Some Auction Stuff

As you know, we occasionally look through the sports auction sites and find some vintage Packers items to share. Above is a selection of Green Bay pennants from the 1950’s-60’s that would be valuable if you had them today in good condition. Unfortunately, so many of us tacked them up in our bedrooms when we were kids and they ended up a bit ragged. 

True Sport Picture Stories – Volume 2 Number 5 came out in February of 1944 and featured Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers wide receiver Don Hutson on the cover and in its pages. 

We come across this button design now and then, but we never see it in the original packaging, as depicted here. This Green Bay Packers Rah! Rahs! official pro sports 3-1/2" win pin was produced in 1968 by Rah! Rahs! Company in Winona, Minnesota. 

While the previous items are no longer available for bids, the programs auction shown above looks like something true Packers history buffs would be interested in.

Green, Gold, and Glory

We will get back to our long series on books about the Green Bay Packers, and this entry sort of does because it spotlights a new addition to the market. Sports Illustrated’s Packers: Green, Gold and Glory (2013) follows the yearly trend of quality books about the team which are released before each football season. Are Packer fans more literate than the fans of other teams? Probably not, but the supply volumes about the team from tiny Titletown never seems to decrease. By the way, the ad seen above is from the current issue of Sports Illustrated (the College Football Preview Issue).

"Breathtaking photography has been Sports Illustrated's calling card since the magazine's inception. And with its new coffee table book — Packers: Green, Gold and Glory — has plucked hundreds of dazzling action shots from its vaults to tell Green Bay's storied history… a page-turner."

— Tim McCormick, Milwaukee Magazine

Another Preview

A busy week has kept us from posting, but the other morning while stopping to pick up some caffeine to start the day, we spotted this on the newsstand. The folks at USA Today put out this Green Bay Packers Season Preview, a publication we assume is aimed at the upper Midwest region. If you’re in the area, you might want to pick up a copy. Stay tuned, we have some great material to share soon from our time spent in Green Bay during Training Camp.

Preseason Dud

Well, we went to the Green Bay Packers’ preseason opener last night at Lambeau Field, and it was everything you might imagine a game like that could be. Other than the starting offense’s almost scoring drive, it was a 17-0 blowout that could’ve been 26-0 (the Arizona Cardinals missed three FG’s). Preseason games are good for people who never get the chance to go to a game otherwise, and a large majority of the fans are just happy to get inside Lambeau Field. The serious season ticket holders dump their preseason tickets in droves, which are then sold to the people described in the previous sentence. Now that we have every home game, time will tell in what we do with our exhibition game tickets. Shown above is the game’s program cover. 

This was the first game with our new “Green Package” tickets (one preseason game, six regular season home games, and guaranteed playoff tickets), and they are in Section 102 in the north end zone. Ironically, they are one section over from our existing “Gold Package” tickets. But whereas those seats are 34 rows up, our new seats are only eight rows off the field. When the teams are in that end, the action is as close you can see it in the Training Camp practices. With our binoculars, you are right in the huddle. 

Our congratulations go out to any of our readers who also got “Green” or “Gold” seats in the expanded south end zone. This is the area we explored while at the 2013 Shareholders Meeting back in July. We are very happy that our seats are in the original “bowl” of the stadium. The new seats are way up there, and are $23 more expensive (which gets you an actual “seat” with a cup holder and a seat back — the seats in the original bowl are aluminum benches). It will be interesting to hear comments from the south end zone fans about being so far from the field as we go along. The view above is from our new seats. 

QB Graham Harrell and his offensive teammates wait for a timeout to be over before huddling up down on our end of the field. The north end zone is always the end zone to the left on your television screen at home.  

We decided not to bring in the better camera equipment for this game, so these shots taken on our iPhone will have to suffice. Here the team is ready for the ball to be snapped deep in their own territory. 

The game progresses as the lights come on at Lambeau Field. 

Now the Cardinals are backed up into their own territory.  

Packer fans to the right of us... 

... and to the left. This first game was disappointing, but it’s way too early to panic. There were 17 players on the inactive list, so it is not a true indication of the team’s performance. What it did, as preseason games do, is to allow the staff to see players in action for evaluation leading up to the looming roster cuts. There was a lot of sloppiness and some flashes of ability, but when your team scores zero points, it’s a bad night. Hopefully, next week’s game at St. Louis will be a better litmus test. 

Seen in the Lambeau Field Atrium after the game — a replica of the stadium made out of Legos®. 

Vince Lombardi watches over the Bob Harlan Plaza as the crowds dwindle and start to make their way home.  

Coach Lambeau does the same thing.  

That’s it from Lambeau Field. After this, it was a three-and-a-half hour drive back to the Packerville, U.S.A. headquarters, where we arrived at 2:30 a.m.

In Today’s Mail

The new issue of Sports Illustrated showed up today in the Packerville, U.S.A. mail box, and look who’s on the cover this week! We’re pretty sure this is a regional cover, so if you’re in the Midwest, you can probably grab a copy at your local newsstand. We’re headed to Lambeau Field tomorrow afternoon for the 2013 season’s first preseason match with the Arizona Cardinals — and will be sitting in our new Green Season Tickets Package seats for the first time. Afterwards, we’ll bring you some photos from the evening, but not until Saturday sometime. It’s seven hours round trip for us, so we”ll get home pretty darn late.

2013 Publications Galore

It’s time to share some of the additions to the Packerville, U.S.A. archives that we’ve gathered in the last couple of weeks. First off, we have the 2013 edition of the Green Bay Packers Media Guide. It is made up of 608 pages of just about anything you’d want to know about the team. Statistics-wise, it has no equal. We have every Media Guide back to the 1965 edition. 

This year’s Green Bay Packers Yearbook features LB Clay Matthews on the cover. We have every issue back to 1961, and also have a printout of the 1960 version, which is one of the rarest and most difficult to find. In our opinion, the yearbooks have lost something since they were taken over by the team instead of being prepared by an outside party. But maybe they’ll get better over time.

This is the 2012-2013 Green Bay Packers Annual Report, of which we request a printed copy each year for the collection. It usually is sent out after the Annual Shareholders Meeting, in late July.

This 2013 Green Bay Packers Training Camp Guide is being handed out free of charge during camp practices each day. This is Edition: 1, but we’re not sure how many editions will be produced through the last public practice on August 27th.

All of the pro football preview magazines are out this time of year, as usual. Athlon Sports Pro Football is up first. Their prediction for the Packers in 2013: NFC North Division champions, losing in the NFC Divisional Round Playoffs.

Oh yes... we also found the official program for the 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Canton, Ohio. We don’t usually pick this up each year, but we did because Packers LB Dave Robinson was inducted this past Saturday. 

Back to the preview publications. Lindy’s Sports Pro Football has this prediction for the 2013 Green Bay Packers:  NFC North Division Champions, NFC Champions, losing to Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII.

The 2013 Pro Football Weekly Preview is the final publication (along with their Fantasy Football Guide) from this group, as they have closed the business after 46 years. Their predictions for this year’s Packers: NFC North Division Champions at 10-6, losing somewhere in the postseason. They have the 49ers defeating the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

2013 Sporting News Pro Football has this last prediction for the Green Bay Packers: NFC North Division Champions, beating Dallas in the NFC Wild Card Round, beating Atlanta in the NFC Divisional Round, and losing to Seattle in the NFC Championship game.

Last but not least is this stellar, outstanding, and gorgeous Sports Illustrated Special Issue which is all about the history of the Green Bay Packers. It is filled with awesome photography and numerous historical articles from the magazine’s archives. By all means, pick this issue up at a magazine stand or book store near you!

Dave Robinson in Canton

Former Green Bay Packer Dave Robinson was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio today. He is the latest player from the Lombardi era to go into the esteemed institution, and the 12th overall. We congratulate Robinson and his family on this momentous day!

Robinson speaks to the gathered crowds. 

An honor long overdue, but sweet. 

Robinson during his playing days in Green Bay. 

Robinson was presented by his son. You can watch that video segment here. 

Dave Robinson’s acceptance speech can be viewed here.

Visit Robinson’s official Pro Football Hall of Fame page to view his speech transcript, stats from his career, and more.

Thursday Practice

There couldn’t have been a more perfect day to watch a Packers’ Training Camp practice than Thursday morning. By the time it was over, the temperature had settled at 70 degrees with a light wind. The players who have ended up in Green Bay have certainly hit the jackpot as far as weather goes so far. 

Some of the punt return candidates this year. Rookie RB Johnathan Franklin (#23) makes a catch here. He dropped more than a few in the practices we saw. 

K Giorgio Tavecchio works with a staff member on running the “jugs” machine, which simulates punts without overly stressing the leg of P Tim Masthay.  

QB’s Aaron Rodgers (#12) and Graham Harrell (#6) about ready to get their practice started. 

Rodgers pitches one out to an unidentified RB. 

The TE’s are lined up for some “ball drills,” which stress keeping control of the football. 

G T.J. Lang is in his fifth season in the NFL, but even veterans can still receive some pointers about their stance, as he finds out here with offensive line coach James Campen. 

Offensive linemen working amongst themselves. 

Above and below, more tackling drills involving the offensive and defensive linemen. 

Rodgers works with his offense in some scrimmaging action. 

Rodgers takes the snap, and with some protection provided by FB John Kuhn (#30) and others,... 

... he is able to set and fire the ball off for a completion. 

Rodgers clowns around on the sideline with Harrell (right), and B.J. Coleman and QB’s coach Ben McAdoo.

Head Coach Mike McCarthy (all in green with white hat) and GM Ted Thompson (foreground) watch their team. 

Starting WR’s Jordy Nelson (#87) and James Jones (#89) enjoy a light moment, looking towards the crowd. 

LB’s coach Kevin Greene talks with Nick Perry (#53), Clay Matthews (#52), and Andy Mulumba (#46). 

Offensive linemen — T Kevin Hughes (#68), seen here — working against the LB’s, one-on-one. 

More scrimmaging action. 

The trenches.

You know we love these kinds of shots. 

Rodgers looks for an open receiver. 

RB Johnathan Franklin gains some yards. 

Rodgers getting ready to let a long one fly. 

One-on-one drills pitting a defensive lineman against one offensive lineman, who is protecting an imaginary QB.  

Super Gatorade® cart. 

The first field goal kicking drill that we’d seen all week took place later in practice. 

Some of the RB’s take a break while the kickers were showing their wares. 

The Green Bay Press-Gazette said that K Mason Crosby (#2) made all of his attempts. From our angle, we could not tell this at the time.

His rival, K Giorgio Tavecchio (#7) has also had a good camp as far as field goals go, but has not matched Crosby in the kickoffs department. 

Another “TV Timeout” break towards the end of practice. Wet towels on the head seem to be popular this year, even though the temps have been unseasonably mild so far.

Practice is over and McCarthy gathers his troops for some last words. 

Because of some drops and fumbled snaps during practice, McCarthy mandated that there be extra ball-handling work done afterwards. Here, the QB’s work with their coach. 

That’s it for our practice reports from the 2013 Green Bay Packers Training Camp. We had planned to be in town through Saturday morning, but a situation came up that ended our visit two days early. We do have more to share from our stay there, however, so stay tuned. Thanks for checking out our photos from this year’s camp!