A famous Green Bay Packers picture that sold on Mears Online Auctions in 2011 for $4,674 may not be what the buyer thought it was. The ambitious collector who purchased the item thought he was getting a rare original photo from 1921 that featured Curly Lambeau about to take a pitch in the stadium that would later be named after him. It appears he was wrong.
The photo was billed as “the earliest known action photo of the Green Bay Packers franchise” in a description on Mears’ website. Cliff Christl of PackersNews.com disagrees, claiming that the photo is of a high school football game and has nothing to do with Lambeau Field. Christl listed three red flags that the photo should have raised.
For starters, the Allouez Water and Beverages sign in the background matches a sign that stood in an old minor league baseball stadium in Hagemeister Park which happened to double as a football field. Secondly, there is snow on the ground. The Packers played 18 games at Hagemeister Park in 1920 and 1921 and only six were after Nov. 1. They also played a local benefit game on Dec. 5, 1920, but of those 19 games only one was played with snow on the ground. It was played on Nov. 13, 1921.
Finally, Christl called attention to the jerseys. The Packers were sponsored by Acme Packing Co. in 1921. The Packers 1921 team picture shows that at least five players wore jerseys with Acme Packers written across the front of them. While only two jerseys worn by the team in the photo that has the ball are visible, neither have any lettering across the front.
And for further evidence, Christl pointed out that the Packers’ jerseys in the team photo are darker than their pants. The opposite is true in the picture that sold at auction.
If that evidence isn’t enough to prove that the photo isn’t what the buyer thought it was, good for them. They’re more than welcome to go through life believing they didn’t get hosed. Buyer beware.
H/T Shutdown Corner
