Carl Lidberg's 1929 Championship Watch

An exceedingly rare Packers treasure has recently surfaced at auction.

MEARS is currently offering this 1929 pocket watch, awarded to fullback Carl "Cully" Lidberg to mark the Packers' first World Championship.

MEARS

MEARS

The engraving on the back reads:

Carl Lidberg
Member Green Bay Packers
Football Team
National Champions 1929

We've seen on of these before, having previously dicussed Boob Darling's 1929 pocket watch, which fetched $9,560.00 at auction in 2006. What's remarkable, when comparing the two, is how different they are. Here they are side-by-side, Lidberg's on the left:

The two photographs may not be to scale, but even setting that aside we can see they are of a similar type but different style, and the engraving conveys the same information using different layouts. It speaks to the origins of this awards; instead of a mass-produced item designed and manufactured specifically for the team, these were probably pulled off a watch seller's display shelf, whatever he had available. I can't help but wonder what other variations might be out there.

Lidberg had a relatively short tenure with the Packers; he wore the Blue and Gold in 1926, 1929 and 1930. Those three years were eventful, though, and he was a member of Green Bay's first two championship clubs.

He appears in this 1929 team panoramic:

There he is, back row all the way on the right.

I've been following Packers memorabilia for twenty-five years, and this is on only the second 1929 World Champions pocket watch I've seen. It represents the beginning of the team's first glory period, and is a rare opportunity for a lucky Packers collector to own a piece of history.