A former gameday assistant has donated 13 autographed footballs to the Packers Hall of Fame.
Included among John Spalding’s donation is a ball signed by the 1972 NFC Central Division champions and the 1982 playoff team. Some of the signatures are from Bart Starr, James Lofton, Lynn Dickey, Paul Coffman and John Brockington.
“It’s a wonderful addition to our archives,” said Tom Murphy, the Hall of Fame’s director and archivist. “We really didn’t have much in our collection from those teams. Some of the teams from that era weren’t necessarily great teams, but certainly there were some outstanding players. It’s great to have some autographed memorabilia to represent the exciting moments from those times.”
Spalding was a longtime gameday sideline assistant for the team, charting participation stats during the game for the coaching staff from the mid-1960s until the mid-1980s, when the practice was replaced by the review of game film. He received the balls during those years with the team.
“We thought it would be a good idea to share them with other Packers fans rather than just having them stored at the house,” Spalding said. “I collected them over the years and figured the Packers Hall of Fame would be the best place to keep them.”