Gridiron, Again?

Well, this is going to get ugly. Looks like I'll have to update my list.

Interestingly, Favre is going from a team that wears the exact same shade of green as the Packers to one that wears the exact same shade of gold as the Packers.
(Graphic from Sconnie.com - buy the tshirt here.)

Another Forgery Surfaces

In a previous post, I've discussed how Grey Flannel Auctions created 36 phony "team issued" Favre jerseys. These get out into the market and get represented, either through ignorance or outright fraud, as legitimate.

Well, one of them is currently up for auction on eBay. Here's what the seller has to say:

1994 Brett Favre Game Issued Throwback Jersey Packers

You are bidding on a very RARE 1994 Brett Favre Game Issued Throwback jersey. These jerseys were wore for one game in the 1994 season and that game was on Monday Night Football at the Chicago Bears on Halloween night in a monsoon rain storm. Jersey has all proper tagging, on the inside there is the Made In Berlin,WI and the Starter tag, all numbers name and patches are sewn on. Comes with a COA paper from the Packers Equipment Manager Gordon Batty, that states he provided Grey Flannel with the remainder of the 1994 jersey. Jersey is framed right now, but it is not included. Shipping is $12.00. I accept paypal only. Payment must be received within 5 days after auction end. Please check my other auctions running right now, as I am selling my Packers collection.

Misleading, at best.

The seller does include a pic of the original team letter, which is just vague enough for someone who doesn't know the whole story. Nowhere does the auction listing mention "repurposed" or disclose that this "team issued Favre jersey" was issued by the Packers... but not to Brett Farve.

I don't know if this is an oversight, or a deliberate attempt to deceive, but the potential for confusion is very, very high.

This appears to be the exact same jersey which sold on eBay a few months ago. I really hope that the buyer knows what he's getting.

As an aside, it also appears that a Denver-area memorabilia dealer did something similar at the time, buying the remaining blank 1994 Broncos throwback stock and outfitting them with Elway numbers and nameplates. He went one step further and had Elway autograph the new jerseys in exchange for giving Elway a certain number of them. At least we know for certain Grey Flannel only made three dozen Favre "gamers".

If you're considering buying a Favre game-worn or team-issued jersey, do a lot of homework. Too many frauds out there. Given recent history, I wouldn't accept any Favre jersey unless it had been authenticated by Guy Hankel, or the fellows at MEARS. Pretty limited pool of experts I'd trust with these.

Caveat always emptor.

UPDATE: $662.52 final bid. I really hope the buyer knows what he or she bought.

On, You Green & Gold (and Sometimes Blue) To Glory

Packer fans, you know the words:

Hail, hail, the gang's all here to yell for you,
And keep you going in your winning ways,
Hail, hail, the gang's all here to tell you too,
That win or lose, we'll always sing your praises Packers;

Go, you Packers, go and get 'em,
Go, you fighting fools upset 'em,
Smash their line with all your might,
A touchdown, Packers,
Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight!
On, you Blue and Gold, to glory,
Win this game the same old story,
Fight, you Packers,
Fight, and bring the bacon home to Old Green Bay.

Nowadays, we're more accustomed to "On, you Green and Gold, to glory," but for decades the Packers were strongly associated with the color blue. The "Big Blue Bays" and all that.

Several seasons into the Lombardi era, well after Saint Vince re-designed the uniforms featuring the green and gold color scheme so familiar today, navy was still listed as a team color in the press guides. This was largely because the team was still wearing hand-me-down sideline gear from previous regimes.

These screencaps from the 1962 World Championship Game at Yankee Stadium, where the Packers defeated the New York Football Giants 16-7 to claim their eighth (and Lombardi's second) title.

As you can see, the Packers are still wearing their blue 1950s-era sideline gear, including the capes.

I'd love to know when those capes made their first appearance - the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton dates them to the Hutson era, but I'm not sure.

There's something even better than the capes in those screencaps: the coaches are wearing a familiar sideline jacket.

Mystery solved. Mitchell & Ness got it right.

Beautiful stuff. I also like the other blue jackets. They look like the green pullovers worn later in the 1960s.

Interesting mix of vertically and radially arched team names on the back.

I don't usually trust old photos for color reference, but there's little doubt that the jackets are actually blue, when worn over green windbreakers:

I love a good mystery, especially one that has been solved.

Thanks to Robert for the screencaps.

The Alabama Antelope Strikes Again

Guy Hankel of the must-read "White Mesh and Green Durene" blog has some new images of the Hutson jersey which went up for auction this past May.

The auction winner is a friend of Hankel's, and sent him some fascinating and illuminating photos of his new jersey. He also reminds us that the Packers Hall of Fame has a 1940s white road jersey on display, featuring a number treatment I've not seen elsewhere.

Check out his blog - you really ought to be reading this.

Get the Red Out

This morning, I received a promotional email from the Packers Pro Shop. Nothing too unusual in that, but this item caught my eye:

Looks like the Packers have redesigned their no-contact practice jerseys:

Product Description: Replica Quarterback practice jersey has ribbing at the neck with miter 'V' construction and NFL Equipment logo, G logo on sleeves, satin neck taping, double needle construction, dazzle fabric side panels and sleeves, extended drop tail and side vents. Jock tag and Reebok logos finish the piece.

Unless perhaps the replicas are being spun off from the authentics into fashion jersey territory?

Contrast the above picture with this one, from last month's minicamp:

Same neck and shoulder construction as the game jerseys, no sleeve logos. But I guess those didn't move as much product?


UPDATE 08/02: False alarm, it's just a fashion thing. These pictures from minicamp clearly show the quarterbacks wearing the standard-cut red no-contact jerseys. The NFL shop is selling the exact same fashion jersey for all teams:

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.