The Super Bowl, the NFL’s annual championship game, pits the AFC Champion against the NFC Champion in what was historically a warm-weather city. The first two Super Bowls, in fact, were played at the Los Angeles Coliseum with the Green Bay Packers emerging victoriously in both contests. This lot includes a beautifully framed collection of original press pins distributed at each of the first 39 Super Bowls. Some of the pins are in the shape of football helmets, footballs or the NFL shield, while others are designed to commemorative the city in which the game was played. For Super Bowl I, the media received the presented tie clasp and cufflinks. For Super Bowl II, they got the displayed 10K gold charm. For Super Bowl III, they got another tie clasp. No pins were issued to the media for Super Bowls IV and V; instead they received these lovely patches each measuring roughly 5-6 square inches. In honor of 9/11, the NFL revamped its original Super Bowl XXXVI pin from a Bourbon Street motif commemorating New Orleans to a more dignified Lombardi Trophy silver pin with red, white and blue highlights signifying the U.S. flag. Both versions are part of this collection.
The consignor spent over a decade working as an integral part of the company that designed and produced press pins for the NFL from Super Bowls XXVI through XXXIX. (Starting with Super Bowl LX, the pins were made in-house by the NFL.) For Super Bowls I through XXV, he acquired the pins, patches, tie clasps and charm through a close NFL contact, with whom he conducted business for over 30 years, at a rate of a couple pieces per year to complete the collection. As it grew, he had to get everything reframed every 2-3 years to stay current. We have chosen not to open the back of the frame to avoid tampering with and damaging such a beautiful display. Based on the consignor's detailed recollection of acquiring each piece and his background working in conjunction with the NFL, we are confident that all pins, charms, tie clasps and patches displayed therein are 100% originals. Each pin is a serial-numbered original as was presented to a members of the media. As far as the consignor knows, all pinbacks are attached on the reverse side of the black velvet backing. Each media pin is accompanied by a special nameplate calling out the year, city and score of that particular game. The incredibly rare framed collection stands 34” tall and 17” wide and make an awesome addition to any football fan’s sports wall.
Includes a Letter of Provenance from collector Robert Zweigle.
The Robert Zweigle collection represents 40 years of assembling sports memorabilia items from college and professional football, professional golf and NCAA basketball. Bob Zweigle was a major supplier of promotional products to the NFL who personally attended 38 Super Bowls, working closely with NFL personnel and establishing unique connections that helped grow his collection. He designed/produced Super Bowl press pins from XXV through XXXIX (the final year the NFL produced its own pins). He also designed/produced the Player Participation Trophy and Player of the Game Trophy for the Pro Bowl, as well as the Arena Bowl Championship Trophy. He made it a personal quest to obtain in-person autographs on important memorabilia items at many sporting events wherein he had rare and unusual access.