It was one of hundreds of items sold during the recent Super Bowl Auction in Houston but not everyone realized just how significant it really was.
A franchise certificate issued to the Green Bay Packers by NFL president Joe Carr sold for $19,550. That may have been a huge bargain for the buyers, Packers collector Chris Nerat and an anonymous partner in Wisconsin.
The certificate appears to mark the dawn of the Packers debut as a community-owned franchise, likely dating to 1923 or soon after. The Packers historian says the certificate “might be the most valuable piece of Green Bay Packers memorabilia ever sold.”
While the Packers made their pro football debut a few years earlier, the Carr-signed document marks a moment in time when the club became what it remains today: the only publicly owned franchise in major American professional sports.
The certificate was part of a collection of items dating from Carr’s NFL presidency between 1921 and 1939 that were consigned to auction after being rescued from a trash pile.
Team historian Cliff Christl helped unravel the story of why the certificate remained in Carr’s possession rather than in Green Bay for this story on Packers.com.
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Richard Sherman’s building quite a collection of game-worn, autographed jerseys from his NFL colleagues. He recently showed some of them off on Instagram.
Not sure whether he got the Brady before or after the “you mad, bro?” game.
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Maybe the only thing that can compare to a crop of hot rookie cards is to own a card shop in Arizona or Florida during spring training.
John Gola, owner of AZ Sports Cards, located in Phoenix, told AZCentral.com that it’s “like Black Friday every day. Right now, for example, I’ve got 15 people in the store and you should see the steady flow I get before and after games. It’s like a 200-percent increase in sales once spring training gets here.”
Cactus League-financed studies released a little over a year ago indicate the economic impact in the Phoenix area at more than $800 million each year. Fifteen teams train and play within an hour’s drive.
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One of the three PSA 10-rated 1975 Topps Nolan Ryan cards sold for a whopper of a price on Friday.
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Notes: Von Miller’s Stolen Helmet Returned; Philly Shop Marches On; Vikings Collector
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