other hand, I found a 1915 Press-Gazette story that said John Des Jardins was a cousin of Paul Des Jardien, an All-American football player at the University of Chicago who went on to briefly play pro football, baseball and basketball. Two of John Des Jardins' three sons were fighter pilots killed in World War II.
John Des Jardins was born in Champion, a small rural crossroads outside Green Bay, and played football at Green Bay East High School where he was a classmate of Curly Lambeau. Des Jardins played for the Packers in 1919 and died Aug. 11, 1969, on the team's 50th birthday. A guard, Des Jardins played in four of the Packers' final five games that first season. At East High, Des Jardins started two years, but was declared ineligible because of his age on the eve of the East-West game his senior year. Under John Des Jardins' class picture in the 1917 East annual, it was noted, "Grit and muscle combined to make one of our football men." Under Lambeau's picture, it read: "When I get thru with athletics, I'm going out and conquer the rest of the world." In the class will, Des Jardins passed on his "quiet manner." There's at least one Packers history book that lists Jim Desjardin as playing for the Packers in 1919, but I've found no evidence that a Jim Desjardin ever played. On the other hand, I found a 1915 Press-Gazette story that said John Des Jardins was a cousin of Paul Des Jardien, an All-American football player at the University of Chicago who went on to briefly play pro football, baseball and basketball. Two of John Des Jardins' three sons were fighter pilots killed in World War II.
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