Auction Gold, Part II - Another Hutson Jersey?

Following up on my previous post concerning extant Packers jerseys from the 1940s, I heard a rumor yesterday that another is about to surface.

The word is that Robert Edward Auctions' Spring 2009 auction will include... a Don Hutson jersey.

Robert Edward Auctions is the same outfit which auctioned off the Ken Keuper jersey last year - they only do one auction a year, but sure seem to make them count. And if true, this would make three known Hutson jerseys: one in Canton, one in the Packers Hall of Fame in Green Bay, and one in private hands.

More details as they become available - bidding begins approximately April 10, and the auction ends May 2, 2009.

Man, I'd love to own this. An authentic gamer from the greatest Packer of them all? But something tells me that it'll be just a little out of my price range. Estimates put it perhaps upwards of $100K. Ten times what the Ken Keuper jersey brought at auction last year.

Heck, if nothing else - we should get some great photos out of it. Exemplars from this period are awfully hard to come by.

A Grand Opportunity

The NFL gave us a peek at the upcoming 2009 schedule today, revealing that the Packers will open the season at Lambeau Field against the Chicago Bears in a Sunday Night Football game on Sept. 13, and will visit the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving used to have a special place in the Packers/Lions rivalry - the boys from Green Bay used to visit Detroit every Thanksgiving from 1951 through 1963, when Lombardi pulled out of the traditional matchup. His 1962 Packers, one of the greatest teams of all time, went into Detroit in Week 11 undefeated. There was little for Vince to be thankful for that day, as the Lions handed the Packers their first (and only) loss of the season, 26-14. They would play one more Thanksgiving game against the Lions before the NFL started rotating Detroit's opponents.

It's a real shame that the NFL doesn't do Thanksgiving throwbacks anymore - I'd love to see the Pack adopt one of their classic looks for that game, as they did in 2001 and 2003.

And FWIW, the Lions will be sporting new duds (in an attempt to cleanse themselves of the Millen stink) - the new logo, a 25% fiercer rendering of "Bubbles", has already been leaked by the NFL online shop.