Joe Carr, center, is pictured in Chicago on Feb. 9, 1939, after his re-election as NFL president. Also pictured are George P. Marshall, left, owner of the Washington team, and Dan P. Topping, head of the Brooklyn football Dodgers.

Nerat not only is a serious Packers collector, but he also serves as consignment director/cataloguer for Heritage Auctions in Dallas, which claims to be the "world's largest collectibles auctioneer." Nerat specializes in football and basketball sports memorabilia.

He said he was prepared to bid as much as $60,000 and his partner was willing to go even higher in the bidding for the certificate.

"We didn't want to lose it because if it is what we think it is, we feel if it's not the most significant Packer document in existence, it's one of the most," Nerat recently said in a telephone interview.

Nerat said he relied on his knowledge of the collectibles industry and his own examination of the item to determine its authenticity.

He said the certificate clearly came from Carr's descendants and was one of several items from Carr's time as NFL president from 1921 to 1939 included in the auction. Nerat said he also traveled to Houston the morning of the auction to examine the item in person and determined it was hand-done – not screen-printed – and written in fountain pen calligraphy.

He had already confirmed it was Carr's signature.

What might have concerned other potential buyers was that the item wasn't dated and that it was still in Carr's possession, not the Packers'.

While I understand why that may have raised suspicions with interested parties, I didn't consider either matter to be particularly relevant in this case, based on my research.

Minutes of an NFL meeting held Jan. 20, 1923, at the Sherman House in Chicago are available at the Ralph Wilson, Jr. Pro Football Research and Preservation Center in Canton, Ohio.

Those minutes include the following notation: "Motion made by Mr. Ruetz and seconded by Mr. Ness that the Green Bay franchise be changed to read 'Green Bay Football Corporation.' Carried."

Curiously, that was eight months before the Articles of Incorporation of the Green Bay Football Corporation were filed with the State of Wisconsin and almost nine months before it officially opened for business following the election of a board of directors by the original shareholders.

After being sponsored by the Indian Packing Co., in 1919 and 1920, and given money to buy uniforms by the Acme Packing Co. in 1921, the Packers were owned by the private Green Bay Football Club in 1922. Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, co-founders of the Packers in 1919, were officers of the private corporation.

Their ownership group, which also included Nate Abrams and Joe Ordens, was deeply in debt when the 1922 season ended and all but certain to lose the franchise. Fortunately, Andrew Turnbull, John Kittell and other prominent Green Bay citizens were determined to keep an NFL team in Green Bay.

On Dec. 7, 1922, four days after the season ended, they called a meeting attended by roughly 150 local businessmen and football enthusiasts for the purpose of organizing a committee to sell stock. Kittell, a local attorney, chaired the meeting.

Turnbull was business manager of the Green Bay Press-Gazette and had already given Lambeau and Calhoun his word that he would attempt to galvanize the community to help save the team.

Five days later, a second meeting was held, where plans were outlined and a committee was named to sell stock in what would be named the Green Bay Football Corporation.

Less than five weeks later, the NFL transferred ownership of the franchise, although the Green Bay Football Corporation had yet to register with the State of Wisconsin or elect officers.

Why the rush?

There would seem to be only two possible and plausible explanations. Other NFL owners did it as a favor to help save the Green Bay franchise; or they wanted to sever ties with the private Green Bay Football Club and its financial burdens as quickly as possible.

When the Green Bay Football Corporation finally elected a slate of officers on Sept, 17, 1923, Turnbull was chosen president; Kittell, vice president; and Lee Joannes, secretary and treasurer.

Thus, if Carr had dated the certificate on Jan. 20, 1923, when the NFL transferred ownership, the Green Bay Football Corporation would have existed in name only with no guarantee it was going to field a team nine months later.

More importantly, the document was a certificate of membership, not a contract or settlement and hardly called for a date.

Nerat has since seen copies of the Baltimore Colts' and Dallas Cowboys' certificates of membership signed by NFL commissioners Bert Bell and Pete Rozelle, respectively, and neither was dated. The Colts' and Cowboys' certificates also closely resemble the one he purchased.