Friday, August 21, 2015

Hall of Fame Uniform Timeline - ACME PACKERS

In a previous post, we looked at the uniform timeline just unveiled at the Packers Hall of Fame in Lambeau Field:

© Jeff Ash, used with permission

There's an absolutely stunning revelation on one of the figures:

© Jeff Ash, used with permission

White lettering on the "ACME PACKERS" jersey?


The only other time I've seen white indicated was in the book "Packers by the Numbers". I had noted this as an outlier in our timeline, as all other sources with which I'm familiar have it as gold.

As far as I know, no jerseys from the era survive. Nor do we have any color photos.


For at least four decades, however, the jersey has been depicted as navy and gold. Consider this artwork, commissioned for the 1972 book NFL: The First 50 Years:


That may well have been the first time a modern artist attempted to re-create the old jersey. Have we been parroting a mistaken presumption since then?

There's also the small matter of the Packers selling navy and gold merchandise for over five years now:



Even today, the Packers' website is using the same Maple Leaf Productions painting as featured on the fridge magnets. You guessed it, navy and gold:


If the Packers now have credible evidence that the lettering was white, it would upend half a century of presumptions. It wouldn't necessarily surprise me; after all, the NFL has been until recently a pretty terrible steward of its own history, the Packers only slightly more so. It's also an exciting reminder that there's so much more to learn and discover about our club.

While we're on the subject, there's also another rumor I've heard for years, that the jerseys also said "ACME PACKERS" on the back. I can't tell from this angle if that's the case on the mannequin's jersey.

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