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The Ultimate Hockey Card Set – Card #231

shoeboxlegends — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:34:00 +0000

One of the under-rated bonuses that comes along with writing a sports card blog is the reader comments. I read every single comment that gets posted here, and try to respond to them all as well (although I'm far from perfect at that). I figure that if you take the time to read what I've written, and to provide your own thoughts and feedback, the least I could do is pay attention to what you have to say. In doing so I've gotten to meet some great fellow collectors and have learned a ton about the hobby.

Today's induction into The Ultimate Hockey Card Set is in my collection as a direct result of one of these very comments. Over the summer I did a series of posts where I made my own "hobby box" using CheckOutMyCards.com. In the final post I featured this card of the Stanley Cup from the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee hockey set:

A couple of days later a comment was posted by 1967ers, who is responsible for the great blog Diamond Cuts and Wax Stains, and is also a seemingly bottomless pool of great hockey knowledge. There were a couple of sentences at the end of his comment that caught my attention:

"I think you did pretty well on the '70-71 Stanley Cup card. It's not as tough as the '69-70, but often seems to pass $7 on the bay."

I found this interesting. My 60's hockey collection is still pretty sparse, and I wasn't aware of the trophy cards in the 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee set. I set up a saved eBay search and a few months later ended up winning one in a condition and at a price that I was satisfied with.

1969-70 O-Pee-Chee - #231 - The Stanley Cup

Nice looking card, huh? Not quite as colorful as the one from the '70-71 set, but I like the simplicity of the design and the way it looks as if the Cup is glowing. Here's a better look at it with the PSA slab cropped out:

As far as I know the main reason that this card is more desirable is the fact that it is the final card in the 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee set. As most collectors have experienced, the first and last cards tend to demand a premium when it comes to vintage, as they are the most likely to be damaged in storage.

I chose this for The Ultimate Hockey Card Set for a few reasons. First and foremost, hockey has the best trophies of any sport by far. Secondly, I couldn't find much competition for spot #231 in the set. The only other card I considered is the Terry Sawchuk tribute card from the '70-71 set, but I don't own it (been outbid on this one quite a few times actually). Finally, this is the first card I've chosen from the 1960s.

The back isn't too exciting, as the trophy cards in the set form a larger picture when placed together. This piece of the puzzle features the mid-section of possibly the best defenseman of all time, #4 Bobby Orr:

Thank you to everyone who takes time out of their day to read my ramblings, and thanks especially to 1967ers for bringing this fantastic card to my attention!

The Ultimate Hockey Card Set, which now stands at 13 cards and counting, can be viewed here.

Parkhurst Champions Wire Photos

shoeboxlegends — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:17:00 +0000

I've got a day full of poker and floor hockey ahead of me, so there's not much time for a legitimate post. Instead, enjoy some scans of a few 2011-12 Parkhurst Champions wire photo cards, some of the better looking hockey cards released so far this year in my opinion.

Here's an awesome shot of Mike Bossy celebrating a Stanley Cup Final goal on the very same day that he'd hoist the Cup for the third straight year.

A helmetless, and very tiny looking, Johnny Bower. Love those pads.

Of the few of these cards that I have, this one is my favorite by a long shot. When it comes to capturing a moment on cardboard this is close to perfection. Two of the game's all-time greats celebrating as the referee signals the goal and the crowd goes wild. Even my favorite mac 'n' cheese maker gets some exposure.

I recently saw a very nice autographed (by both Park and Barber) version of this card on eBay, but it sold for much more than I'd ever be willing to pay for it.

Denis here will be making another appearance on the blog in the very near future...

These 8 are the only wire photo cards I have. I'm still looking for the other 22, if you have any you'd be interested in parting with let me know. I'll try to resume regular posting this week.

WHA Card of the Month – January 2012

shoeboxlegends — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:14:00 +0000

Beginning in 2012, I'm going to start paying some long overdue respect to the World Hockey Association here at Shoebox Legends. My Card of the Month posts this year will instead be WHA Card of the Month posts, and I'll talk a little bit about the "rival league"...

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee - #297 - Bobby Sheehan

Bobby Sheehan here represents my very first 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee card. He also represents my favorite part of the '72-73 O-Pee-Chee set, the fourth and final series (cards 290 - 341) featuring players from the World Hockey Association. Given that 1972 was the first year of existence for the league, these are obviously the first WHA hockey cards issued by O-Pee-Chee. It's a crime that it took me close to 5 years to add one to my collection.

The NHL has seen a few competitors throughout the course of its history, but none of them as successful as the WHA was. The Association began in 1972, and challenged the NHL by establishing a 12 team league and attracting a few bonafide NHL stars, most notably Bobby Hull and Gerry Cheevers (and eventually Gordie Howe). All told, 67 NHL players jumped ship to the WHA for its inaugural season. They were lured by higher pay and the promise that there would be no reserve clause.

I stated above that none of the NHL's competitors throughout its many years were as successful as the WHA, but success is a relative term. Many franchises, and indeed the WHA as a whole, encountered plenty of logistical and financial challenges. In the brief period that the WHA existed it saw its teams change their names (sometimes mid-season), relocate (sometimes mid-season), swap divisions, and sometimes never play a single game! It saw expansion, teams fold (sometimes mid-season), its divisions disappear and then eventually a merger with its cheif rival, the NHL.

The WHA's founders did have experience at this sort of thing. They were the same guys that were responsible for basketball's ABA, begun a few years prior in the late '60s. Putting together an operation on this scale is no easy task though, and things went far from perfectly. One of the best examples of failure would be the team Bobby Sheehan skated for in '72-73, the New York Raiders.

The Raiders wore some very 1970s red and blue sweaters, and although it's difficult to make out on this card, the logo is actually a hockey player wearing a viking helmet skating in front of a backdrop of the city. They were supposed to be the team in the WHA, but they were doomed from the very beginning. Their first overall draft pick from the WHA's entry draft? He signed with the Boston Bruins in the NHL. Oh, and guess where they had to play their home games? At Madison Square Garden, the home of their major competition from the NHL, the New York Rangers. The original owners didn't even last the first season, with the league taking control of the team and selling it in the off-season. The new owners renamed the team to the New York Golden Blades but were no more successful than the first group. Just 24 games into that second season they were out of the picture and the league once again had control of the team. After two failed attempts, the WHA realized that it could not compete in the New York market and moved the team to New Jersey where they played on a rink where the ice was sloped (I'm not kidding).

The New York Raiders were just one of many great failures from the other league, but there were many successes as well. I'll be sharing plenty of them here through cards in the coming weeks and months.

2011 Top 20 Under $25 – #2 – Don Cherry!

shoeboxlegends — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:53:00 +0000

Time for the runner-up in the 2011 Top 20 Under $25 Countdown...

What is it? A 1974-75 Topps Don Cherry!
When and where did I get it? CheckOutMyCards.com, September 19th
How much did it cost me? $5.80 (plus a little for shipping)

My quest to hand collate the 1974-75 Topps hockey set presses onward, and Don here was a major addition this past fall. Only Bobby Orr and the Scotty Bowman card I featured a few weeks ago have a higher book value as this set goes. This is one card I would have loved to add to my collection even if I weren't in pursuit of this set though.

I mentioned in my last post that this spot in the countdown was occupied by someone better known for their personality than for anything they accomplished in professional sports. I'm sure that when many young hockey fans out there hear the name Don Cherry they think of this guy:

These days you can tune in to the "Coach's Corner" segment of Hockey Night in Canada on a Saturday night and enjoy some commentary from Don along with some over-the-top suits like this one. I can't sum it up any better than his Wikipedia page, which states that he "is known for his outspoken manner, flamboyant dress, and staunch patriotism".

Back in the mid-'70's though, you could find Cherry in slightly more muted attire (although I do like the polka-dot tie on this card) standing behind the Boston Bruins' bench. Unfortunately for Don, superstars Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr weren't around long after he took the reigns and he was never able to replicate the success of the Bruins teams from earlier in the decade.

Don't get me wrong, this is only because the bar was set so high by those previous Bruins teams. In fact, Don was pretty damn successful as a coach. He led the B's through a stretch of four straight division titles and two Stanley Cup Finals appearances, although the team lost both times. He even won the Jack Adams award as coach of the year in 1976. Not too shabby at all, but I still stand by my claim that he is better known for his work as an analyst than for his accomplishments as a coach.

Don was also a player, which is mentioned on the card back. Interestingly enough, despite playing over 18 seasons of professional hockey he appeared in just one single NHL game, called up for a playoff game in 1955 for the Boston Bruins. If a professional hockey career that long with just a single NHL game played doesn't show Cherry's love for and dedication to the sport, then I don't know what does. Maybe the decades that he's spent closely involved with the sport of hockey since then?

Love him or hate him, you can't deny that Don Cherry is one of the most significant and recognizable figures in hockey's illustrious history. This is a card that I will enjoy for a long time to come!

2011 Top 20 Under $25 – #3 – Al Kaline Auto

shoeboxlegends — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:20:00 +0000

We've finally reached the top 3 in the 2011 Under $25 countdown. Here's the bronze medalist...

What is it? A 2005 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Al Kaline Auto, #'d/99
When and where did I get it? During baseball season, back in June, on eBay
How much did it cost me? $20 (plus $3.75 shipping)

What's not to like about Al Kaline? He won a batting crown at age 20, was an 18-time All-Star and a 10-time Gold Glove winner. He won a World Series (.379, 2HR, 8RBI in 7 games!), amassed 3,000 career hits and came just a home run shy of 400. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Aside from all of that, you have to respect a guy who played his entire 22-year career for a single ballclub. When I think of the Detroit Tigers, Al's name is the first that comes to mind.

This card, which commemorates the last of Kaline's 18 All-Star game appearances, is from the 2005 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes set. The autographs from this set are something I only got into this past year, and they are definitely some of my favorite autographed baseball cards. I think these cards look great, and the checklist is extremely impressive. Not long after I picked up this Kaline I ended up with Harmon Killebrew and Ozzie Smith autos from this same set. All of the autos are hard signed and serial numbered based on the color, with this emerald version numbered to 99.

Two more posts and I can finally put this thing to bed. Coming up next is someone who's more famous for his personality than for anything he accomplished in professional sports...

2011 Top 20 Under $25 – #4 – A Pair of 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee

shoeboxlegends — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:49:00 +0000

At #4 in the 2011 Top 20 Under $25 countdown we have a pair of '80s O-Pee-Chee superstars:

What is it? Two of the top four cards from the '87-88 O-Pee-Chee set, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemiuex
When and where did I get them? At the local hobby shop, way back in July
How much did it cost me? $22 total ($10 for the Gretzky, $12 for the Lemieux).

You could make an argument that at $22 for the pair I may have overpaid slightly for these cards. I'm sure that had I spent hours scouring the web I could have found them for a bit cheaper. These are truly mint, well-centered copies though. Besides, I like giving business to the local hobby shop when I can, in the same way that I'll spend $15 on something at the family owned hardware store down the street that I could have purchased at Home Depot for $10. Don't forget the best part about purchasing at the shop, no shipping.

I don't have very many '87-88 O-Pee-Chee cards, and this was a good way to knock off two of the more valuable cards from the set in one fell swoop. I have to say that I like Mario's '86-87 card better.

What a start to Lemieux's career with back-to-back-to-back 100 point seasons. Still not as impressive as this guy though:

Always nice to add a new Gretzky to the collection. While I don't collect him actively, I've got over 100 unique Gretzky cards now. Sounds like a lot, but it really isn't.

The statistics on the back of this card are just insane. 1,520 points in his first 8 NHL seasons. There will never be another scorer like this.

Three spots to go in the countdown, coming up next is an on-card autograph of a Hall of Famer.

2011 Top 20 Under $25 – #5 – 1968-69 Topps Gump

shoeboxlegends — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:36:00 +0000

Getting close to the end on this series of posts (thankfully), here is the first of the five remaining items...

What is it? A 1968-69 Topps Gump Worsley, graded NM 7 by PSA
When and where did I get it? eBay, in October
How much did it cost me? $12.30 (plus $2.70 shipping).

The 1968-69 Topps hockey set has long been a favorite of mine. While I'm not working hard at any '60s sets until I've at least finished off the '80s Topps hockey run, I've ended up accumulating quite a few of these '68-69s. Gump here is actually my 24th card from the set, which isn't bad considering it consists of 132 cards in total. Just a couple more cards will put me over the 20% mark. Normally I wouldn't pay $12 and change for this card, but I've got a soft spot for Gump and I couldn't pass it up in this condition. The card is fairly well-centered, and more importantly not plagued by the "diamond-cut", which was pretty common with these. Here's a better look at the front:

I think what attracted me to this card is the old school Habs jersey and the glorious brown pads. Gump's paddle looks pretty beat up as well, but unfortunately whoever cropped his photo for the card took out the blade of the stick. I like the back of the card nearly as much as I do the front:

Topps starts off with some flattering material, mentioning in the cartoon caption that "Gump has one of the sharpest wits in the NHL". The compliments continue in the write-up, where it is mentioned that Lorne had won more pro trophies than any other goaltender at the time (really?). In the end though, after commenting on his sharp wit and success in accumulating hardware, the writer made sure not to inflate Gump's ego too much by stating that Worsley was "inclined to put on weight". Certainly an interesting card back!

Coming up next in the countdown will be a pair of '80s greats...

2011 Top 20 Under $25 – #6 – 1985-86 7-Eleven Hockey Set

shoeboxlegends — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:33:00 +0000

What is it? A 1985-86 7-Eleven hockey card set
When and where did I get it? Flea market, in October
How much did it cost me? Ready for this? $1.

Back in early October I went to a very small, hole-in-the-wall flea market with my younger brother. The place was nothing special, maybe 20 total tables and only two people there with any form of sports cards. One guy had a glass case with terribly overpriced '90s singles and inserts, no thank you. The other guy was a disorganized mess, with boxes, binders and piles everywhere. I don't think he had any idea what he had, just a gigantic cardboard disaster spread out on some folding tables and bookshelves. This is more my type of seller, so I decided to poke around for a few. I ended up spending $11 with this guy and coming away with two items. The first was my 1992 Topps baseball factory set, and the other was this hockey card set.

I found this small stack of cards in a ziploc bag at the bottom of a shoebox that was filled with mostly small, non-sport sets. I wasn't entirely sure what they were myself, although they were obviously released by the 7-Eleven chain in the mid-80s. I would have purchased these had he said $10, or maybe even $15, but all he wanted was $1. Sold! I didn't even bother looking beforehand, but after buying them I was psyched to see that it was a complete 25-card set.

They aren't the world's most exciting cards. The front is largely plain black, and contains two (often blurry) portraits of notable players from an NHL franchise. Each of the 21 teams that existed at the time has a card, and the teams are sorted alphabetically.

The backs are not that exciting either, with the left portion dedicated to card number, team logo and 7-Eleven logo, and the right portion reserved for team name and a brief write-up on the organization. According to the copyright these were produced by Super Star Sports. I scanned in the fronts and backs of all 25 cards in case you'd like to see what Super Star Sports had to say about your favorite franchise.

Tom Barrasso's is arguably the cheesiest photo of the 42 subjects pictured.

I always appreciate the chance to add a new Lanny McDonald to the collection. Heck, I would have forked over $1 for just this card.

In looking these up after the fact, I've seen them referred to as the 1985-86 7-Eleven "credit cards" set. I can see that, given that they are a bit smaller than your average card, and have a horizontal layout and rounded corners. I'd say they're slightly smaller than a credit card though, and thicker as well.

Ron Duguay's photo is the one most obviously from the '80s. He looks like he could step in and play guitar for Winger if they were in a pinch.

Wayne Gretzky is not present in this set, which seems odd given the year these came out.

Even the Whalers get a card. I guess this is technically one of my older Ron Francis cards. Mike Liut is obviously wearing a St. Louis sweater in his photo. This is the last time the Whalers will be featured in this countdown.

I like that the back of the card mentions the infamous Hartford Civic Center roof collapse!

I have to say, these write-ups are more informative than half the crap that gets released these days...

For a small set, there are Hall-of-Famers a plenty.

This would be the most valuable card in the set, if anyone considers any of these valuable that is. I guess this is technically a Lemieux rookie, although it doesn't feel right to call it that. Obviously it can't compete with the 1985-86 Topps/OPC Lemieux but it's not a bad companion to that card.

I don't know how these were distributed by 7-Eleven...can anyone help?

The next three cards in the set are the ones I like most, as they feature some of hockey's hardware.

Finally we close things out with a checklist.

These are certainly unique, and while they aren't exactly the best of what '80s hockey cards have to offer there's no way I could turn them down for the price. I hope you enjoyed this look at a set that you don't see every day.

1974-75 Topps Hockey…Just 11 Left!

shoeboxlegends — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:09:00 +0000

Quick break from the 2011 Top 20 Countdown today. While I was browsing eBay the other day I came across one of the more interesting cards I still needed for my '74-75 Topps hockey set. The condition and price were both right, so card #250 from the set is now in hand:

This card is sort of a mess of design and color, and it doesn't really even look like it belongs in the set. I guess that's appropriate for the mid-'70s. Unfortunately, it also symbolizes the Bruins' loss to the Broad Street Bullies in the '74 Stanley Cup Finals. Had I stopped here I would have been an even 20 cards shy of finishing this set off, but the seller had a ton of really good condition '74-75s and offered $5 max shipping, so I knocked these off the want list as well:

Gotta love those Seals sweaters...

Marcel is the only Hall-of-Famer in this bunch. He scored 121 points in 1974-75!

Finally, the bane of every vintage collector's existence, the unmarked checklist card. At $4, this was the most expensive card in the lot.

All told, with shipping factored in, these 10 cards cost me just shy of $2 a piece. While this is more than I'd generally like to pay, they are all in sufficient condition that they'll never have to be upgraded, and the fact that I'm getting so close to the end on this set made the purchase worth it.

11 cards to go on this one...

2011 Top 20 Under $25 – #7 – Rogie Vachon Auto

shoeboxlegends — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

I'd like to have this 2011 Top 20 countdown wrapped up in the next week or so, so let's proceed with card #7...

What is it? A Rogatien Vachon Brushstrokes Auto from 2008-09 Upper Deck Legends Masterpieces hockey
When and where did I get it? eBay of course, end of October
How much did it cost me? $12.99 (free shipping!)

I added at least 35 autographed cards to the collection in 2011, and this one is amongst my favorites. The '08-09 Legends Masterpieces set is in my opinion one of the best hockey sets to be released since I got back into collecting in 2007. At just 87 cards with no short prints, I was able to complete it fairly easily. Because I put my set together via a retail box and some singles though, I didn't end up with any autographs. I have picked up a handful of them since. The brown framed border gives these a similar look to the 2011 Gypsy Queen baseball framed parallels that everyone loved so much, and there are some great names on the checklist as well.

This one was purchased just because of how pleasing it is on the eyes. Rogie's autograph is one of the more unique looking signatures I've seen, and the photo on this card is perfect. I have quite a few cards of Vachon in the old Kings jersey, but this is the first in my collection that features the fantastic purple "double crown" mask. The brown pads also tie in nicely with the border frame. All in all a very aesthetically pleasing piece of cardboard.

The backs of the Brushstrokes auto cards are nothing fantastic, so instead here's Rogie's card from the base set, which isn't half bad either.

Coming up next in the countdown is an entire set of hockey cards that I got a real steal on...