Description: Hello and thanks for looking. PLEASE READ FULL DESCRIPTION AND SEE ALL PHOTOS For sale is this rare and unique piece of Green Bay Packers ephemera and history - a check drafted from the Packers account as “Green Bay Packers Inc.” signed by General Manager and legendary coach Vincent Lombardi and Packers President Dominic Olejniczak and made out to early (starting in 1923 season) Verne Lewellen who when the check was written (April 15, 1960) Lewellen was Business Manager for the team. Vern Lewellen - Lewellen signed with the team and played most of his nine-year career with the Packers. Lewellen played in 102 games for the Packers from 1924 to 1932 (in 1927, the team "lent" him to the New York Yankees for three end-of-season games) and earned all-league first-team honors from 1926–29. He also was a pivotal part of the Packers three straight league championships in 1929, 1930, and 1931. Lewellen is considered by some football historians as one of the top football players of his era not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Because games in the early era of professional football were such so low scoring, punters were considered the most valuable players on teams due to their ability to control field position. Verne Lewellen was considered by most around the league to be the premier player at the leagues most important position, consistently flipping field position on opponents. In addition to his elite punting ability, his 35 total touchdowns in the 1920s decade was the most of any player in the entire NFL. His career total of 50 touchdowns remained an NFL record until 1941 when he was passed by Don Hutson. Lewellen's former teammate Charlie Mathys once said that “if he doesn’t get in the Hall of Fame, it’s a joke.” When Lewellen was not announced as one of the 11 players included in the inaugural Hall of Fame class of 1963, his former teammate Johnny “Blood” McNally, who was a member of the inaugural class, claimed that Verne “should have been in there in front of me and Cal Hubbard.” Despite playing in an era of extremely low scoring football, Lewellen still sits fifth on the Packers list of all-time rushing touchdown leaders. In 1950, he joined the Packers as a member of the executive committee, served as the Packers' general manager from 1954 through 1958 and business manager from 1959 to 1967. PROS: This is a pretty unique document - signed by a legendary coach to a legendary player who was a legendary player at the dawn of the NFL and who later served as GM and Business Manager for the team in his retirement - a lifelong Packer. Further it is co-signed by Dominic Olejniczak who was a famed Packers executive as well as Mayor of Green Bay - and the check is countersigned by Lewellen - so I will say a double autograph although some could say a triple. Clear bank code perforation and stamp on the back. As a whole piece - this has a lot of cool context and signatures. CONS: No authentication. I am going to run this for a week $200 less what I would normally ask with a PSA authentication (that’s what it would cost me but to be fair - it substantially increases value). A big part of this is the Holidays are coming and this is a super cool gift for a fan. After a week I will go ahead and send it to PSA. “Fair” condition - there is a light crease down the center but more of a condition issue are two losses on the back of the check due to a home mounting using tape (amazing damage isn’t worse) - this does not effect signatures but on a light box it is visible from the front - if framed and mounted these imperfections would be very difficult to see. See photos - I have included one with the check over a window so you can see how visible the marks are with substantial light coming through the rear. Kind of a con - two signatures/autographs on the front - one on the back. I guarantee the piece as authentic - see my feedback - item came from the estate of a sports collector in the Bay Area - the check is consistent with other Packers Checks from this era, signatures look right (although I am not an authenticator but do have substantial exposure to counterfeit and fake items) - the cost to create such a fake wouldn’t justify what one could get for the product so I feel very secure and will stand by that guarantee for a year if you should have it authenticated and it came back as anything but authentic. Feel free to ask questions - see photos - shipped via USPS Priority Mail.
Price: 1249.99 USD
Location: Reno, Nevada
End Time: 2024-11-06T04:30:17.000Z
Shipping Cost: 9.99 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Player: Vince Lombardi
Sport: Football
Signed: Yes
Original/Reprint: Original
Autograph Authentication: Not Authenticated
Product: Signed Vince Lombardi Check
Team: Green Bay Packers