Friday, April 22, 2011

1965 and 67 World Championship Charms

Continuing with Grey Flannel's current auction, today we have two charms from the collection of former Packers offensive tackle Steve Wright (1964-1967).
Lot #230: Pair of Green Bay Packers Gold Pendants Presented to Steve Wright (2) (Wright LOA)

The football shaped pendant is made of 10k gold and reads "GREEN BAY PACKERS 1965 WORLD CHAMPIONS". An enameled Packers "G" logo appears in the middle along with a small round-cut diamond. The pendant weighs 9 grams and stamped "10K" along with the diamond-shaped Jostens logo on back. The second pendant is in the shape of a single-bar football helmet. The left side of the helmet reads "1ST SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS 1967" along with the Packers' "G" logo in relief. The right side reads "GREEN BAY PACKERS" and also features the Packers' "G" logo in relief. The pendant weighs 6 grams and the back of the helmet has been engraved with the player number "72". The pendants are in NRMT condition and come with a LOA from Steve Wright.
The pendants appear to be identical to those worn by Cherry Star on her charm bracelet.


The football-shaped charm features a diamond in the center of a green cloissoné "G" logo.

It commemorates the first of Lombardi's three consecutive World Championships, the third of which is reflected in the lot's other item.

The helmet-shaped charm is a recreation of the Packers' famous lids, with an inscription circling Dad Braisher's "G" logo on either side. On the helmet's right, the inscription reads "GREEN BAY PACKERS".

The back of the pendant is engraved with Wright's number 72, straddling the center seam as they did on the real thing.

The other side reads "1ST SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS 1967".

This is particularly interesting to me, and may reflect some uncertainty about how the game was to be billed. Officially, the first Super Bowl was known as the "First AFL-NFL World Championship Game". No identifying year, no roman number (those would come two years later).


Although played in January of 1967, the game actually decided the championship of the 1966 season. This wasn't the first time the title game straddled New Year's Day; the 1966 NFL title game, (to decide the NFL's representative at that first Super Bowl) was played in Dallas on January 1, 1967, and the preceeding year the Packers and Browns faced off at the 1965 World Championship Game at Lambeau Field on January 2, 1966.

This charm might indicate some confusion in those early years as to how the game was to be billed. Even today there are some who wish the NFL used the split-year "1966-67" format (an opinion which is grossly over-represented on Wikipedia).

Two great pieces from the Lombardi era, reflections of glory long past but never faded.

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