Thursday, September 12, 2013

1962 Schedule Broadside

This oversized cardboard broadside was hung all around Green Bay in 1962, celebrating the 1961 team while preparing fans for the upcoming season.

I love the crowned "'61 Champions" graphic. Below it, an oval divided into six parts: fullback Jim Taylor, halfback Paul Hornung, quarterback Bart Starr, and head coach Vince Lombardi over facsimile team signatures and a team photo.

That 1961 title was the Packers' first championship under Lombardi, as well as their first in nearly twenty years. It was also, coincidentally, the first season they wore John Gordon's "G" logo on their helmets. It marked the end of a long drought and the beginning of the Glory Years.

1962 was going to be even better. Fans listening to the games on those Wisconsin radio stations were in for a real treat, as they improved on their 11-3 season from '61 by going 13-1. The 1962 team is widely considered the best Packer squad ever.

Interesting to see Taylor in such a prominent position. He was an essential member of that squad, and the first Lombardi-era player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, but I'd suspect that if fans today were asked to name prominent players from that team, Ray Nitschke would come to mind sooner. Such is the power of retired numbers.

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