The First Preview

The publication shown above caught our eye at the gas station this morning, so naturally we had to pick it up for the archives. USA Today’s NFL Forecast ranks the Green Bay Packers as behind only the Seattle Seahawks in their “power rankings” of the whole league. There are no predictions given — that will come in the many preview publications this summer. But it’s clear that the rest of the league still recognizes the Packers as one of the top two elite teams to beat, no matter what happened in the NFC Championship game against the team they rank as #1.

Miscellaneous Wednesday

If you’re a long-time Packerville, U.S.A. reader (thank you, by the way), you know that from time to time we like to scope out some Packers memorabilia from auctions. That’s where some of today’s treasures were found, and none of them were current auctions. Above and below are a couple samples of the Mobil Oil NFL posters that were available in 1965-66(?).

These are Curly Lambeau’s football spkies. At least, that’s what we’re told.

Button from (Dave) “Hawg Hanner Day.” From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “Hanner received an honor in 1962 reserved for only a few select players in franchise history. The popular defensive tackle was recognized during "Dave Hanner Day" before the Baltimore Colts game at City Stadium on Nov. 18, 1962. The team presented Hanner with several gifts, including a white station wagon, a tractor with a snow blower, and cash. Some of the 38,669 fans sported "Hawg Hanner" buttons and cheered wildly for their defensive hero in the Packers' 17-13 victory over the Colts.”

Dave “Hawg” Hanner — Green Bay defensive tackle from 1952-64.

Hanner (#79 at right) makes a tackle near the goal line on a 49ers ballcarrier in a December 10, 1962 game in San Francisco. Wrapping the runner up initially is CB Herb Adderley (#26), with LB Ray Nitschke (#66, at left) coming in for an assist. This is from a newspaper archive, and the circled area appears to perhaps reference a knee injury that may have occurred on the play.

A Dave Boss-stylized Green Bay Packers poster from the 1960s.

Above and below, some select old Packers trading cards from quite a long time ago. 

You often see these old Williams Advertising posters for sale or on display, but you don’t often see the envelopes that contained the sets. 

Here are a few examples of the posters you would have collected in those days. Above, we see Bill Curry.

        Bob Jeter 

        Dave Robinson 

        Lee Roy Caffey 

        Willie Wood

Summer inches closer in northern Wisconsin, and we look forward to Training Camp drawing near, as well as all the fun summer things to do in Green Bay. The CityDeck (seen above) along the Fox River is just one piece of the revitalization of Titletown’s downtown. As part-time residents of Green Bay now, we enjoy all the time we are able to spend there.

American Legion Monthly — 1936

As we navigate this “quiet” time of the football year, we thought we’d post this article from the December 1936 issue of American Legion Monthly, when our team was only seventeen years old. At the time, it probably seemed like they had been around forever, compared to other professional football teams of the era. And now they are working on almost a hundred years. My, how time flies.

Bits ’n Pieces

It’s been a little while since we’ve had an update, and there is really not a whole lot going on other than the rookie camp they had last week following the draft. Not only were the 2015 draft choices there, but also a sizable contingent of undrafted free agents.

A few notes and dates:

• There are are a few dates where fans can watch OTA and mini-camp practices — Thursday, May 28; Tuesday, June 2; Wednesday, June 10 (all at 11:30 a.m., on Clark Hinkle Field). 

• We are told that the three-day mini-camp will also be open to the public — Tuesday, June 16 through Thursday, June 18. Times have not been announced yet.

These dates are weather-permitting… if there is rain, the practices will be held inside the Don Hutson Center and will be closed to the public. Check the forecast and Packers.com for any late-changing information before you go.

We plan to attend a practice or two and will share that with our readers when and if it happens.

• Tickets went on sale this morning at 10:00 a.m. for Brett Favre’s induction into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame on Saturday, July 18. The tickets, priced at $4 each (the money goes to charity), will grant fans admission to the seating bowl to watch the induction ceremony on the TundraVision video boards. During the evening, Favre will also make an appearance in the bowl to address the crowd. To get tickets, go here. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Sorry, they sold out in one day. Luckily, we got ours early].

• The Green Bay Packers’ annual shareholders meeting will be held in Lambeau Field on Tuesday, July 28 at 11:00 a.m., rain or shine. You must be a shareholder (or the guest of one) to attend the meeting. Your proxy materials will be forthcoming in mid-late June.

• The Clay Matthews Danbury Mint™ figure seen at the top of this post is new for 2015. It will be in our Packerville, U.S.A. archives soon.

More as it develops…

The Rest of the Class

All graphics courtesy of the Green Bay Packers