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Florida biker bar owner married to first Green Bay Packers tackle

By Cheryl Smith, Treasure Coast Newspapers USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This 1919 photo of the inaugural Green Bay Packers sandlot team was taken in the snow in front of the Indian Packing Company garage before the end of the first season. Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. (front row, second from left) started at right tackle in all 11 games in 1919 and 1920. The Packers joined the American Professional Football Association, soon renamed the National Football League, in 1921. Sammy played in four NFL games, starting at right guard in the No. 7 jersey in their first game on Oct. 23, 1921, against the Minneapolis Marines at Hagemeister Park, but he got benched. In his other three NFL games, Sammy was a substitute lineman for the starting tackle and guard. His NFL career ended in a game on Nov. 13, 1921, against the Hammond Pros. For three seasons, he played alongside team founder Capt. Earl "Curly" Lambeau, a shipping clerk at the canned-meat Indian Packing Co. who convinced President Frank Peck to spend $500 on their first uniforms and equipment. Sammy also worked at a meat-packing company, most likely with Lambeau at Indian Packing. In 1918, Sammy married Grace Marie Dixon (Powers Martin,) who later owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. Their daughter, Jeanne Dorothy (Braley Kelly Johnson), took over the bar in 1972 and Grace died in 1973.
This 1919 photo of the inaugural Green Bay Packers sandlot team was taken in the snow in front of the Indian Packing Company garage before the end of the first season. Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. (front row, second from left) started at right tackle in all 11 games in 1919 and 1920. The Packers joined the American Professional Football Association, soon renamed the National Football League, in 1921. Sammy played in four NFL games, starting at right guard in the No. 7 jersey in their first game on Oct. 23, 1921, against the Minneapolis Marines at Hagemeister Park, but he got benched. In his other three NFL games, Sammy was a substitute lineman for the starting tackle and guard. His NFL career ended in a game on Nov. 13, 1921, against the Hammond Pros. For three seasons, he played alongside team founder Capt. Earl "Curly" Lambeau, a shipping clerk at the canned-meat Indian Packing Co. who convinced President Frank Peck to spend $500 on their first uniforms and equipment. Sammy also worked at a meat-packing company, most likely with Lambeau at Indian Packing. In 1918, Sammy married Grace Marie Dixon (Powers Martin,) who later owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. Their daughter, Jeanne Dorothy (Braley Kelly Johnson), took over the bar in 1972 and Grace died in 1973. PROVIDED BY NEWSPAPERS.COM USA TODAY Network, Reuters

Editor's note: Cheryl Smith attributes all reporting in this series to exhaustive research on newspapers.com, archives.com, fold3.com; Indian River County records; historical societies, museums and Facebook groups in Sebastian, St. Lucie County and Wisconsin; Green Bay Packers team historian Cliff Christl; Sebastian resident Judith Swingle; and Vero Beach attorney Eugene J. O'Neill's book, "Raising the Bar: In and Before Indian River County - A History." Contact her at cheryl.smith@tcpalm.com if you have any photos, records or information that corrects or adds to this account.

When Sammy Powers was on the inaugural Green Bay Packers from 1919-21, his wife of about 17 years eventually moved on and owned the infamous Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Florida.

Sammy married Grace Marie Dixon in 1918 and had four children, but they had divorced by 1935. Grace owned the Sebastian bar from 1965 until she died in 1973, and their daughter ran it until she sold it in 1977.

Sammy - a 5-foot-10, 130-pound, blue-eyed, blond-haired Irish scrapper - played football for the Marinette (Wisconsin) High School Marines from 1916-18, his freshman through junior years. With WWI disrupting life in 1918, he took over coaching midseason, then quit high school before his 1919 senior year.

Sammy Powers played in 4 Green Bay Packers NFL games

As a 19-year-old freshman guard, his rough play got him ejected from a game when officials finally caught him "slugging" opponents. As a 20-year-old sophomore tackle, he was celebrated for helping the Marines win an undefeated season and the Wisconsin state championship in 1917.

"Easily the best tackle in the state," one newspaper proclaimed.

In 1919, he a Whales baseball catcher in spring and a Packers football tackle in fall, playing alongside sandlot team founder Earl "Curly" Lambeau. Sammy started at right tackle in all 11 games in 1919 and 1920.

In 1921, the Packers joined the American Professional Football Association, soon renamed the National Football League. Sammy started at right guard in the No. 7 jersey, but was benched in their first game on Oct. 23, 1921, against the Minneapolis Marines at Hagemeister Park.

Marinette High School Athletic Hall of Fame

In his other three NFL games, he was a substitute lineman for the starting tackle and guard. His NFL career ended in a game on Nov. 13, 1921, against the Hammond Pros.

But the Lauerman Twins of Marinette-Menominee made him team captain in 1922, and he played tackle for the Iron Mountaineers in Michigan from 1924-26.

The Marinette High School Athletic Hall of Fame, founded in 2012, inducted him in 2021.

Sammy Powers: Born in Michigan, family moved to Wisconsin

Sammy was born into a family with Irish (paternal) and German (maternal) grandparents on May 26, 1986, in Koss, Michigan. He was the last of 11 children, including two who died before 1900.

It was both his parents' second marriage. Here's a family snapshot:

  • Father: John Henry Powers, born circa 1849 in Boston, Massachusetts; was 78-79 when he died June 19, 1928; buried with family in Forest Home Cemetery in Marinette
  • Mother: Mary C. Bergman, born circa 1860 in Manitowoc Rapids, Wisconsin; was 72-73 when she died March 2, 1933; buried with family in Forest Home Cemetery in Marinette
  • Step-siblings: John's first wife was Elizabeth Garrity; they married Feb. 27, 1873, in Outagamie, Wisconsin; and had three children: Alice Mattilda (1875-1962), John Delbert (1876-1903) and Mary Harriet (1878-1962). Elizabeth died in 1883. Mary's first husband was William Hallfrisch; they married June 23, 1877; and had three children: John Frederick (1878), Wright Frank (1879) and Carrie S. (1885). William died in 1886.
  • Siblings: John and Mary married May 4, 1887, in Wrightstown, Wisconsin, a year after her first husband died and four years after his first wife died. They had five children: Mary "Mamie/Mammie" Ellen (1888), Thomas "Tommie/Tommy" Henry (1890), Emma A. (1892), Geneva C. (1894) and Samuel "Sammie/Sammy" (1896).

Sammy and his family moved around Marinette, and over the years, he lived at:

  • 1900: 328 Hattie St. with his older brother, three sisters and a stepsister
  • 1910: Mininita Avenue with his family
  • 1918: 836 Wells St. with his family
  • 1920: 1920 Crooks St. with wife Grace and her two stepsisters: Lillian, 8, and Margaret, 11. Their mother had died in 1916 and their father had remarried and moved to Princeton, Rhode Island.
  • 1930: 1875 Liberty with wife Grace and their four children: Jeanne Dorothy (1919), Thomas H. (1922), Samuel Jr. (1924) and John Daniel (1927)
  • 1940: 806 Wells St. He was 43, divorced and a lodger with daughter Jeanne; her first husband, Robert Braley Sr.; and their three children: Barbara, 2; Katherine 7½; and Jack, 13.
  • 1942: 3207 W. Mount Vernon in Milwaukee with 15-year-old son John Daniel
  • 1945: 3405 W. North Ave. in Milwaukee with 18-year-old son John Daniel

Sammy was still a student but also "clerking" and working "on lakes" when he registered for WWI in 1918, three months before his wedding, but he apparently didn't serve.

Brother Tommy was 27, worked as a clerk and lived with his family when he registered for WWI on June 5, 1917. He was a private first class in the Army's Battery E 11th Field Artillery when he died Sept. 27, 1918. He initially was buried in France, but his body eventually was returned to the United States and buried in Forest Home Cemetery in 1921.

His grave is beside his mother's, which is beside her husband's. Sam and his 7-year-old namesake son are buried nearby.

Sammy Powers and Grace Martin had 4 children

Sammy, 21, and Grace, 20, were married by a Lutheran pastor in Menominee, Michigan, on Sept. 5, 1918, but they lived their early lives in Marinette, Wisconsin - where Sammy's father was a "pioneer."

Two years into their marriage, Sammy was 23 and working as meat packing company cost clerk. TCPalm couldn't confirm, but it's likely he worked at the same Indian Packing Co. where Packers founder and Capt. Earl "Curly" Lambeau was a shipping clerk who convinced President Frank Peck to spend $500 on the inaugural team's first uniforms and equipment.

Here's a snapshot of their four children:

Jeanne Dorothy Powers Braley Kelly Johnson owned Earl's Hideaway

Grace took their baby girl to football games, where she was known as the "youngest Packer backer." In 1958, Sam would become the Packer family's first great-grandfather when Jeanne's daughter had a son.

Jeanne got a University of Maryland business administration degree to manage the exclusive Normandy Farm French restaurant in Potomac for 33 years. In charge of parties and bookkeeping, she planned weddings for several daughters of senators and congressmen.

She was a 1939 New York World's Fair commissioner who helped plan the Maryland state restaurant and pavilion.

Jeanne had three husbands and seven children throughout her life.

Sammy died of a cerebral hemorrhage on Oct. 14, 1969, while visiting Jeanne, husband Chester and daughter Judith in Clarksburg, Maryland. Three years later, the Johnsons moved to Sebastian.

They lived in one of the two cottages south-adjacent to Earl's Hideaway, which Jeanne ran because Grace and Earl Roberts, her life partner and bar co-founder, had moved into a Melbourne nursing home in 1972.

In 1975, Jeanne unsuccessfully ran for Sebastian City Council, 28 years after Earl served as mayor-judge in 1948-49.

When Grace died in 1973, Jeanne ran the bar with her son, Tim Kelly, until she sold it in 1977.

Thomas H. Powers honored Earl "Curly" Lambeau

Thomas H. Powers moved to Ohio and was living in Canton when Lambeau died in 1965. Thomas was pictured placing a flower basket in Lambeau's niche at the NFL Hall of Fame.

Samuel Powers Jr. died in St. Joseph's orphanage

Samuel Powers Jr. was a 6-year-old student living at home in 1930, but within a year, he died in the St. Joseph orphans home in Allouez, a village south of Green Bay, on April 15, 1931.

His death is a mystery and TCPalm is awaiting the orphanage records it requested.

John Daniel Powers awarded Purple Heart

John Daniel Powers lived with his father in Milwaukee circa 1942-45, when he was 15-18.

He was 17 when he registered for WWII on March 5, 1945 - one day before his birthday - and 18 when he enlisted Feb. 21, 1946.

An Army master sergeant in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, he was awarded a Purple Heart. He was living in San Antonio, Texas, when his mother died in 1973, and he was discharged Jan. 31, 1974.

That year, he moved to Vero Beach and worked as a Piper Aircraft production lineman for 12 years. After he retired in 1986, he worked at Walgreens and Donnelly's Irish Pub. He also was a Sebastian Moose Lodge governor.

When sister Jeanne tried to sell Earl's Hideaway in 1977, he contested, claiming she mismanaged the bar by borrowing money without her two brothers' consent to their "detriment and economic loss." TCPalm couldn't find the outcome of his 1977 trial.

He died at Indian River Memorial Hospital on Feb. 15, 1990, and was buried in the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

Surviving WWI, WWII, Prohibition, Great Depression

Amid WWI, WWII, Prohibition and the Great Depression, Sammy worked myriad jobs.

He reportedly ran a Hall Avenue tavern, and was 30 when he was arrested in a federal raid for "possessing and selling intoxicating liquors" without the proper revenue stamps in a Hotel Marinette basement bar in 1927. He was sentenced to a $300 fine or 90 days in jail in 1934.

During the Depression, he was a soap company salesman in 1930 and "with a tea concern" in 1931.

Grace was gone and remarried by 1935. Sam, 43, was a divorced lodger with daughter Jeanne, 20; her first husband, Robert Braley Sr., 24; and their three children: Barbara, 2, Kathleen, 7½ and Jack, 13.

"Sam was a hard man to live with," granddaughter Judith Swingle of Sebastian said she heard her family say.

Green Bay Packers annual homecoming reunions

When Sam registered for his WWII Old Man's Draft Card in 1942, he was 44, living at 3207 W. Mount Vernon in Milwaukee with 15-year-old son John, and working at the Falk Corp., which made industrial and mechanical power transmission equipment.

He owned Sammy Powers Dinette circa 1945 and lived in Milwaukee until circa 1967.

Throughout his life, Sam regularly attended Packers reunions, usually at the annual homecoming game, a tradition that began in 1928. His last appearance was in September 1969, and he was in failing health a month before he died.

He had surgery to save his left leg from amputation in Houston, Texas, in 1967, then he recuperated at the Silver Dome in Marinette. Sam was 73 and living in West De Pere, Wisconsin, when he died on Oct. 14, 1969.

He was buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Marinette near his father, mother, namesake son and brother.

Cheryl Smith is a TCPalm editor who can be contacted at cheryl.smith@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida biker bar owner married to first Green Bay Packers tackle

Reporting by Cheryl Smith, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In 1918, Grace Marie Dixon (Powers Martin), who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973, married her first husband, Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. (pictured here in 1917), who was on the inaugural Green Bay Packers from 1919-21. They married Sept. 5, 1918, in Menominee, Michigan, but lived their early lives in Marinette, Wisconsin.
In 1918, Grace Marie Dixon (Powers Martin), who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973, married her first husband, Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. (pictured here in 1917), who was on the inaugural Green Bay Packers from 1919-21. They married Sept. 5, 1918, in Menominee, Michigan, but lived their early lives in Marinette, Wisconsin. PROVIDED BY MARINETTE HIGH SCHOO USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Private First Class Thomas Henry Powers was the brother of Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr., who was on the inaugural Green Bay Packers from 1919-21 and played in four NFL games. Tommy was born March 3, 1890, and died Sept. 27, 1918, while serving in the Army's Battery E 11th Field Artillery in WWI. He initially was buried in France, but his body was returned to the United States and buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Marinette, Wisconsin, in 1921.
Private First Class Thomas Henry Powers was the brother of Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr., who was on the inaugural Green Bay Packers from 1919-21 and played in four NFL games. Tommy was born March 3, 1890, and died Sept. 27, 1918, while serving in the Army's Battery E 11th Field Artillery in WWI. He initially was buried in France, but his body was returned to the United States and buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Marinette, Wisconsin, in 1921. PROVIDED BY KEITH HUOTARI USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Jeanne Dorothy Powers (Braley Kelly Johnson), 15 in this 1934 class picture, was born in 1919 to Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. and Grace Marie Dixon (Powers Martin). Sammy was on the inaugural Green Bay Packers from 1919-21. Grace owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. Jeanne ran the bar with son Tim Kelly from 1972 until she sold it in 1977.
Jeanne Dorothy Powers (Braley Kelly Johnson), 15 in this 1934 class picture, was born in 1919 to Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. and Grace Marie Dixon (Powers Martin). Sammy was on the inaugural Green Bay Packers from 1919-21. Grace owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. Jeanne ran the bar with son Tim Kelly from 1972 until she sold it in 1977. PROVIDED BY KEITH HUOTARI USA TODAY Network, Reuters
In 1965, when Green Bay Packers founder Earl "Curly" Lambeau died, Thomas H. Powers of Canton, Ohio (pictured), placed a flower basket in Lambeau's niche at the NFL Hall of Fame. Powers was the son of inaugural 1919-21 Packer "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. and Grace Marie Dixon Powers Martin, who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. Sam and Grace married Sept. 5, 1918, in Menominee, Michigan, but lived their early lives in Marinette, Wisconsin. In 1922, they had Thomas, their second child and first son.
In 1965, when Green Bay Packers founder Earl "Curly" Lambeau died, Thomas H. Powers of Canton, Ohio (pictured), placed a flower basket in Lambeau's niche at the NFL Hall of Fame. Powers was the son of inaugural 1919-21 Packer "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. and Grace Marie Dixon Powers Martin, who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. Sam and Grace married Sept. 5, 1918, in Menominee, Michigan, but lived their early lives in Marinette, Wisconsin. In 1922, they had Thomas, their second child and first son. PROVIDED BY NEWSPAPERS.COM USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Pictured in the Forest Home Cemetery in Marinette, Wisconsin, are the graves of Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. (left) and his 7-year-old namesake son (right). Sammy was on the inaugural Green Bay Packers sandlot team from 1919-21, and the first husband of Grace Marie Dixon (Powers Martin), who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. Sam Sr. was 73 and living in West De Pere, Wisconsin, when he died of a cerebral hemorrhage on Oct. 14, 1969, while visiting their daughter, Jeanne Dorothy Braley Kelly Johnson, in Clarksburg, Maryland. Their third child and second son born in 1924, Sam Jr. was a 6-year-old student living at home in Marinette in 1930, but sometime within the next year, he was moved to the St. Joseph orphans home in Allouez, a village south of Green Bay. He was 7 when he died there on April 15, 1931. His body was taken to his paternal grandparents’ house in Marinette, then buried here. An inscription on his headstone says "Mother Grace (nee Dixon). Nearby but not pictured are the graves of grandfather John Henry Powers, buried in 1928; grandmother Mary C. Bergman Powers, buried in 1933; and uncle, Private First Class Thomas Henry Powers. Tommy was 27, worked as a clerk and lived with his family at 836 Wells St. in Marinette when he registered for WWI on June 5, 1917. A year later, he died in the war on Sept. 27, 1918, while serving in the Army's Battery E 11th Field Artillery. He initially was buried in France, but his body was returned to the United States and buried with his family in 1921.
Pictured in the Forest Home Cemetery in Marinette, Wisconsin, are the graves of Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. (left) and his 7-year-old namesake son (right). Sammy was on the inaugural Green Bay Packers sandlot team from 1919-21, and the first husband of Grace Marie Dixon (Powers Martin), who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. Sam Sr. was 73 and living in West De Pere, Wisconsin, when he died of a cerebral hemorrhage on Oct. 14, 1969, while visiting their daughter, Jeanne Dorothy Braley Kelly Johnson, in Clarksburg, Maryland. Their third child and second son born in 1924, Sam Jr. was a 6-year-old student living at home in Marinette in 1930, but sometime within the next year, he was moved to the St. Joseph orphans home in Allouez, a village south of Green Bay. He was 7 when he died there on April 15, 1931. His body was taken to his paternal grandparents’ house in Marinette, then buried here. An inscription on his headstone says "Mother Grace (nee Dixon). Nearby but not pictured are the graves of grandfather John Henry Powers, buried in 1928; grandmother Mary C. Bergman Powers, buried in 1933; and uncle, Private First Class Thomas Henry Powers. Tommy was 27, worked as a clerk and lived with his family at 836 Wells St. in Marinette when he registered for WWI on June 5, 1917. A year later, he died in the war on Sept. 27, 1918, while serving in the Army's Battery E 11th Field Artillery. He initially was buried in France, but his body was returned to the United States and buried with his family in 1921. PROVIDED BY KEITH HUOTARI USA TODAY Network, Reuters
John Daniel Powers was the son of Grace Marie Dixon Powers Martin, who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, and Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers, who played on the inaugural Green Bay Packers from 1919-21. John died at Indian River Memorial Hospital on Feb. 15, 1990, and was buried in the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.
John Daniel Powers was the son of Grace Marie Dixon Powers Martin, who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, and Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers, who played on the inaugural Green Bay Packers from 1919-21. John died at Indian River Memorial Hospital on Feb. 15, 1990, and was buried in the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. PROVIDED BY 13TH GENERATION FAIR USA TODAY Network, Reuters
This 1946 photo was taken during the inaugural 1919 Green Bay Packers annual homecoming reunion, a tradition that began in 1928. Pictured are (front row, left to right): Herb Nichols, Sam Powers, Martin Zoll, Feryl "Fee" Klaus, Carl Zoll, Andy Muldoon, Al Petcka, Herman Martell; (back row, left to right) Wally Ladrow, Alvin Martin, Henry "Tubby" Bero and Art Schmael. Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. was the first husband of Grace Marie Dixon Powers Martin, who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973.
This 1946 photo was taken during the inaugural 1919 Green Bay Packers annual homecoming reunion, a tradition that began in 1928. Pictured are (front row, left to right): Herb Nichols, Sam Powers, Martin Zoll, Feryl "Fee" Klaus, Carl Zoll, Andy Muldoon, Al Petcka, Herman Martell; (back row, left to right) Wally Ladrow, Alvin Martin, Henry "Tubby" Bero and Art Schmael. Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. was the first husband of Grace Marie Dixon Powers Martin, who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. PROVIDED BY PACKER HALL OF FAME, USA TODAY Network, Reuters
This 1949 photo of the inaugural 1919 Green Bay Packers was taken in the snow during the Thanksgiving Day All Star game at City Stadium. Pictured are (left to right): Herman Martell, Herb Nichols, Martin Zoll, Al Petcka, Sam Powers, Gus Rosenow, John Des Jardins, Andy Muldoon, Wally Ladrow, Manager George Calhoun, Carl Zoll and Jimmy Coffeen. Nate Abrams had died. Art Schmaehl and Henry "Tubby" Bero were alive, but could not attend. Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. was the first husband of Grace Marie Dixon Powers Martin, who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973.
This 1949 photo of the inaugural 1919 Green Bay Packers was taken in the snow during the Thanksgiving Day All Star game at City Stadium. Pictured are (left to right): Herman Martell, Herb Nichols, Martin Zoll, Al Petcka, Sam Powers, Gus Rosenow, John Des Jardins, Andy Muldoon, Wally Ladrow, Manager George Calhoun, Carl Zoll and Jimmy Coffeen. Nate Abrams had died. Art Schmaehl and Henry "Tubby" Bero were alive, but could not attend. Samuel "Sam or Sammy" Richard Powers Sr. was the first husband of Grace Marie Dixon Powers Martin, who owned Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, from 1965 until she died in 1973. PROVIDED BY NEWSPAPERS.COM USA TODAY Network, Reuters

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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 5:06 AM.