New Sheriff in Town Means New Badges for All

Edited based on comments, please see end of post.

On this date in history, July 17, 1959, the Packers announced that incoming head coach/general manager Vince Lombardi would be unveiling new team uniforms to mark the start of his tenure:

This was fairly unremarkable back in those days. Each successive Packers coach between Curly Lambeau and Lombardi attempted to put his own visual stamp on the organization.

Gene Ronzani scrapped Lambeau's traditional blue-and-gold color scheme, announcing "We are the Green Bay Packers." Ronzani would create a whole mix-and-match series of uniforms, including, in no particular order:

1. solid blue jerseys with gold numbers, gold helmets and pants
2. kelly green jerseys and pants with gold stripes on the sleeves and down the pants, gold numbers, metallic gold helmets
3. bright gold jersey with green numbers
4. white jersey with green numbers and pants

Under Ronzani, the uniforms were anything but uniform.

Four years later, new head coach Lisle Blackbourn decided to clear the slate and brought back navy as the Packers' primary color. His preferred uniform was a navy jersey with dark gold numbers and sleeve stripes, dark gold helmets and pants with single navy stripe.

Blackbourn also introduced the first Packers uniform without any gold whatsoever: navy jerseys with white numbers and Northwestern sleeve stripes, white helmets and pants with single navy stipe, seen here in action against the 49ers in Kezar Stadium.

(click for additional views)

In 1958, Scooter McLean chose to go with a "throwback" for his single year in charge, adopting Blackburn's 1956 season-opening green jersey as his primary home look.

And then, after all this mix-and-match chaos, Vince Lombardi came to town. And that was that. One classic green home uniform, one classic white road jersey. One helmet, one pair of pants. Simple, classy, elegant. The Packers finally had an identity, their first since Lambeau stalked the sidelines.

Although he couldn't have intended this, Lombardi's legacy with the Packers effectively put a stop to the practice of new coaches overhauling the uniforms (although one GM would be tempted).

UPDATE 7/22: Following up on Tom's comment, I have a larger picture of Gary Knafelc wearing #44 instead of his customary #84.

While it would have been possible for Knalfec to wear such a low number (the NFL's numbering system not being formally codified until 1973), according to Packers by the Numbers, he wore #84 exclusively throughout his tenure with the Pack. So, what to make of his photo?

Tom believes that he is modeling the new uniforms. Could be. The uniform is about right. Anybody else care to venture a guess?

Getting Ugly, Chapter 3: Uglier Still

If you missed the preliminary posts on the new high-tech next-generation jerseys the Packers have been testing in practice, including video, see my previous posts here and here.

Long story short, the new jerseys are skin-tight, made from a super-stretchy elastic material (including the numbers and elastic thread used to sew the numbers to the jersey). They have been designed so all players can wear the same template, unlike the three various cuts in use now, and so each jersey is made from a single type of fabric, as opposed to the several types in current jersey construction.

The Packers have been using them in practice, but the New York Giants have actually been testing something which sounds just like them in games.

Man, not a lot of room for sleeve stripes on the Saran Wrap jerseys. Hint, hint....

And as before, it's the New Yorkers who give us a rare window into the process. Paul Lukas of Uni Watch and ESPN.com recently took a tour of the Giants new training facilities with equipment director Joe Skiba, and while he was sworn to secrecy he did offer these tidbits:

Remember how some Giants players had a different jersey cut last season (no nameplate, lower placement of the NFL Equipment logo, etc.)? All Giants jerseys this season will feature that cut. One problem last year was that some players’ sleeve stripes looked sort of curvy instead of straight, but that has been addressed and should no longer be an issue.

These new jerseys will be made of a new high-tech fabric. I usually roll my eyes at this kind of thing, but the new fabric really does look and feel different than the standard NFL material (or at least it does in person — I doubt you’ll be able to tell the difference on TV). Interestingly, the fabric is being made is Israel, which means the team’s game jerseys will carry “Made in Israel” tags — probably a first for an American pro sports team. And that’s all I can say about it for now.

Interesting.

You Still Don't Look a Day Over Eighty-Nine

Following up on my Packers 90th Birthday logo post, the Packers have started selling branded merchandise, including a patch.

The design reproduces pretty well in embroidery.

Still no word on whether the patch will make the uniforms, but now that they're selling them I'm leaning towards believing that it will.

Now THAT's a Room

The Green Bay Press-Gazette has a great story about a Packers fan named Scott Schwartz, who has taken his love of the Green and Gold to some pretty interesting heights.

I'd love to talk to him. If anybody out there can help, please leave a comment (I keep any comments private if requested).

Hell Bent for Leather

This is an amazing find - a 1940s Rawlings VM1 leather helmet, size 7¼, worn by Charley Brock.

It's a real beaut, painted in Packers gold.

Brock's number 29 is stenciled on the back in green.

The Rawlings style is emblematic of the Packers in the 1940s. Here we see legend Tony Canadeo wearing one of these helmets in action:

It's suprisingly solid. Like many, I've always thought of the idea of a leather helmet as scant protection against collision. But this is really strong and firm. The same difference, I suppose, between a real horsehide motorcycle jacket and the cheap fashion version.

Charley Brock was a center who played 90 games for the Packers, from 1939-1947. He was selected out of Nebraska by the Packers with the 24th pick in the third round of the 1939 draft. In his rookie year, he played eight games for the squad on its way to the World Championship.

He was one of eight players to pick off nine passes against the Lions on October 24, 1943, setting an NFL single-game mark. The record was tied in 1965 by the Philadelphia Eagles against the Steelers, a record which the teams share to this day. After missing the last half of the 1943 season due to appendicitis, he returned to play all ten games in 1944 on the way to his second (and the Packers' sixth) title. In nine years with the Packers, he only missed seven games, all in either his rookie season or the illness-shortened 1943.

In this photo with Lambeau, Brock is holding a similar helmet:

After his playing career ended, Brock coached at St. Norbert College in DePere and at Omaha University before returning as an Assistant Coach under Curly Lambeau in 1949.

A five-time All-Pro, Brock was named to the NFL's 1940s All-Decade Team and in 1973 was elected to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

I'm afraid that there isn't a lot of available information on Rawlings's leather helmets, but the VM1, or a variation thereof, was worn by the Packers for most of the 1940s. There's no mistaking the elongated padding on the side or the distinctive arc across the forehead.

Some of the helmets of this period were stamped with the word "PACKERS" in the leather, as can be (faintly) seen here on these photos of Canadeo and Don Hutson:


It's a little clearer in this Hall of Fame card illustration:

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton has a Canadeo helmet which appears to be a similar type:

A handwritten number on the front seems uncommon but not unprecedented for the Packers.

The days of the leather helmet are long gone, lost in a wave of technological innovation, but they remain a defining image of the early decades of professional football. The VM1 stands among them, immortalized as one of the three helmets featured in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame logo.

A fitting tribute to a great football icon.

Enter the King?

Slightly off-topic today; not strictly uniform-related, but I'm always interested in the intersection of sports and design. Sometimes, as we'll see, those worlds don't intersect so much as collide.

In the early 1970s, Jack "the King" Kirby, the legendary comic-book artist who co-created Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the X-Men, the Avengers (oh, heck, pretty much every character of note at Marvel Comics), and DC's "Fourth World" saga, contributed illustrations to PRO!, the NFL's official program/magazine.

There obviously must have been some sort of tie-in with Marvel. Not the last time those two companies would get in bed together, although you may be forgiven if you have mercilessly purged any other example from your memory.

Among Kirby's contributions to PRO! was a series of comic-book characters done up in the colors of NFL teams, several of which were auctioned off this past February. The teams' influence on the characters seems to have been limited to the colors, as seen in his take on the Packers:

Not sure what to make of the whole "Aquaman" vibe. Guess Kirby took the first two words of the name literally.

It could have been worse, I guess - Forrest Gregg could have let him re-design the uniforms.

I'd love to know more about the genesis of Kirby's re-design project, maybe some context for the image - anybody have an old copy of PRO! lying around?

You'll Need a Jacket Out There

For as long as football teams have been wearing uniforms on the field, they've been wearing distinctive team jackets and coats on the sideline. We've taken a brief look at sideline capes here, today we turn our focus to jackets in all their forms.

This 1927 team photo shows Lambeau and his boys in their team pullover jackets, "GREEN BAY" proudly displayed across the chest. We know the socks were gold with two blue stripes, so we can perhaps infer that the jackets are blue with blue letters trimmed in gold, featuring gold piping (around the pockets?) and gold hoods.

(click for full team photo, including partial roster)

That's a pretty professional coat for the period. This Packers coat hanging in Canton (and identified there as belonging to the 1930 squad) is a standard duster bought off-the-rack with the team name hand-painted on the back:

The Packers were still wearing a variation of this style twelve years later, in 1942:

The Packers' Charles "Buckets" Goldenberg and an unidentified man at right wear team coats, or dusters, during a ceremony at halftime of the Packers' game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at State Fair Park in Milwaukee on Dec. 6, 1942. Fire Chief Ralph Drum gave Goldenberg a flag with 18 stars representing the number of Packers players in military service for World War II. (Press-Gazette archives)

Are those dusters navy or black, do you suppose?

What's really interesting to me about that photo is that Buckets Goldenberg appears to be wearing the team coat over his uniform, while the other man at right is wearing his over a suit. Versatile garmets, those. It makes me wonder if one of the reasons the dusters were chosen is that they could be purchased in large sizes and worn baggy over gear, much as sideline capes would later be.

At some point, the long dusters were replaced by waist-length jackets. From my own collection comes this 1949 gamer, issued to tight end Bill Kelley and worn during Curly's last year with the Packers. A plain, simple design, its lettering legible from the very last row of the stands:

The label proudly reveals the jacket was made by O'Shea Knitting Mills in Chicago, as were jerseys of the era.

Photo documentation of sideline gear is often hard to come by, but Don Hutson is wearing one in this 1947 wire photo:

It has the same cut, long cuffs, and set-in sleeves. From what we can see of the letters on his back it has the same distinctive serifed "S" and sans-serif "N". I'm pretty comfortable determining that it's the same style jacket.

Those simple blue jackets are a far cry from what the coaches would eventually wear on the sidelines:

More on this subject to come, naturally. There's an awful lot of ground to cover between those two extremes.

Think Green. Really Green.

When Marquette University alum (and former Chicago Bear) Gene Ronzani took over as Head Coach on February 7, 1950, he tossed out Curly Lambeau's famous blue and gold uniforms in favor of his own series of rotating designs, proclaiming at a press conference "We are the Green Bay Packers."

Ronzani sure wasn't kidding. Starting that year, and intermittently over the next few seasons, the Pack took to the field wearing what might charitably be called "Astroturf camouflage":

Yikes. Shiny green pants and all.

I understand the second coach in team history wanting a cutting-edge look to make people forget the other guy's thirty years in charge. Lambeau undoutbedly cast a very large shadow over his successor. But really, "Merry Men" was the best Ronzani could do?  The Packers have several uniforms in their history which would qualify as classics. These aren't among them.  

It's almost painful to see a Hall of Famer like Tony Canadeo wearing this clown suit, even if he is scoring a touchdown at the time:

Ronzani's designs were as short-lived as his tenure, as successful as his 14-31-1 record (he resigned with two games remaining in the 1953 season). Ronzani's successor Lisle Blackbourn brought to the club his own prodigious slate of uniforms, each of which featured contrasting jerseys and pants as the monochrome look faded into history. 

The NFL's design æsthetic was by then swinging firmly towards pants either matching the helmets (if light, such as the Packers, Lions, 49ers, Colts et al.), or neutral white/light team color (Bears, Giants, Eagles). This general design rule, solidified as the "professional look" by the increased television exposure of the 1960s, defined the sport for decades.

Of course, everything old is new again, and in 2002 the Seahawks kicked off a new matching fad with their overcast-blue overhaul. This type of mono-madness has become quite common in the NFL since then:

Every time I see the Ravens in their all-black ensemble, I get Gap commercial déjà vu:

Not surprising, given their long history, that the Packers dabbled in the all-green monochrome look. But if the Packers weren't immune to this fad, at least they had the good sense to quickly abandon it.

Camel's Nose, Meet Tent

Greeted this morning by some disturbing news courtesy of the Associated Press:

Packers could sell ad space on practice jerseys

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)—The Green Bay Packers are hoping to take advantage of a new NFL rule allowing teams to attach a small patch with a corporate logo to the jerseys players wear in practice.

Packers senior vice president of marketing and sales Laura Sankey called the possibility of selling advertising space on practice jerseys a “very meaningful” way for a sponsor to link itself with the team.

“It’s always exciting when the league opens new categories for sponsorship, particularly one that is so closely linked to our players and our jerseys,” Sankey said. “A practice jersey patch is a very unique and visible way for a sponsor to be involved with training camp, the team and our fans.”

The Houston Texans also have indicated an interest in taking advantage of the rule, which applies only to jerseys worn in practice.

Sponsor logos already are widespread during U.S. auto racing and golf events, and the Phoenix Mercury announced this week that they will become the first WNBA team to put a sponsor’s name, Lifelock, on their jerseys.

Such deals are considered commonplace in Europe, where soccer giant Manchester United announced Wednesday that it had reached a four-year sponsorship agreement with Chicago-based insurance broker Aon Corp.

The club did not announce financial terms but British newspapers reported that the deal, which begins in the 2010-11 season, was worth 80 million pounds ($131.2 million) over the four years.

What would this look like? We already have a pretty good idea - the Titans have been doing this for the past few seasons.

A little hard to make out in this photo, but the patch reads "Baptist Sports Medicine". Apparently, they are the "exclusive healthcare provider" of the Titans (click patch for link).

ProFootballTalk.com provides us with some background on the Titans' patches:

Titans Wore Practice Jersey Patches Without League Approval
Posted on June 3, 2009, 4:47 p.m. EDT

We’ve tracked down more information regarding the fact that the Titans have been, for at least a couple of years, wearing a “Baptist Sports Management” (sic) patch on their practice jerseys.

With the league adopting in March a rule allowing teams to rent space on the shirts they wear while practicing, we perceived the implication to be either the Titans were breaking the prior rule or the league had bent the rule for the Titans.

Actually, the Titans were simply winging it, since there previously was no league rule addressing the situation, one way or the other.

“There was no policy prohibiting what the Titans did with their practice jerseys,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told us via e-mail. “Then the concept was discussed by our Business Ventures Committee, which decided that there should be a set of rules for this opportunity.”

So, basically, the rule passed in March validated the Titans’ approach, and formally extended the opportunity to every other team.

Ugh. Obviously, this raises the specter of ads on game uniforms, highlighted by the recent Phoenix Mercury deal. And as the AP notes, shirt sponsorship is common in world soccer.

Shirt sponsorship made its United States team sports debut via Major League Soccer in 2007. Currently eleven of the fifteen clubs have shirt sponsors, if not necessarily the big, prestigious electronics conglomerates or international airlines you find in European soccer:

So how should we react to this news? My fear is that it will be looked at as a new revenue stream, and of other teams tap that stream then the Packers might feel they have to adopt it as well, to stay current with the Joneses. Sort of an embroidered version of luxury boxes or personal seat licenses.

Personally, as much as I dislike the idea (I don't even like to see manufacturers' logos on uniforms, much less sponsor logos), so long as it remains restricted to practice gear I suppose I can live with it. Maybe.

I'm also a little distressed that the Packers were so quick to jump on this new NFL rule. This wasn't a Press-Gazette or Journal Sentinel piece on how the local teams are reacting to the rule, but a national story on wire services promiently featuring the Packers salivating over the prospect. I do wish that the team was more interested in protecting the integrity of its visual identity rather than "open(ing up) new categories for sponsorship, particularly one that is so closely linked to our players and our jerseys". But perhaps that's just me, I'm old-fashioned that way.

Besides, how much exposure would this really bring to a sponsor, especially given that the Titans have been doing this for a couple years without anybody outside Nashville noticing? Practice games aren't widely covered. The Packers don't merchandise practice jerseys. It's doubtful that these patches would be seen outside the team's local market.

Quick test - do you even know what the Packers' practice jerseys look like? No Googling, now.

Answer: just like the regular home and road jerseys, only without TV numbers and sleeve stripes.

If the "sponsorship opprtunitity" has a decidedly local cast, then, who might buy it? Thinking along the lines of the Titans' deal, the Packers have a whole slew of official healthcare providers from which to choose. Perhaps we could see a Touchpoint Health Plan or St. Vincent Hospital patch. Or perhaps they would select one of the Lambeau Field gate sponsors, already well-associated with the Packers in the minds of locals - Miller Brewing, the Oneida Tribe, Mills Fleet Farm or Verizon. I suppose the NFL wouldn't look favorably on an alcohol sponsorship, so Miller (potentially the deepest pockets) would be out. Other local companies (and sponsors) off the top of my head include Associated Bank, ShopKo, American Family Insurance, and maybe Kohler. Do you think the Packers would mind a plumbing company's logo on their practice jerseys?

The risk team runs is that the sponsor company's circumstances change, and the association turns out not to be exactly what they were hoping for when they originally signed the contract, as Manchester United recently discovered:

Whoops. Way to project an image of strength and stability there.

Then again, that sort of morning-after regret isn't exactly exclusive to shirt sponsorship:

Hope the Packers can avoid this pitfall, if it comes to it.


UPDATE 06/05: Sure enough, the Bears are publicly considering this as well. If one team starts taking this money, which teams will refuse it?

UPDATE 06/12: The Texans have been approached by a potential sponsor, an adult video company. As Paul Lukas said, lie down with fleas....

UPDATE 06/18: And the first team to actually sign a deal under this new rule... The New York Football Giants, who as part of a larger sponsorship deal will wear the Timex logo on their practice jerseys. Giants quarterback Eli Manning has a six-figure personal endoresement deal with Timex competitor Citizen, so he'll reportedly have to remove his jersey before giving any post-practice press conferences. Awkward.

Auction Gold - Items From the Golden Boy

Two very nice specimens from Paul Hornung's playing days recently hit the auction block. Hornung ought not need an introduction - his list of accomplishments include the 1956 Heisman Trophy, the 1961 NFL MVP, the 1961 Bert Bell Award. He was also named to the NFL's 1960s All-Decade Team, and was a two-time Pro Bowler (1959 and 1960). Hornung is a member of three Halls of Fame: Pro Football, College Football and the Green Bay Packers.

First up is this early 1960s helmet, from Grey Flannel's recently-concluded Summer Games 2009 auction:

Lot #388: Circa 1963 Paul Hornung Green Bay Packers Game-Used Helmet

Paul Hornung was one of the most versatile players ever to play the game, playing Halfback, Quarterback, and Place Kicker for the Green Bay Packers. Not only could he run, he was a excellent passer, receiver, and blocker. Paul Hornung was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, won the 1956 Heisman Trophy and the NFL MVP award in 1961. On the back of this Yellow helmet with green and white center stripes in player number “5” stenciled in black. The inner suspension is fully intact with “RIDDELL” stamped. The facemask and chin strap are fully intact. The helmet shows good game-use with light scuffing to the outer dome and sweat staining inside.

Nice piece. It went for $5,317.20, including Buyer's Premium.

I'm interested in the 1963 attribution. I'm still working on a study of the various forms of the "G" logo, specifically when the Packers moved away from the original incarnation, which its thinner green outline and more pronounced football-shape. It was right about 1963 or 64.

I love the squared-off shape of the Riddell helmet. This one appears to be a JR-6. I'm not sure when the model was introduced, but I had thought it was after 1963.

Here's the six-loop, twelve-point, multi-crown suspension.

Very nice.

Update 6/10/09: I've learned a little bit more about the helmet's history. The very same helmet was sold at auction in 2005 by American Memorabilia. Sure enough, they attributed it at the time as being from no earlier than 1964.

The description from that auction gives us some great identifiers for the helmet style:

1964-66 Paul Hornung Game-Worn Packers Suspension Helmet

Certainly among the choicest game-used helmets ever offered is this mid-1960's Paul Hornung relic. The shell was made by Riddell and it's the RK-4 style that featured the mildly protruding ear contours. Hornung wore this style only sporadically early in his career. In fact, from 1957 through '62, most photos show him wearing the spherical TK-2 model. After a year involuntary 'sabbatical' in 1963, he returned to the Packers, and from 1964 to 1966 his preference was the RK-4 or RK-2 model. During this period, most photos show him wearing this model, although on brief occasions, he can be seen wearing the TK-2 sphere helmet. The outer shell is painted classic Green Bay yellow. The double-layered "G" decals are correct for the decade in terms of font style, mil depth and layered white-on-forest-green lettering. The low positioning of the "G" (well into the protrusion of the mold surrounding the top portion of the ear hole) is correct. As a matter of course, placement was inconsistent on Green Bay's decals and some actually abutted the top edge of the ear hole. The traditional Packer striping - green-white-green - is painted onto the shell, which was standard for the team prior to the middle '60's when bolt-on cages were forbidden, and vinyl striping came into practical use. The striping demonstrates the correct widths and color hues. As should be the case, the bolts located within the center striping were not painted over. The Packers were meticulous about this clean look for all of the exterior bolts, unlike other teams such as the Bears or Lions, who simply painted over them. The interior of the shell sports the RK-4, six-point suspension system (which preceded the twelve-point system) and was exclusive to all helmets prior to 1964. The back left suspension bolt has detached from the shell, and this may have been the reason for the helmet being withdrawn from active play. The leather jaw pads are intact and are vintage early '60's (based on double-sided dark leather), as is the earlier '60's version of the rubber crown donut, which is thicker. The gray snubber is present in the center of the helmet under the front lip; Hornung almost always can be seen wearing the snubber. Another interesting feature is the presence of the heavy-duty cushioned leather headband often worn by players who had large foreheads, or those who were prone to concussions or forehead bruising. Many Packers helmets of the period incorporated this feature, or sponge concussion padding which ringed the entire crown and upper extremities of the inner shell. Hornung was not necessarily concussion prone, but the shape of his forehead and vulnerability as a running back, made his a likely candidate for usage. There is a markered "5" in proper position on the shell's gray interior and remnants of an RK-4 rectangular sticker is still present in the lower back inner shell. There are other features linking this helmet to Hornung. It has the two-bar BD-9 facemask with the cursive "ell" Riddell stamp on its right base (which is standard for the early/mid '60's). Second, the interior boltage, support pad and slotted screws are all original and consistent with this period. As well, the angle of the mask is tilted slightly upward, and this was unique to Hornung. As a matter of policy, the Packers once stenciled a player's uniform number on the lower back of the outer shell. In Hornung's case, his number was a single digit, and it was stenciled only on the center stripe. Numerous photos exist of this placement - sometimes nearer the upper bolt, sometimes nearer the lower bolt; sometimes quite dark, sometimes lighter; but nearly always in black. The helmet is accompanied by a mid-'60's chin strap which is vintage Packers with remnants of green paint on the inside. Overall, an outstanding survivor of the Golden Boy from his glory days with Green Bay. It comes from the collection of a long-time restaurateur who obtained it from the Packers in the early 1970's.

The final bid in the original auction, including premium, was $10,178. Ouch. In three years, the helmet has lost nearly half its value. Of course, a deep recession can severely impact the collectibles market.

It's also interesting to trace the provenance of an item. In this case, we know of at least two owners since the helmet left the team: the original, who held it from "the early 1970s" through 2005, and the person who bought it then, who may or not be the seller in last April's auction.

I'll be watching to see if it surfaces again.


The second Hornung item of interest is this gem from American Memorabilia:

1965-66 Paul Hornung Game-Worn Packers Durene Jersey w/4 Repairs (First Hornung Jersey Auctioned)

Men loved him, women wanted to be with him. Paul Hornung has lived a charmed life. Blessed with signature dimples and that curly hair, he was a Saturday matinée idol at Notre Dame and Sunday delight in Green Bay and was one of football's first heartthrobs. The likes of Jim Brown, Bert Jones, Troy Aikman and Tom Brady made women's knees wobble. But the true original was Paul Hornung.

Green Bay Packers game-worn jerseys from the 1960s are some of the most coveted in the football industry. It was Lombardi's Packers which forged football's first true dynasty and helped put the sport on the map. Hornung was Lombardi's go-to guy. If a yard or touchdown was needed, even an option pass or long field goal, the Golden Boy could be counted on.

This size "46" jersey, the first Hornung Green Bay representation offered on the auction block, was worn by Hornung upon his return from his 1963 suspension. Four team repairs appear on the upper front and back shoulder area. The jersey was secured following a Packers' contest at Wrigley Field against the Bears circa '64-65. Teams didn't go through jerseys like they currently do. Most teams used a home and away set for an entire season and preseason and often carried jerseys over from year to year depending on the condition. There are no alterations whatsoever on the white durene garment which shows significant toning but has aged gracefully i.e. durene is still consistent throughout with minimal nylon fiber surface degradation and still exhibits wonderful sheened qualities.

Of special note is the classic green/gold/green trim (3/4") which surrounds the neckline and the Packers specific red size "46" mini-flag tag within the inner collar line. The numbers are created in single-color forest green tackle twill with diamond-point #5's on front and back and horizontally dominant sleeve numbers featuring "flat top 1's and straight 5's."

The sleeve striping pattern is embedded and correct in color hues, while the width of stripes feature 1/2" gold between three larger 1" green stripes.

Naturally, elliptical elbow reinforcements are present on the standard 3/4 sleeve length. A Sand-Knit period size label is sewn in the lower left tail. There is slight staining on the white durene but it is almost unnoticeable. Score it a 10+ with regards to rarity, beauty and wear -- what else would you expect from pro football's Golden Boy, Paul Hornung.

One of the little things I love about this jersey style is the complimenting (but not identical) number forms. The diamond-point "5" just wouldn't look right on the sleeves. It's the small quirks, the deviation from the norm, that makes the design work, like the Yankees' different cap and jersey logos. It speaks to an old-fashioned design school, created by hand. You'd never see this kind of quirk on a uniform designed on a computer.

The Packers still use the same basic set of number styles today, including the two different "5"s:

The Hornung jersey also gives us a great look at the Sand-Knit tag:

Under a new name (Ripon Athletic), the same plant still produces jerseys for the Packers.

There's still time to get in on this one - the auction ends on 5/28. Current bid is $14,266.

UPDATE 5/29: The jersey auction has concluded. Final price: $22,976 (plus Buyer's Premium).