AVON, CONN. — The eyes of the sports world are focused this weekend on Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the National Football League's (NFL) biggest offseason event, the draft, whets the appetite of fans, team officials and prospects alike.
Joe Shield will surely be watching with a mix of nostalgia and fascination — 40 years ago, almost to the day, the Brattleboro native was drafted by this year's host team, the Green Bay Packers, after a record-breaking career at quarterback for Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
After getting drafted by the Packers in the 11th round in 1985, Shield made the team in 1985 and 1986, becoming the first person from Vermont to be drafted into the NFL and then make a team's roster.