The Villages Daily Sun

THE VILLAGES — For 37 consecutive years there was one person in the Green Bay Packers organization who was entrusted with more responsibility than any player, coach or general manager. He was the Packers’ longest-tenured employee in terms of continuous service. Packers great Bart Starr described him — the only video director in the history of the franchise — as “one of the nicest people you will meet with a rock solid foundation and tremendous talent.”

On Tuesday, the Packers announced that the 71-year-old would be the 21st non-player to be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame.

Starr will introduce Village of Chatham resident Al Treml into the Packers eternal fraternity in July.

All boys loved the Packers

Until the late 1950s, getting into Green Bay City Stadium, home of the NFL Packers, was nothing like it is to get into today’s 70,000-seat arenas. There were no multicolor-jacketed security personnel, no electronic ticket scanners and no inspection lines for bags being brought into the stadium.

“There were holes in the fences and people snuck in all the time,” Treml said.

Treml, who grew up in the Green Bay suburb of Allouez, wasn’t taking his chances on a peep hole or a gap in the fence to see Packers greats like Don Hudson and Ted Frisch.

In 1948, the 13-year-old who dreamt of being a Packer someday sold popcorn and programs at the city’s eastside stadium.

“Once you were in, all you cared about was the game,” Treml said.

Army aptitude

Central Catholic High School in downtown Green Bay was where Treml spent his formative years. The closest he would get to football was his Sunday job at the stadium.

“I wanted to play (football), “Treml said. “But I was too small and my dad didn’t allow me to, so I played tennis and hockey.”

After graduating from Central in the spring of 1955, Treml decided to enroll in the Army.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do (in the Army),” Treml recalled. “I thought I wanted to do something with radar.”

At the time, anyone who enlisted in the Army was required to take an aptitude test. The enlistee’s answers showed recruiters the person’s strengths and interests. The Army assignment for each enlistee was based on this data.

“It showed that I would eventually be best suited for photography,” Treml said.

The radar path was not destined for the Green Bay native. If Treml had enlisted within a certain time frame, the recruiter promised to hold a spot for him in the Army photographer class after basic training.

“It was something that sounded interesting, so I went for it,” Treml said.

After completing the Army photo and lab technician classes in Fort Monmouth, N.J., Treml was shipped overseas to Orleans, France, 45 minutes south of Paris. There as a specialist third class, Treml shot everything under the sun during this peacetime era: Army parades, ceremonies, sporting events, even passport photos.

Right place, right time

Back stateside, Treml had a career path to follow. He returned to Wisconsin and landed a job, 45 miles south of Green Bay, as a newspaper photographer for the Twin City News Record, which covered the town of Neenah and Menasha.

“I was shooting everything: society, sports,” Treml said. “I was the entire staff: photographer, dark room staff and engraving department. It was really good experience doing everything.”

Treml later returned to his hometown for another career opening.

“I had the opportunity to go back to Green Bay to work at WFRV- TV to shoot news and sports film,” Treml said.

The transition from still photography to film wasn’t as difficult as it is today.

“Film or still, technically a lot of (the concepts) overlap,” Treml said — concepts, such as depth of field, exposure, and lighting.

In fact he found film more engaging.

“I could bring the story from beginning to end. They told me, ‘You are recording the story rather than making the story’ (with just one photo).”

Treml was becoming multi-talented. His eye and technical skills were sharp. And while his technical skills enabled him to shoot a variety of subjects for the station’s 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, Green Bay Packers football was becoming his favorite.

“I remember shooting a feature on a Packers rookie, Tom Moore,” Treml said. “Rookie Romp it was called. It was him returning kickoffs.”

The sports feature won first place in the Wisconsin press photographer contest. Treml was also named TV photographer of the year in 1960 and 1962.

After three years, Treml moved across town to WBAY, the local CBS station, which had the most prized show in the state — the “Vince Lombardi Coaches Show.” When Treml came onboard he ran the photo lab, processing all news and sports film as well as shooting sports features.

WGN, the Tribune station in Chicago, attempted to lure Treml away from Green Bay, but he turned them down despite what would have been a jump to a bigger market and probably more pay.

Lombardi would roam the hallways of the television station. The bold, brash and dignified coach was an imposing figure and the station executives tried to make him as comfortable as possible. Lombardi approached the station’s general manager in 1964 with a request: he wanted a BAY employee to work part time for the Packers to film practice that would be used solely for coaching and scouting.

“Would you be interested in doing it?”, BAY’s general manager asked Treml.

Treml didn’t rush to make a snap decision. He thought about how the job could be done. Lombardi had three men doing it and now wanted just one.

“I told (the Packers) they would have to buy a new film printer and 200-foot magazines (instead of the standard 100-foot length),” Treml said. “I knew I couldn’t do the job if I didn’t have the right equipment.”

Lombardi gave Treml whatever he needed and BAY would give him time off whenever the Packers wanted him — a win-win situation.

“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Treml said.

It was a far cry from shooting Army parade

photos in Orleans, France, and surely would not have

happened had Treml left for WGN.

Part of the team

Having the right equipment was the key to Treml’s early development into the team videographer. Having the larger magazines let him shoot more game action without having to change magazine cartridges. Lombardi seemed impressed with his new hire even though he really didn’t know how the filming process worked.

“Lombardi respected my work,” Treml said. “I was intent on not giving any reason for him to yell at me. There were very few people that Lombardi didn’t know what their work entailed. He said to me ‘I don’t know how you’re doing it but keep doing it.’”

In Treml’s third season as a part-timer, the Packers had won the NFL Championship and were bound for Los Angeles for the first AFL/NFL Championship game, now known as the Super Bowl. The aura of being the first Super Bowl and traveling with the players didn’t leave Treml awestruck.

“There was more pressure because the Packers were expected to win,” Treml said. “I roomed with guys like Zeke Bradkowski, Dave Hanner. It was more that you got to know these guys; you weren’t in awe of them.”

In 1967 Treml was hired full time by the team. As film/video director he shot and edited all of the game and practice tapes for the club’s football operations as well as purchased and maintained the team’s equipment. During the season it was a seven-day-a-week job.

“A lot of people would have loved to do (the job) for entertainment,” Treml said. “You had to be focused on the job and not a fan.”

During the week, practices would be shot. On game days, Treml would process the film directly after the game, whether it was played at home or on the road. The coaches needed it Monday morning. If they were home, he would run over to BAY and process the film — in at 7 p.m., out as late as 2 a.m. If they were on the road and traveled back that night, Treml was in by between midnight and 2 a.m. and out between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.

A cut above

What made Treml stand out, in addition to his hard work, was his ingenuity. It’s been said that Treml was the first to use a cranelike platform to hoist himself above the practice field, thus getting a wide view of the field. He also was credited as the first person to provide tapes to every coach on the team of his players and their plays. He was way ahead of his time in the in-season exchange of film with other teams.

“I came to appreciate all the contributions that Al made when I was a coach.” Starr told the Daily Sun. “Shooting from behind higher up provided a different vantage point. We could study those shots and we gained a great deal more from studying them.”

His expertise was becoming known throughout the NFL. His peers recognized his work by naming him the first chairman of the NFL video directors committee.

In October, Treml, who through his career taped more than 800 Packers games and four Super Bowls, learned of his induction into the Hall.

“(Treml) was an innovator, a person who took photography from its infant stages to where it is today” said Denny Tattum, vice president of the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame Inc. and member of the selection committee. “He did more than fulfill a commitment to the Packers. He went above and beyond the Packers success to help modernize the most popular sport in the United States today. He was a giant in film as it related to the NFL.”

Close friends

When Treml came on board full time with the Packers in 1967, he was hospitalized for a non-life-threatening disease. Starr came to visit him and that was when they developed a strong and close relationship.

“You can quickly understand why (the Packers) are so biased toward such a gentleman,” Starr said. “I’ve been campaigning for this honor for a long time. It’s long overdue.”