The "When Smoking And Sports Went Hand-In-Hand" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting in my living room talking with Parke who was one of my Graphic Arts students when I first started teaching at Manheim Township in 1968.  Parke's father had a small company that made negatives and plates for printing companies.  When Parke graduated he took over his father's shop when his father retired from the business.  For years I made use of Parke's services while working for the high school as the in-house printer.  Eventually the school purchased their own copy camera and I didn't need to use Parke's services as much, but still took work to him to make sure he would still be available if I needed a special negative or couldn't do a project on the camera I had at the school.  One item Parke helped me with every fall was making halftone negatives for all the photographs I used in the football program which I did for the high school team.  I talked the Coca Cola Company into supplying the color covers as well as a color insert and used paper donated by one of the many paper companies that the school purchased paper from to complete the program.  I printed, assembled and stapled the 32-page program five times a year for home games and after about 15 years called it quits.  

Cover of the 1940 Eagles Program.

Well, a few days ago Parke called asking if I could look at one of the old Philadephia Eagles programs he had from 1940 and see if I could figure out how to frame it for him so he could give it to his nephew as a Christmas gift.  He wanted me to frame it so it could be removed in case his nephew wanted to view the inside of the program or show the program to his friends.  He left if with me and a few days later I called to tell him I had finished it.  I cut a double mat, making the inside mat smaller so the program could rest in the groove between the two mats.  Also added some depth to accommodate the thickness of the program.  I added a small black frame and held the mat, glass and program in place with black metal clips that could be opened and closed when needed.  

Team photo.  Click on photos to enlarge.

But, what was most interesting to me was the program itself.  In 1940 the Philadelphia Eagles were in the National Football League which at the time had these teams:  Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Rams, New York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers, Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles.  

Team photographs

The program cost 10 cents to buy and had a team photo, individual player photos, team schedules for all teams, a few advertise- ments, a page devoted to the team they were playing and most impressive was a color page in the center with team rosters, player numbers with positions and names of the officials.  Much like the Coca Cola insert I used almost 30 years later.  But, one think I didn't have in the program I printed was a color ad in the center that featured Chesterfield Cigarettes.  

Ad from the program for Knox Gelatine.

The final result looked great and Parke loved it.  I asked him if he had any other old programs and he said he had quite a few in a box in his attic.  Told him I might be interested in them if he wants to sell them.  After he left I grabbed my laptop and checked eBay to see what old football programs were selling for at the moment.  Wow!  No, double Wow!!  A 1969 Bears program was priced at $36.99, a 1958 Chicago Bears program was priced at $86.25, a 1964 Cleveland Browns program was priced at $89.99, a 1953 Eagles program was priced at $109.25, a 1949 Pittsburgh Steelers program was priced at $143.75, a 1950 Washington Redskins program was priced the same as the Steelers program,  a 1957 New York Giants program was priced at $166.75 and a 1939 Detroit program was priced at $174.00.  And, this was all on page one of the listings.  What might the program I had just framed sell for?  And, what might the programs that Parke has in his attic be worth.  As the saying goes ... only time will tell!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The centerfold of the program with the Eagles and Giants rosters, numbers and positions.  And, sponsored by Chesterfield Cigarettes.