Showing posts with label game programs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label game programs. Show all posts
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Packers/Vikings Game Program
The Vikings come to Green Bay this weekend, and the program is now available from the Packers Pro Shop.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Packers/Cowboys Game Program
The program for this Sunday's Packers/Cowboys game at Lambeau Field is now available from the Packers Pro Shop.
Solid design again - this time the cover boy is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. I was thinking they might save him for the last home game of the season; wonder what they've got in store for Week 17 against the Vikings?
Solid design again - this time the cover boy is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. I was thinking they might save him for the last home game of the season; wonder what they've got in store for Week 17 against the Vikings?
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Happy Turkey Day
Happy Thanksgiving! Today's entry is this gorgeous program cover from the Packers' then-annual trip to Detroit in 1961.
I love the typography.
We get to see the Packers on national television today, but there was a period when we played every year on this date. From 1951 through 1963, the Packers were the Lions' traditional Thanksgiving Day opponent starting in 1951. The way the Washington Generals are the Harlem Globetrotters' traditional opponent, in fact; most games were Detroit blowouts. Before Vince Lombardi arrived in 1959, the Packers had only won a single one of those Thanksgiving contests. The Packers did win Lombardi's first game in 1959 and then took this game in 1961. Other than those few bright spots, this annual game could be penciled in as a loss for Green Bay, and Lombardi had his team taken off the Thanksgiving rotation after 1963.
Happy Turkey Day, everyone!
I love the typography.
We get to see the Packers on national television today, but there was a period when we played every year on this date. From 1951 through 1963, the Packers were the Lions' traditional Thanksgiving Day opponent starting in 1951. The way the Washington Generals are the Harlem Globetrotters' traditional opponent, in fact; most games were Detroit blowouts. Before Vince Lombardi arrived in 1959, the Packers had only won a single one of those Thanksgiving contests. The Packers did win Lombardi's first game in 1959 and then took this game in 1961. Other than those few bright spots, this annual game could be penciled in as a loss for Green Bay, and Lombardi had his team taken off the Thanksgiving rotation after 1963.
Happy Turkey Day, everyone!
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Packers/Lions Game Program
The Packers Pro Shop is now selling the program for tomorrow's Packers/Lions game.
They're keeping with this season's established design, only instead of a current player they're shining the spotlight on former GM (and new Hall of Famer) Ron Wolf.
I expect we'll see one featuring Brett Favre (or even Favre and Bart Starr together) for Thanksgiving.
That ribbon in the corner indicates that we're in for another "commemorative" events at Lambeau Field. Only a couple more weeks in November.
They're keeping with this season's established design, only instead of a current player they're shining the spotlight on former GM (and new Hall of Famer) Ron Wolf.
I expect we'll see one featuring Brett Favre (or even Favre and Bart Starr together) for Thanksgiving.
That ribbon in the corner indicates that we're in for another "commemorative" events at Lambeau Field. Only a couple more weeks in November.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Packers/Chargers Game Program
The program for this weekend's game against the Chargers is now available at the Packers Pro Shop.
They've moved away from the busier covers of the first two weeks and reused the template from last week's program. I was rather hoping they would do something special for the throwback game.
They've moved away from the busier covers of the first two weeks and reused the template from last week's program. I was rather hoping they would do something special for the throwback game.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Packers/Rams Game Program
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Packers/Chiefs Game Program
The Packers have released the game program for this weekend's matchup with the Chiefs, and it's a busy one.
Really playing up the Super Bowl I rematch.
Lots of great photos, including some I don't think I've ever seen before (like the publicity still of Bart Starr in the Coliseum). From a design perspective, the few color photos really bug me. Better to make the layer of photos all black and white so as not to distract from the color game ticket laid over them.
If you're not going to the game, you can buy the program from the Pro Shop.
Really playing up the Super Bowl I rematch.
Lots of great photos, including some I don't think I've ever seen before (like the publicity still of Bart Starr in the Coliseum). From a design perspective, the few color photos really bug me. Better to make the layer of photos all black and white so as not to distract from the color game ticket laid over them.
If you're not going to the game, you can buy the program from the Pro Shop.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Packers/Seahawks Game Program
This is the game program for the weekend's home opener against the Seattle Seahawks.
Very appropriate for Alumni Weekend.
I grew up watching Lynn Dickey take the snaps, but Rodgers has become so identified with the number 12 that it's strange to see anyone else wearing it.
You can order this program from the Packers Pro Shop.
Very appropriate for Alumni Weekend.
I grew up watching Lynn Dickey take the snaps, but Rodgers has become so identified with the number 12 that it's strange to see anyone else wearing it.
You can order this program from the Packers Pro Shop.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
"Special Today - Ram Chops"
Fifty-three years ago today, the Packers faced off against the Los Angeles Rams. This was the program cover:
Oh, man. What a beauty.
We have Lombardi's Packers, represented by a hearty-looking butcher wearing the "G"-logo helmet introduced in that season. He stands next to a meat counter displaying the remains of their vanquished opponents: "Minnesota Mince Meat", "Roundly Ground Lion", and my favorite, "Brisket of Bear". Today's special is "Ram Chops", and he's ready with his cleaver to hack off a nice chunk for you.
But wait - check out the note in the upper-right corner: this program was for the Packers' annual visit to Los Angeles! I can't think of another time when a program proudly proclaimed that the home team was about to get slaughtered.
The clever cover illustration was done by Karl Hubenthal, who was then the editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Examiner. Hubenthal drew all the Rams' program covers that season, each featuring a ram (or Ram) taking on the opponent of the day:
Amazing design. I love the typography, and his use of bold imagery set against the varying opponents' colors.
What's also interesting is that on every other cover, Hubenthal portrayed the home club as prevailing, or at least holding its own; de-fanging the Bear, bowling over the Browns, or poking the Giant in the eye with the football. Even on the 49ers' program, where the ram is staring down the barrels of a shotgun, he's literally staring down the barrels, and the Niner is visibly nervous despite having his finger on the trigger. Only the program for the Lions game betrays any hint of danger, and even there the bandaged Ram player is brave enough to stick his head back into the cat's mouth. So what's up with the Packers cover?
Perhaps the answer can be found in the 1961 season. At the time they were preparing to face off against the Packers, the Rams were 4-9 and in sixth place in the NFL Western Division. Only the lowly expansion Minnesota Vikings were beneath them, and even that by just a single game. The Packers, on the other hand, came into LA that week with an impressive 10-3 record. They had already clinched the division and were just two weeks away from demolishing the Eastern Division-champion Giants 37-0 in the title game, bringing Green Bay their seventh championship (and first in nearly twenty years).
Given the disparity, Hubenthal's prediction doesn't really seem all that bold, and in fact the Packers did prevail 24–17 in the Coliseum that day. A solid win, if not the predicted slaughter. It's charming that the Rams would allow him to poke a little fun at their expense.
Hubenthal's covers are simply gorgeous, a marvelous product of their time. The groovy typography hints at the new decade, with the design revolution to come. This is highlighted when his efforts are contrasted with the generic football scene on the Packers' program from the previous month, when the same teams played in Green Bay.
The Packers were still using overlaid stock graphics in 1961, and save for a few minor changes in equipment that cover could have been found on a program back in the 1940s. Nobody even bothered to change the teams' colors.
The Packers' cover, sadly unsigned, is also trying to be whimsical—the punter's kick circles back behind him for a field goal, to the amazement of a bug-eyed ref—but the joke is labored, where Hubenthal's drawings are both whimsical and immediate.
The Rams might have been no match for the mighty Packers on the football field in 1961, but they sure knocked the stuffing out of them at the program stand.
(h/t: Todd Radom)
Oh, man. What a beauty.
We have Lombardi's Packers, represented by a hearty-looking butcher wearing the "G"-logo helmet introduced in that season. He stands next to a meat counter displaying the remains of their vanquished opponents: "Minnesota Mince Meat", "Roundly Ground Lion", and my favorite, "Brisket of Bear". Today's special is "Ram Chops", and he's ready with his cleaver to hack off a nice chunk for you.
But wait - check out the note in the upper-right corner: this program was for the Packers' annual visit to Los Angeles! I can't think of another time when a program proudly proclaimed that the home team was about to get slaughtered.
The clever cover illustration was done by Karl Hubenthal, who was then the editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Examiner. Hubenthal drew all the Rams' program covers that season, each featuring a ram (or Ram) taking on the opponent of the day:
Amazing design. I love the typography, and his use of bold imagery set against the varying opponents' colors.
What's also interesting is that on every other cover, Hubenthal portrayed the home club as prevailing, or at least holding its own; de-fanging the Bear, bowling over the Browns, or poking the Giant in the eye with the football. Even on the 49ers' program, where the ram is staring down the barrels of a shotgun, he's literally staring down the barrels, and the Niner is visibly nervous despite having his finger on the trigger. Only the program for the Lions game betrays any hint of danger, and even there the bandaged Ram player is brave enough to stick his head back into the cat's mouth. So what's up with the Packers cover?
Perhaps the answer can be found in the 1961 season. At the time they were preparing to face off against the Packers, the Rams were 4-9 and in sixth place in the NFL Western Division. Only the lowly expansion Minnesota Vikings were beneath them, and even that by just a single game. The Packers, on the other hand, came into LA that week with an impressive 10-3 record. They had already clinched the division and were just two weeks away from demolishing the Eastern Division-champion Giants 37-0 in the title game, bringing Green Bay their seventh championship (and first in nearly twenty years).
Given the disparity, Hubenthal's prediction doesn't really seem all that bold, and in fact the Packers did prevail 24–17 in the Coliseum that day. A solid win, if not the predicted slaughter. It's charming that the Rams would allow him to poke a little fun at their expense.
Hubenthal's covers are simply gorgeous, a marvelous product of their time. The groovy typography hints at the new decade, with the design revolution to come. This is highlighted when his efforts are contrasted with the generic football scene on the Packers' program from the previous month, when the same teams played in Green Bay.
The Packers' cover, sadly unsigned, is also trying to be whimsical—the punter's kick circles back behind him for a field goal, to the amazement of a bug-eyed ref—but the joke is labored, where Hubenthal's drawings are both whimsical and immediate.
The Rams might have been no match for the mighty Packers on the football field in 1961, but they sure knocked the stuffing out of them at the program stand.
(h/t: Todd Radom)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Taking on the Badgers, 1924
(cross-posted with BorchertField.com)
Eighty-seven years ago today, on October 19, 1924, the Packers welcomed their intrastate rivals the Milwaukee Badgers to City Stadium.
This program from that game comes from the current Heritage Auction:
I'm intrigued not only because it's a rare look at the 1920s Packers, but also because of the glimpse it offers of the Badgers, the Cream City's short-lived entry in the young National Football League.
There's also the added interest of the "Championship of Northwest". What other teams might have been involved in that race? There were several teams representing "northwestern" states by the 1924 NFL's standards. Minnesota had the Marines and the Duluth Kellys. Wisconsin had four teams in the league at the time; the Packers, Badgers, Racine Legion and Kenosha Maroons. Then there were the two Chicago teams, the Rock Island (Illinois) Independents, the Hammond Pros in Chicago's Indiana suburbs and any number of local semi-pro or independent teams that could have wanted in on the action.
Eighty-seven years ago today, on October 19, 1924, the Packers welcomed their intrastate rivals the Milwaukee Badgers to City Stadium.
This program from that game comes from the current Heritage Auction:
Heritage Auctions
1924 Green Bay Packers vs. Milwaukee Badgers Program - Only Known Example! Up until only a few years ago, no Green Bay Packers 1924 one-sheet program was known in the hobby. However, on a typical day at a popular "Titletown" antique shop, that day turned into an important collectible discovery when a small handful of of early 1920's programs walked through the door, and that missing piece of Packers history made an unprecedented appearance. Offered here is an original 8.75x11.5" program, issued by the "Green Bay Football Corporation" for the October 19, 1924 meeting between the Packers and Milwaukee Badgers. The game ended in a 17-0 victory for the home team Green Bay squad at Bellevue Park, in front of a typical crowd of approximately 4,000-5,000. This amazing gridiron treasure exhibits EX quality, with minor folds throughout. Its front displays both teams' rosters, including important names such as Lambeau, Buck and Lewellen, while the program also displays an advertisement for the Packers' Northwest Championship future meeting versus the Minneapolis Marines. A remarkable piece, which we are sure even the most discerning Packers collectors have yet to see. Guide Value or Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000.An outstanding piece.
I'm intrigued not only because it's a rare look at the 1920s Packers, but also because of the glimpse it offers of the Badgers, the Cream City's short-lived entry in the young National Football League.
There's also the added interest of the "Championship of Northwest". What other teams might have been involved in that race? There were several teams representing "northwestern" states by the 1924 NFL's standards. Minnesota had the Marines and the Duluth Kellys. Wisconsin had four teams in the league at the time; the Packers, Badgers, Racine Legion and Kenosha Maroons. Then there were the two Chicago teams, the Rock Island (Illinois) Independents, the Hammond Pros in Chicago's Indiana suburbs and any number of local semi-pro or independent teams that could have wanted in on the action.
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