1967 Green Bay Packers Super Bowl II Championship Ring Presented to Frederick "Fuzzy" Thurston....

Click the image to load the highest resolution version.

Sold on Aug 4, 2011 for:

Sign-in or Join (free & quick)

Get one of these:

Share this lot

Track Item Printable Auction Results

Sell One of These

Description

Auction Info

Guides & Info

Description

1967 Green Bay Packers Super Bowl II Championship Ring Presented to Frederick "Fuzzy" Thurston. Update: Upon further examination we have determined that this ring's production dates to the early 1970s. This would suggest that it is either a replacement for a lost or damaged original, or that Thurston received his Championship ring late due to his absence from the next season's roster. We stress that all other details remain accurate, and that the ring is 100% genuine and derives from Thurston's personal ownership.

It's often been theorized that Thurston's lack of Canton credentials is due only to the Hall of Fame's resistance toward enshrining yet another figure from a team featuring the most members in NFL history. But few would dispute that Fuzzy had been a leader both on the field and off of it during his nine seasons at Lambeau Field, paired with Jerry Kramer in the famed Packer Sweep, which beneficiary Paul Hornung decreed as "the best play in football" and Vince Lombardi called his "bread and butter."

Today Thurston remains one of the most beloved players ever to wear the green and gold, a man who epitomized Lombardi's mantras of teamwork and the unyielding pursuit of perfection. The hard-nosed guard did not abandon the city that embraced him after hanging up his cleats, opening a string of restaurants and taverns where he would hold court nightly, regaling patrons with tales of the Ice Bowl and his six World Championships.

Presented is the very ring he earned for his participation in the very last game of his career, likewise the final Championship claimed by the iconic Lombardi. The story of its current availability is a sad one, the sale mandated by the United States government due to an unpaid $1.7 million federal tax bill accrued by the popular Packer.

The design is refreshingly elegant and understated compared to its recent Super Bowl XLV counterpart, the trio of diamonds on its face (1.50 carat weight total) representing the team's three consecutive Championships. They are set in a football-shaped green stone, edged by raised text reading "Green Bay Packers World Champions." The left shank announces the scores of the Ice Bowl (NFL Championship) and Super Bowl with crown imagery, a Packers helmet and the word "Challenge." Right shank announces "Thurston 63, NFL/AFL, Run to Win." Interior band is stamped "Jostens 10K," and measures to a size 13.25.

One of the most important post-war Championship rings ever to be placed upon the public auction block, this Super Bowl II representation from a key figure in the team's ability to "Run to Win" should bring the most devoted Packers fans to the table. We expect a battle of wills that would make Lombardi himself proud.