Custom "World Champions" Plaques

This weekend, I received an amazing email from reader Trevor Whitlock, who created a project you'll have to see to believe.

Long time reader of your blog and figured I'd share one of my homemade packer creations during this packers down time.

I've got a small section of my basement dedicated to Packers stuff. Among the pieces, i have plaques for the 1996 team, the 2010 team and a team of the 60s plaque. For years I've been hoping the packers or the NFL would honor/acknowledge the first 6 championships so all of them could be represented on my wall. Earlier this year, i stopped waiting and took it upon myself.

I searched the internet to find the highest resolution photo I could of each team, identified the players and created a design for two plaques (3 teams on each). I tried to be as historically accurate as possible (ex. reconstructing the graphic of the 1945 media guide cover for the second plaque). I then had the images printed on metallic paper and adhered them to some basic black plaques that I had re-purposed. The result, I feel, is a great tribute to those teams and really blends in with the style of the Healey plaques of the 90s.

Here's the photos he sent me:

Absolutely stunning. Here they are in context, hung with the commercially-available plaques honoring the 1960s teams:

Nailed it. The effect is perfect.

A real labor of love; you can see how much work he put into them.

This is an amazing project. I share Trevor's frustration with the NFL's ongoing pre-Super Bowl myopia, and admire his determination to make these himself. They are indeed a fitting tribute to those teams. Bravo, sir.

Super Bowl I Like You've Never Seen It Before

A CBS cameraman shoots Super Bowl I on Jan. 15, 1967 at Los Angeles California's Memorial Coliseum. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-21. - Image credit: National Football League

Fantastic news from the NFL Network, as they have assembled a complete cut of the very first Super Bowl.

Super Bowl I: The Lost Game will premiere this Friday on their network, and will give us the most complete look ever at this historic game.

NFL Network to re-air Super Bowl I for first time

Forty-nine years to the day after the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs squared off in Super Bowl I, NFL Network will be the first network to ever replay this historic game on television.

Super Bowl I was broadcast by both NBC -- the official broadcaster of the AFL- and CBS -- the official broadcaster of the NFL and remains the only Super Bowl to have been broadcast live in the United States by two television networks. Considered to be the Holy Grail of sports broadcasts, the CBS and NBC tapes of the game were either lost or recorded over and no full video version of the game has existed ... until now.

In an exhaustive process that took months to complete, NFL Films searched its enormous archives of footage and were able to locate all 145 plays from Super Bowl I from more than a couple dozen disparate sources. Once all the plays were located, NFL Films was able to put the plays in order and stich them together while fully restoring, re-mastering, and color correcting the footage. Finally, audio from the NBC Sports radio broadcast featuring announcers Jim Simpson and George Ratterman was layered on top of the footage to complete the broadcast.

The final result represents the only known video footage of the entire action from Super Bowl 1 and NFL Network will show it to the world for the first time on the 49th anniversary of the game between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, January 15.

Super Bowl I: The Lost Game will air on Friday, January 15 at 8:00 PM ET on NFL Network. The three-hour program is enhanced with pregame, halftime and postgame segments, modern broadcast graphics and coverage, social media interaction, facts and information, with studio contributors and guests live reaction and storytelling throughout.

Host Chris Rose and Steve Mariucci anchor the broadcast and are joined by a plethora of NFL Media talent, such as Terrell Davis, Daniel Jeremiah, Steve Wyche, and Elliot Harrison. Additionally, Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end for the Packers Willie Davis and former Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman join in-studio, while former Packers greats Jerry Kramer and Dave Robinson join the show from remote.

In addition to the broadcast of the game, Super Bowl I: The Lost Game includes the following features:

• Wired sound from Packers head coach Vince Lombardi
• Footage of a postgame interview with Chiefs head coach Hank Stram and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle being interviewed by Pat Summerall
• In-depth discussion on how the Super Bowl I broadcast was lost and then re-assembled using NFL Films footage
• A feature on the merger between the well-established National Football Leagueand the upstart American Football League, giving birth to the modern-day NFL and the uniquely American spectacle called the Super Bowl.
• An interview with Super Bowl I CBS producer Bill Creasy on why the second half kickoff was kicked twice

All 145 plays of game footage from Super Bowl I: The Lost Game were compiled from NFL Films video shot at the game. The NFL Films crew for Super Bowl I were John Butterworth, Joe Fain, Morris Kellman, Stan Kirby, Stanley Leshner, Dave Marx, Skip & Ken Nelson, Walt & Jim Porep, and Art Spieller. There were only two ground cameras and just one sound camera, the rest of the staff were top cameras or assistants. By comparison, there will be approximately 35 NFL Films cameras at Super Bowl 50 and an additional support crew of well over 50 other NFL Films personnel.

Outstanding. What a rare treat for those of us who missed the game the first time it came around.

I don't have the NFL Network, but I'm confident they'll soon make it available to the rest of us on iTunes and the like. Until then, settle in, grab a beer and watch your Packers make history.

Do I Smell a Rematch?

The four teams left standing in the AFC playoffs are Denver, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and New England. That means if (yes, if) the Packers can make it to the final game Super Bowl 50 will be a rematch. It could perhaps even a uniform rematch, setting aside the fact that the AFC team will have home field advantage. Let's take a look at these possibilities in chronological order.

Packers/Chiefs would be an interesting one. The 50th Super Bowl as a rematch of the first, in the same state if not the same city.

A Patriots/Packers rematch would look the least like the original game, as the Pats have tweaked their uniforms greatly since the 1996 season. The colors are now darker, with an increased emphasis on blue at the expense of red.

Those two potential matchups would give the other team an opportunity to exact revenge on the Packers. Only the Denver Broncos allow the Pack an opportunity to avenge a loss in the title game.

All these years later, I'm still kind of surprised how thoroughly I've managed to block that game from my mind. Of course, in order for this to be a real throwback the Broncos would have to wear their alternate navy jerseys, as they did earlier this year.

Seeing the Steelers in the Super Bowl would mean a rematch of the Packers' most recent opponent. This is the only Super Bowl I've covered since turning my zine into a blog, and would certainly be satisfying.

So what do you say, Packers fans? What possible rematch would you like to see?

I have to admit, the urge for revenge is strong, and therefore I'd like to see the Packers thrash the Broncos in Santa Clara. But from a strictly æsthetic perspective, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to reprise the first Super Bowl.

Two traditionally-minded teams in uniforms virtually the same as they were wearing fifty years ago in California. It would be beautiful.

Video - 1936 Championship Game Highlights

Tomorrow, the Packers will be in suburban Washington for the first round of the NFL playoffs. Although the two teams have collectively played 180 seasons in the NFL, and account for a combined eighteen world championships, this is only the third time the teams have met in the postseason.

The first time was in 1936, when the other team was still in Boston and our Packers were in their second year of experimenting with green and gold uniforms.

The game was the 1936 Championship game, the fourth in league history (until 1933, titles were awarded by records) It was played at the Polo Grounds in New York City, the first title game to be contested on a neutral field.

The Bostonians were the host team, but had struggled for support in their home city. Team owner George Preston Marshall chose not to play in their regular Fenway Park, but New York.

The Packers dominated the game 21-6 to claim their fourth World Championship, the first to come via championship game.



Just a few days after the loss, Marshall announced that he was moving his club to Washington, DC, where they reside today. Let's hope the Packers can bring a little of their 1936 magic to Landover today.

48 Seconds of the 1936 Championship Game

Some amazing silent footage on YouTube:

December 13, 1936: Teams run onto Polo Grounds Field. Toss of coin. Packers throw back Boston team on kickoff play. Packer's Arnie Herber passes to Don Hutson for TD. Boston's star Cliff Battles leaves game with serious leg injury. Herber passes 52 yards to Johnny Blood McNally to eight yard line. Herber passes to Milt Gantenbein for TD and 14-6 lead.

Amazing catch by Hutson there.

The Packers scored first, and Boston came back to almost tie in, but in the second half the Bays pulled away and cruised to their fourth World Championship.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Green Bay Packers	7	0	7	7	21
Boston Redskins	0	6	0	0	6

Good as Gold

This beautiful photo, originally published in the photo section of the Milwaukee Journal on October 12, 1930, now hangs in a mens' room in the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee.

The caption gives us a little context:

The Green Bay Packers
Champions of the National Professional Football League
FOR 1929

PRO FOOTBALL IN GREEN BAY dates from the time when the Acme Packing Co. put a team in the field just after the World War. For several years the team has been supported by the Green Bay Football corporation but the name Packers has remained—a name which all Wisconsin honors, a name which means top notch football in the National Professional Football League.

Front row, left to right; Woodin, Radick, Fitzgibbon, Zuidmulder, Bloodgood, Perry and Zuver. Middle row, left to right: Lambeau, Herber, Michalske, McCrary, O'Donnell, Lewellyn, Blood, Molenda, Dunn and Lidvig. Standing, left to right: Hanny, Sleight, Nash, Hubbard, Dilweg, Engelmann, Bowdoin, Darling, Earpe and Kresge. (Journal Color Photo)

Although the caption mentions the 1929 Championship, this is a photo of the 1930 club. Elbert Bloodgood, Merle Zuver, and Frank Hanny played only one season in Green Bay.

"Lidvig" is actually running back Carl Lidberg. I don't know who "Kresge" is; nobody by that name appears on the Packers' all-time roster.

The Packers would, of course, go on to win a second consecutive World Championship in 1930 and then a third after that; a feat which has only been equaled once since, by the Packers of 1965, 1966, and 1967.

I love the little pennant graphic filling out the space below the caption.

"The GBP". Very collegiate.

This is a beautiful ph

"Champions of Them All"

Heritage Auctions

This amazing team photo comes from Heritage Auctions. They have a pair of championship banquet programs to be auctioned off next month, and this is the preview of the first.

The Packers had held a championship banquet for the Packers following every title won to this point, starting in 1929. This, the fifth World Championship, was no exception.

The Packers had been strong all season, finishing 9-2. The only team with a better record was the Eastern Division champion New York Giants at 9-1-1. On December 10, 1939, the two teams faced off at Wisconsin State Fair Park in the Championship Game. You might have expected two such dominant teams to play an even game, but when they took the field the Packers dismantled the visiting New Yorkers, 27-0.

Four days and 120 miles later, two thousand fans packed the Columbus Community Club building on South Jefferson Street in downtown Green Bay. Among the revelers was Wisconsin governor Julius P. Heil, "perhaps as real, honest to goodness sports fan as ever sat in the governor's chair".

In the words of the Milwaukee Sentinel, the room was

"jarred to the rafters with the flood of adjectives as speaker on speaker lauded the Bays for their marvelous performance all season and for the "greatest football display in the game's history" last Sunday. The Packers, themselves, took the adjectives like blushing school girls, but actually beamed with and more than one made a passing remark: "Gee, boys, this Green Bay town is the place to play your pro football."

The venue itself had a long history with the Packers; the Columbus Club building opened in 1925 as a recreational and social center, and immediately began playing an important role in Packer history.

Columbus Club Building circa 1930

There is a Packers Heritage Trail plaque on the building, listing some of that history:

In the 1920s, before radio broadcasts of Packer games, large crowds gathered on Sunday afternoons when the team was playing on the road. A play-by-play was transmitted by telegraph wire from the site of the game, and the results were posted here on a large board built in the shape of a football field.

From 1927 until the mid-1930s, the Packers used the top floor as a clubhouse. For five years, starting in 1930, their ticket office was located here, as well.

The building also was the site of championship celebrations and rousing public rallies that helped save the franchise. Banquets were held in the first-floor auditorium after the Packers won NFL titles in 1936 and 1939. On April 11, 1950, more than 1,500 fans filled the auditorium to kick off the Packers' third stock drive. And on March 31, 1956, more than 1,000 fans attended a rally in support of building what is now Lambeau Field. George Halas and Curly Lambeau were among the speakers. Three days later, the city-wide referendum passed in a landslide.

This also was where the Vince Lombardi Show was taped by WBAY-TV.

The building is now studios for WBAY, the ABC affiliate in Green Bay.

Google Maps

Columbus Club Building in 2012

Let's take a closer look at that team photo. Curly Lambeau is in the front row, far left, and on the far right of the second row we can see assistant coach Red Smith. Smith spent his offseasons as a catcher, coach, and eventually general manager for the Milwaukee Brewers, and in the early 1940s managed the Brews' farm team in Green Bay.

This is Lambeau's classic blue and gold uniform, introduced in 1937 and emblematic of the franchise through the 1949 season. Their socks still had stripes in 1939, although those would only last for a few years.

You can also see that the players are wearing at least two different number styles; undoubtedly the result of old uniforms being carried over (we would see this happen into the Lombardi era as well).

Some of the players are wearing "4"s with a "foot" on the bottom of the vertical line, and some are a fully sans-serif version.

For what it's worth, the photos I've seen of the Packers' white alternate jerseys from that season featured the sans-serif font.

The numbers on Hutson's jersey don't match any I've ever seen before on a navy jersey, and in any case by 1943 he would be wearing the "footed" 4.

What an amazing piece of Packers history this banquet program is. It's going to make some lucky collector very, very happy.

Bring on the 'Boys

The Dallas Cowboys' victory yesterday sets up a divisional round playoff game at Lambeau Field next week. The last time Dallas played a postseason game in Green Bay was December 31, 1967 to determine the NFL Champion and also who would face the AFL representative in Super Bowl II.

Officially designated the "1967 NFL Championship Game", it lives on today as the Ice Bowl.

For many, the defining image of the Ice Bowl was taken by sixteen year old team photographer John Biever immediately after Bart Starr's quarterback sneak into the end zone to take the final lead.

I don't think I've ever seen this view, though, taken just seconds before, and in color:

One of the things I love about this upcoming game is that the two teams still wear the same uniforms today, save a few minor tweaks.

You can tell from this photo that the Braisher stripes on the Packers' pants were significantly thinner than, while the Cowboys were already wearing the thicker version the Packers sport today:

Looking forward to this game. Hope the spirit of Vince Lombardi can help guide our boys to another victory!

Auction Gold: Lee Joannes' Super Bowl I cufflinks!

Wow. There's an amazing find in Heritage's current auction:

1967 Green Bay Packers Super Bowl I Championship Gold Cufflinks....

Originally owned by former Packers president Lee Joannes!

1967 Green Bay Packers Super Bowl I Championship Gold Cufflinks.  It was Milwaukee Journal sportswriter Oliver E. Kuechle who coined the moniker, "The Hungry Five," a somewhat pointed commentary on the quintet of Green Bay Packers board members who seemed always to be in desperate need of cash to keep their fledgling team afloat. Today their founding franchise of professional football stands as one of the most iconic in American sports, but the team's very survival remained very much in question in those earliest years when most gridiron fans considered the collegiate game to be the only one that mattered. But together with coach and star player Curly Lambeau, Green Bay Press-Gazette publisher Andrew Turnbull, attorney Gerald Francis Clifford and team physician Dr. W. Webber Kelly, grocer Lee Joannes formed a united front against looming bankruptcy, serving as team president during the darkest days of the Great Depression. Each pioneering executive is properly immortalized in the Packers Hall of Fame.

Beyond the odd signed legal document and team correspondence, almost nothing exists in the collecting hobby from Joannes today despite his supreme relevance to the very existence of the Green Bay Packers. Presented here is a thrilling exception to that rule, a pair of gold cufflinks awarded to Joannes following the Pack's victory in Super Bowl I. Those familiar with Championship hardware from this first edition of football's most celebrated contest will note the striking resemblance to the rings presented to Starr, Hornung and the gang, but these are the only cufflinks we've ever encountered. It is safe to say that they are considerably more rare than the rings from which their design is cribbed.

Packer-green emeralds are set inside a clever design incorporating the shapes of both a football and a globe, encircled by raised text announcing, "1966 World Champions Green Bay Packers." The circular portion of each cufflink is stamped on verso with the Josten's logo and a "10K" gold content, while the clasps are stamped "1/20 12K GF," the result of two ring faces having been fashioned into tasteful sleeve adornments. Each cufflink survives in pristine original condition.

The small handful of Super Bowl I rings that have appeared on the hobby's auction block have commanded solid five-figure prices, and this offering is every bit their equal--some would argue that the connection to a "Hungry Five" member, and the duplication of the ring's primary design, would give these cufflinks the edge. It's unquestionably one of the most exciting Packers offerings to tempt the advanced collector in recent years, accompanied by a letter of provenance from esteemed Titletown collectibles purveyor Packer City Antiques. Letter of provenance from Packer City Antiques. LOA from PSA/DNA.

"Rare" is an understatement. Lee Joannes is a towering figure in Packers history. Some lucky collector is going to treasure this connection to our team's Founding Fathers.

It's also worth noting that these cufflinks reflect the original design of the Packers' Super Bowl I rings, before Vince Lombardi replaced the emerald with a diamond. Outstanding.

As much as I love Lombardi's style, I actually prefer the emerald to diamond; the green added to yellow gold really brings the Packers' colors to life.

As we get nearer to another Packer season, it's worth pausing to remember those heroes who brought the first NFL-AFL Championship Trophy home to Green Bay:



The auction ends next week: bid early, bid often.

1962 Schedule Broadside

This oversized cardboard broadside was hung all around Green Bay in 1962, celebrating the 1961 team while preparing fans for the upcoming season.

I love the crowned "'61 Champions" graphic. Below it, an oval divided into six parts: fullback Jim Taylor, halfback Paul Hornung, quarterback Bart Starr, and head coach Vince Lombardi over facsimile team signatures and a team photo.

That 1961 title was the Packers' first championship under Lombardi, as well as their first in nearly twenty years. It was also, coincidentally, the first season they wore John Gordon's "G" logo on their helmets. It marked the end of a long drought and the beginning of the Glory Years.

1962 was going to be even better. Fans listening to the games on those Wisconsin radio stations were in for a real treat, as they improved on their 11-3 season from '61 by going 13-1. The 1962 team is widely considered the best Packer squad ever.

Interesting to see Taylor in such a prominent position. He was an essential member of that squad, and the first Lombardi-era player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, but I'd suspect that if fans today were asked to name prominent players from that team, Ray Nitschke would come to mind sooner. Such is the power of retired numbers.

The Old Man at Sneezer's, 1960

This marvelous photo comes to us via Shorpy, a "vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s." This photo lies just outside that timeframe, featuring head coach Vince Lombardi eating breakfast at Sneezer's Snack Shop, his morning haunt.

Shorpy

1960. Green Bay, Wisconsin. "Packers coach Vince Lombardi at lunch counter." Photo by Frank Bauman for the Look magazine assignment "The Packers Pay the Price."

Outstanding. When was the last time you could order a glass of "fresh, healthful buttermilk" in a diner?

The coach reportedly ate breakfast every morning at Sneezer's on his way to the stadium, and the Packers were known to rent out a private back room for team functions.

Here's a chrome postcard of Sneezer's from 1967:

Flickr/it's better than bad

The postcard's caption reads:

SNEEZER'S SNACK SHOP
"Titletown U.S.A."

Mrs. Geneva Jahnke with her 1966 Mustang which she won in the Icelandic Fish Co. contest at The Wisconsin Restaurant Convention.

Sneezer's specializes in Broasted Chicken, Hamburgers and Icelandic Sea Foods.

I love the sign, with the rotund chef carrying a massive burger.

Geneva Jahnke was the wife of Norman "Sneezer" Jahnke, master of the house.

For a glimpse at what the exterior might have looked like as Lombardi drank his coffee on that morning, this photo was taken just a few years earlier, on September 25, 1957:

Wisconsin Historical Society

Sneezer’s Snack Shop at 1608 S. Greenwood (now Ashland) Avenue. Vince Lombardi often ate breakfast here on his way to the practice field. The left half of the building was the restaurant, and the right half of the building was the Jahnke family home. On game day, Sneezer’s was a de facto tailgating site, 1960s style. During the 60s, tailgating at the stadium did not enjoy the popularity that it does today.

Note that in 1957 the Coca-Cola "BREAKFAST" sign hadn't been put up, nor was there a "SNEEZER'S" sign on the chimney.

Sneezer's was close to Lambeau Field (then known as City Stadium or New City Stadium). The original address was 1608 S. Greenwood Avenue, but upon the construction of Highway 32, also known as South Ashland Avenue, the building's address was changed. On this satellite view, Sneezer's location is on the right, marked with (A):

Sneezer's souvenir ashtrays are beloved by Packer collectors. This version from 1959 features facsimile signatures from the entire roster, coaching staff and even longtime trainer "Bud" Jorgensen and equipment manager "Dad" Braisher.

eBay

A similar ashtray was issued in 1960, one of which sold at auction last year. It proudly proclaims the Packers as "Western Division Champions", perhaps a bittersweet reminder that the Packers lost the title game to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Heritage Auctions

I'm not aware of those ashtrays having been produced in any other seasons. There is this undated ashtray, again sold at auction last year, proclaiming Sneezer's as "The Home of the Packers":

Inside the Park Collectibles

There's the fat chef again.

I don't know when this ashtray was produced, or even if it was ever offered to the public, unlike the the 1959 & 60 versions (which are labeled "Compliments of Sneezer's"). The address is still listed as "1608 S. Greenwood", whereas by 1959 it had been changed to "S. Ashland Ave - Hwy. 32", meaning this item precedes Lombardi's arrival in Green Bay. That would also indicate that Sneezer's was a Packer favorite before being discovered by Lombardi. I also don't know if the lack of green and gold indicates this is from one of the Packers' many seasons in navy, or if it's just Sneezer's standard color scheme.

Although the ashtrays appear to have been discontinued before Lombardi's team started winning championships, the restaurant did print coasters commemorating the Packers' wins in Super Bowls I and II.

Just about every decent Packers collection will contain at least one Sneezer's item.

Sneezer's Snack Shop has been closed for years. Norman Jahnke died in 1983, Geneva in 1986. The building still remains, however, on South Ashland Avenue.

It is currently occupied by the Green Bay Veterans Center.

Auction Gold - Hank Gremminger's 1962 Championship Watch

The current Heritage Auction continues to offer some real treasures.

1962 Green Bay Packers NFL Championship Watch Presented to Hank Gremminger. Widely considered the best team ever put on the field by legendary coach Vince Lombardi, the 1962 Green Bay Packers bested the New York Giants 16-7 in front of 64,892 Yankees Stadium fans in the '62 league championship game.

Heritage Auctions

After receiving stunning gold rings for the team's 1961 championship victory against the same Big Apple gridders, the Green Bay Packers mixed it up a bit the following season by awarding their players and coaches with absolutely gorgeous 14 karat gold "Hamilton" watches. Offered here is the nicest 1962 NFL Championship presentational watch ever offered. Exhibiting flawless Mint condition, the original timepiece was awarded to defensive leader Hank Gremminger for his contributions to the magnificent squad.

Heritage Auctions

Obviously never worn by Gremminger which is evident from its pristine quality, the watch is accompanied with its original case. The face displays 12 sparkling white stones, in addition to "Green Bay Packers 1962 World Champions NFL," and the famed team helmet beneath the bold print, while its back is engraved "HANK GREMMINGER GREEN BAY 16 NEW YORK 7". Consigned by Gremminger's daughter, this is one of the most significant and eye-appealing pieces from one of the greatest teams in NFL history. LOA from Tina Schooler (Gremminger's daughter). Guide Value or Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000.

This is the second 1962 World Championship watch to come up for auction in recent months (the previous one had a metal expansion band, not the standard leather). These were given to players and staff in lieu of rings following Vince Lombardi's second consecutive title.

The face is simply gorgeous, with the Packers' helmet on a black field surrounded by diamonds.

Heritage Auctions

Even if the kerning is a little off, and the city name is rendered as "GREENBAY".

Hank Gremminger was a cornerback for the Packers from 1956-65. He was part of three championship squads; this one, as well as 1961 and 1965. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1976.

Gremminger in 1960

We might never see a finer example of this watch. A future centerpiece of somebody's collection.