Memorabilia from the Green Bay Packers, 1944-1968

Green Bay Packers Memorabilia, 1944-1968


Organized in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau and George Calhoun, the Green Bay Packers have won more league championships than any other professional football team and are the only publicly owned professional sports team in the nation. The Packers of the 1960s, under Coach Vince Lombardi, were one of the most dominant NFL teams in history, winning five league championships in seven years. Green Bay also won the first two Super Bowls, 1966 and 1967, after the merger of the rival National Football League and the American Football League in 1966 (as well as Super Bowl XXXI in 1997).

The documents shown here are primarily from the Packers' glory years under Lombardi, who became head coach in 1958. The previous year, the first stadium built specifically for a professional football team opened in Green Bay, and we present here the souvenir booklet from its dedication on September 29, 1957. Green Bay was home to the championship game in 1961, a highly anticipated event as evidenced by the souvenir program booklet issued by the Green Bay Press-Gazette, and other assorted memorabilia shown here. Schedules and rosters from the 1964, 1965, and 1966 teams are also included (three straight league championship years), as well as tickets from a 1968 celebration for Lombardi who retired from the Packers in 1967. These items are all reproduced here through the generosity of the Green Bay Packers.

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Related Topics: Wisconsin's Response to 20th-century change
The Rise of Professional Sports
Creator: Green Bay Packers
Pub Data: Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Records, 1919-1966 (selected from Green Bay Mss 116, box 29, folders 4-28; box 30, folders 1-20.
Citation: "Green Bay Packer Memorabilia, 1944-1968." Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Records, 1919-1966 (Green Bay Mss 116); Online facsimile at:  http://wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1256; Visited on: 4/25/2024