Saturday, September 28, 2019

Dave Boss/Stancraft

Dave Boss
Dave Boss was a famous artist and photographer known for his work with the NFL.  Trained as a photographer, Boss graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Arts and came to Los Angeles, working for the Los Angeles Rams and the team's public relations director and then-general manager Pete Rozelle. Boss went to work for NFL Properties after Rozelle became the league's commissioner in 1960. While with NFL Properties he designed the official programs and posters for the first 25 Super Bowls. He redesigned the NFL logo to its present form as a red, white and blue shield with the letters NFL.  Boss designed and created the famous 1965 drawings for each of the NFL teams which later were produced as oil paintings, program covers, posters (the first NFL sanctioned poster, ever, I believe), playing cards, etc.  The artistic creation became a marketing focal point for the NFLs teams.
I have managed to locate and add to my collection the oil painting (which seems original in texture, but certainly cannot be, in fact, for some reason I believe that they were originally sold at Sears).  The paintings came in 2 different sizes and I think I have the smaller one which is 17”x23”.  It is still valued at around $125, as is the original poster that I also bought which measures 24x36.  These posters are rare and hard to mind in decent condition, becaue every fan had them hanging on their walls. I also have a brand new, still wrapped, set of 1960’s Stancraft playing cards with Boss’s image on the backs.  The images were put on NFL program covers for “away” games in 1965 or 1966 and I have the Bears/Packers program for the game at Lambeau.  Very interesting program as it contains the roster with Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus.

17x23 painting
24x36 Poster (nice condition)


Deck of Playing cards

Bears/Packers program Nov 20, 1966







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