Auction Gold - Jim Taylor's 1966 Sideline Jacket

This 1966 sideline jacket, attributed to Jim Taylor, was sold at auction in 2008.

1966 Green Bay Packers Game Worn Sideline Jacket Attributed to Jim Taylor. Jim Taylor will always be renowned as the Packers gritty fullback who ran over defenders with ease, joining fellow Canton resident Bart Starr as the twin hearts of the Green Bay offense. Not only did the great Hall of Famer display extraordinary strength on the Lombardi dynasty teams of the 1960's, but he also exemplified the heart of a champion. Taylor would exit the game at the top, with his final contest a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I in 1966, the season he made use of the offered garment. As confirmed by numerous video images, Taylor wore this style warm up during home and road games. This example features the player identification "31," affixed to the base of the body in the same manner as "PACKERS," which arches across the back of the jacket in gold tackle twill lettering. The "Sand Knit [size] 50" tag in the neckline is consistent with apparel produced by the company in 1962, and proper for Taylor's build. The remnants of some form of tagging is apparent below, but we cannot determine what this may have been. Condition of the jacket is fantastic throughout, with none of the staining or moth damage one typically encounters from this era. This Canton-worthy artifact has been graded an A9 by MEARS and comes with their full Letter of Opinion, along with images used for style matching. LOA from MEARS. LOA from Lou Lampson.

Now, while I personally wouldn't trust a LOA from Lou Lampson any farther than I could throw Lambeau Field, MEARS has always been very reputable. Were I ever to want something authenticated, they'd be my first stop.

Here's the tag mentioned. Sand-Knit was founded in Chicago before relocating to Ripon, Wisconsin in 1953. Its factory was eventually acquired by Ripon Athletic, which continues to produce athletic uniforms and award jackets today (including, under contract from Reebok, the Packers' uniforms).

Here's a close look at the numbers on the sleeve.

I love the font, as it reminds me of the Packers' 1940s jerseys.

Finally, we have a photo of Jim Taylor wearing the same style jacket:

The shot of cornerback Bob Jeter is the best picture I've seen of these jackets:

I love how the cuff and collar striping mimics the "Packer stripes" - green/white/green on gold.

You can also see these jackets in this famous photo of Vince Lombardi prowling the sidelines at Tiger Stadium in Detroit:

The lettering style doesn't quite match our Taylor jacket, although that in and of itself may not be significant - in the days before computer design, the Packers were known to mix-and-match lettering styles, as seen in photos from the 1962 World Championship game in Yankee Stadium.

All in all, an amazing exemplar of mid-60s Packer style.

Making National News

The Packers' new throwback uniforms were a topic of discussion on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" last night, guest-hosted by columnists Dan Le Betard and Bob Ryan of the Miami Herald and Boston Globe, respectively.

During the "Report Card" segment program of the show, the sportswriters had this to say:

Host Tony Reali: The Packers' new uniforms, or alternate uniforms, let's get a grade on that.

Bob Ryan: Now, I don't usually care too much about this stuff. But this, these are uniforms that probably they wore in the 20s. And it's the Green Bay Packers, who have been in existence since 1920, I give this an A+. If they wear these uniforms - I hope they do it actually against the Bears, and make them wear it too - I think this is sensational.

Dan Le Betard: They're doing it against the Niners. I wish they would do this also, just keep going with this, what else can they do? Leather helmets, no facemasks, what else -

Ryan: Nah, stop it.

Le Betard: What?

Ryan: Stop with this. But this is good.

Le Betard: No. Why? You like the old throwbacks.

Ryan: I don't want any people getting hurt with leather helmets.

Le Betard: Keep going! This is all a profitable gesture, right? This is all about making money, is it not? So that's the only - I guess that would be the only negative.

Ryan: I give it an A. A A A A A!

Le Betard: A-minus.

Ryan's slightly shaky history aside (although "1920" is an improvement over the NFL-approved 1921), I have to agree. Sure, this is about making money. Virtually everything the NFL does is. But if raising awareness of the Bays' rich sartorial history is merely an unintended side-effect, I'm all for it.

ESPN.com subscribers can watch the clip here.

Mark Your Calendars

The 2010 season is starting to come into focus - the Packers have announced the date for their new throwback uniforms.

The Packers will be wearing their 1929-inspired throwback blues on December 5th, when the San Francisco 49ers come to Lambeau Field. Anybody got a spare ticket?


(h/t: Jeff Ash)

Shining through

This wire photo shows the Packers in a 31-14 loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh on November 24, 1953:

PITTSBURGH: Jim Finks (7) Steeler quarterback goes over for first touchdown in first quarter of game with Packers here tonight 10/24. Blocked out on the play were Packers Howard Ruetz (75) and Clayton Tonnemaker (55).

The Packers are sporting their short-lived early 1950s ensemble of green pants, gold jerseys and metallic gold helmets. Love the shiny twill numbers. Head coach Gene Ronzani was fired at the end of this season, and as was so often the case, incoming skipper Lisle Blackbourn would bring his own uniform designs to the Packers for 1954.

It's In the Bag

I don't know much about the history of Packers training equipment, but this image from the collection of Robert Harvell, auction director at GUU Auctions, makes me want to learn more.

So much to love about this photo. And the shadows make it.

(h/t: Robert Harvell, UniWatch)

Glimpse of the Future at the Pro Shop

Reader Tim O'Donnell recently visited the Packers Pro Shop in Lambeau Field and sent these pictures featuring the Packers' new alternate uniform in display.

This 1929 throwback will be worn during the 2010 season (and which, under the NFL's current uniform regulations, will remain the team's only alternate through 2014):

I admit, the brown helmet is really growing on me.

Love the no-whites look, although it's not strictly authentic. Players of the day did wear white sanitaries, just rolled very low to show as much team color as possible:

The Reebok details don't bother me as much as they have in the past. The vector logo doesn't seem quite as intrusive when rendered in gold.

I could, however, do without the ugly and misleading "NFL EQUIPMENT" logo. The modern shield is a sharp design, easily identifiable at a distance. It defines the NFL brand across all platforms; why isn't it considered strong enough to stand on its own on the uniforms?

On the whole, this uniform is a nice compromise between the classic style and modern requirements. I think Johnny Blood would be proud.

No word yet on the specific games we'll see this uniform on the field.

The (Color) Match Game

Donovan Moore, who runs the excellent ColorWerx site (the only blog and database devoted to the science of color in sports), recently posted the official color palette for the Packers' new throwback uniforms.

The Packers, like all pro teams (and most corporations period), use the PANTONE Matching System to ensure that the Green and Gold are rendered faithfully across all platforms, from websites to bumper stickers, books to banners to t-shirts. Different media will display colors in a different fashion, so Pantone produces a series of color swatches for various applications; coated versus uncoated paper stock, textiles, and more, all in an attempt to maintain color consistency no matter where those colors are displayed.

Although most teams decline to reveal their specific Pantone colors for fear of enabling counterfeit merchandise, the Packers list them in their media guides: Dark Green (PMS 5535-C), Gold (PMS 1235-C) and White. Here they are rendered in the ColorWerx database:

Moreover, Moore reveals that the Packers throwbacks herald a new age in color matching:

Something I just discovered - the first professional sports team to use PANTONE Goe colors in one of their designs. The Packers new throwback uniforms (Acme Packers, with the Navy jerseys with the number within a Gold circle) use a PANTONE Goe color for the Light Brown used in the pants, and another one for the Dark Brown used for the helmet color. I'm probably the only one who cares about this, but I'm seeing it as a sign of things to come. The Goe system is being positioned by Pantone as their primary color set, with what used to be called the PANTONE Matching System (PMS) being regulated as an additional, supplemental set - which is why PMS is now called PANTONE PLUS.

Of course, there's only so much Pantone can do when different materials reflect differently under various lighting conditions, resulting in a perceived mismatch like this:

Caveat *Always* Emptor

Guy Hankel has a new post on his blog White Mesh and Green Durene.

This jersey is falsely being offered as a Bart Starr game-worn. In addition to breaking down the claims one by one, Guy gives his a good look at the Packers' 1960s jersey tagging.

It's a must-read for anyone considering purchasing a game-worn jersey, and a reminder that a little bit of homework can save you an awful lot of trouble.

From Humble Beginnings

This is the very first Green Bay Packers team:

GREEN BAY "PACKER'S" (sic) 1919

Standing: Nichols, Powers, Coffeen, Martin, Sauber, Martell, Leaper, Ladrow, DesJardien, Zoll, Muldoon, Rosenow, Petcka, G.W. Calhoun Center: Lambeau Lower Row: Abrams, Gavin, McLean, Bero

The 1919 Packers dominated Wisconsin's semi-professional football scene, winning their first ten games by a staggering combined score of 565-6. The Racine Iroquois were the only team to even score against Green Bay's mighty Blues, scratching out six points (trimming the Packers' lead in the game to a mere seventy points). The Packers would meet finally their match in the final game of the season, when the Beloit hometown ref called back three Packer touchdowns and the mighty Blues fell to the Beloit Fairies (named for their sponsor, the Fairbanks-Morse Company), 6-0.

Curly dressed his boys in navy shirts and gold pants, reminiscent of his Notre Dame alma mater. Helmets, for the few who wore them, were unpainted leather.

That's Packers co-founder George Whitney Calhoun looking sharp in his very cool bow tie. Curly sits front and center with the ball. These men could now have known it at the time, but their eleven games in 1919 were the beginning of a glorious tradition. They were the first representatives of the most successful pro football team in history.

The Free Market is Alive and Well

An interesting find on eBay right now - an industrious seller is selling re-creations of various Packer jerseys. Although he mentions wanting to produce every jersey style the Packers have worn, he currently has four versions available.

Each of the current offerings is marred (to my eye) with a "Circa ____" designation across the shoulders. This varies from mildly annoying to seriously distracting, based on how busy the jersey itself is.

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First up is a beauty from 1923. We've talked about this jersey before - it was the first major departure for Curly Lambeau - after four years of navy jerseys with gold trim, he swapped the color scheme and introduced a gold jersey with nine thin navy stripes on each sleeve. It was worn with gold socks and dark gold pants, creating the team's first monochromatic uniform.

Now we can see what that jersey might have looked like in person.

I think this one is gorgeous. I'd be tempted to pick one up myself. Very unique, from a forgotten moment in Packers history.

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This next one is interesting - it's reproduction of the Packers' 1927 jersey. The team's media guide describes the uniform as "Elaborate, jockey-like jerseys, with inverted triangle tracing clavicles and 13 blue and gold vertical stripes from chest to stomach; faded blue canvas pants, gold socks with two blue stripes".

It's not perfect (his stripes are far straighter and more evenly placed than the originals) but it's still pretty fun. I suspect that the Packers meant that the gold "ribbing" against the blue jersey gave the impression of gold and blue stripes, rather than having blue stripes actually sewn on to the jersey.

The stripes themselves were intended to grip the ball when held tight against the player's body - under the rules at the time, ballcarriers were not down by contact but had to be physically stopped. So it wasn't uncommon for backs to go down to the turf and scramble back up again, and they sought any advantage they could get to help them hang on to the ball.

Personally, I love this look. It's an iconic image of early 20th-century football, evoking a rough-and-tumble struggle for yards in the mud. It made a brief resurgence in 1994, when the Steelers and Bears wore updated versions as part of the NFL's 75th anniversary throwback celebration. It's also handy for anyone looking for some easy shorthand to borrow some of the mystique of early football:

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The classic Lambeau uniforms don't get nearly the respect they deserve. Although emblamatic of the Packers for over a decade, the Packers have never offered them for sale beyond the two Tony Canadeo versions from Mitchell and Ness, leaving it up to fans to make themselves.


His interesting take on this classic jersey is to replicate the short-lived variant with a satin torso, seen here on Arnie Herber and Don Hutson:

This is the one where his "Circa" embroidery bothers me the most, cluttering up the area between yoke and numbers.

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Of course, no Packer do-it-yourself throwback jersey collection would be complete without a 1921 "ACME PACKERS" jersey.

Straightfoward enough - he's even closer to the correct font than the Packers themselves usually get.

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So there you have it. I might quibble with a few of the details, but I'm delighted to see these great jerseys made available in any form.

I've long wished that the Packers would capitalize on their long uniform history; in the absence of action from the club, looks like fans are starting to step up. Hope the Packers are paying attention.