This 2014-15 Upper Deck hockey card of Martin St. Louis does not have an autograph on it, nor does it have a piece of jersey embedded in it. And you know what? It doesn’t need any of those gimmicks to be the best hockey card of the season. All it needed was this amazing photograph that, coincidentally, was taken exactly one year ago today.
Month: May 2015
Puck Junk Podcast #3 – May 27, 2015
…with your hosts, Sal Barry & Tim Parish!
Player not working? Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.
In Puck Junk Podcast #3, Sal and Tim (a.k.a. The Real DFG) talk about:
- The St. Louis Blues naming Martin Brodeur as their Assistant General Manager (0:01 to 4:52)
- Mike Babcock signing an 8-year, $50 million coaching contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs (4:53 to 16:09)
- The 2014-15 Fleer Ultra Hockey card set (16:10 to 24:11)
- The 1998-99 Pacific Hockey card set (24:12 to 33:37)
Trigger Warning: We mention Mike Keenan twice in this podcast. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Pictures of some of the cards we discuss are after the jump. Continue reading “Puck Junk Podcast #3 – May 27, 2015”
1985-86 Topps Hockey Sell Sheet
This 8.5″ x 11″ sell sheet was used to solicit the “Limited 165 picture card series” of 1985-86 Topps Hockey to retailers. Unlike the sell sheet used in 1981-82, this one uses four colors (black, blue, red and light blue) instead of just red and blue. It also gave a sneak peek at a new feature for Topps in ’85-86. Continue reading “1985-86 Topps Hockey Sell Sheet”
Chicago Blackhawks Puck Coin Bank
Piggy banks are passe, but puck banks are awesome. This is a large plastic puck, hollow inside, with a coin slot on the top and two “feet” on the bottom so it can stand upright. It measures 5 inches in diameter and was made in the 1970s.
I found this at my local card shop last month. At a mere $3, it was begging to come home with me. My site is called Puck Junk, after all, and though I don’t really collect pucks, I do like odd hockey items. So I had to find out more about this one.
Puck Junk Podcast #2 – May 20, 2015
…with your hosts, Sal Barry & Tim Parish!
Player not working? Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.
In Puck Junk Podcast #2, Sal and Tim discuss:
- The not-so-new, but still-relevant 2014-15 Upper Deck MVP Hockey set (0:00 to around 10:30)
- The 1992-93 Fleer Ultra Hockey set, which was groundbreaking in many ways (10:31 to 19:05)
- If Las Vegas would be a good city for an NHL expansion team, and what other cities should be considered. (19:06 to 37:45)
Card images, as well as a map of the NHL teams, after the jump. Continue reading “Puck Junk Podcast #2 – May 20, 2015”
Deja Vu Tuesday: Jaromir Jagr
Jaromir Jagr’s 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Premier rookie card was one of the most sought-after hockey cards of the season. As far as Jagr RCs went, this was the one to have that year, especially in the United States, where we had to pay through the nose to get OPC Premier cards. Seriously. Full sets were selling for $125; sealed boxes $250. The Jagr card itself was a cool $15. But through some shrewd purchases and trades, I ended up with several.
So imagine my disappointment when I opened a pack of Topps Hockey cards during the 1991-92 season and found this: Continue reading “Deja Vu Tuesday: Jaromir Jagr”
Phil and Tony Esposito’s Action Hockey Tabletop Game Print Ad
I found this picture of Phil Esposito and Tony Esposito in a pile of old sports memorabilia at a card show a few years back. It shows the famous brothers playing for Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series, along with facsimiles of their autographs. On the flip side is an advertisement for a tabletop hockey game they endorsed. Continue reading “Phil and Tony Esposito’s Action Hockey Tabletop Game Print Ad”
Buying Cards in the 1990s, Memory #2: The Comic Book Store
When sports card collecting became huge in the 1980s and 1990s, many comic book stores tried to get in on the action. Often, it was just a few wax boxes and display cases with singles to cash in on the trend without investing too much into it. But at the end of the day, most comic book dealers knew Wolverine better than they knew Wayne Gretzky. Sometimes, you could take advantage of that.
Continue reading “Buying Cards in the 1990s, Memory #2: The Comic Book Store”
Card ‘Toons: Lightning Strikes!
Steve Galvao is a good old Canadian kid who grew up loving hockey and collecting hockey cards. To see more of Steve’s work, visit his website, the Shoebox Collection. You can view his earlier blog posts here. Follow Steve on Twitter @galvaost. ■
Book Review: Black Ice: The Val James Story
In the opening pages of “Black Ice,” a 12-year old Valmore James is teaching himself to ice skate after-hours in a darkened hockey arena. Meanwhile, his pet dog is making a game of emerging from the shadows, knocking James to the ice, and running away. James believes that if he could learn to skate while dodging a charging Doberman, he would be able to avoid getting hit when playing hockey.
But during his career, it was other hockey players who would try to avoid getting hit by James. In his autobiography, “Black Ice: The Val James Story,” we follow James, as he makes the unlikely journey as a young man, transplanted from Florida to New York, who learns how to play hockey as a teenager and becomes the first African American to skate in the NHL. We also learn about the endless racially-charged hatred that he had to endure because of the color of his skin. Continue reading “Book Review: Black Ice: The Val James Story”