Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
I recently purchased 16 Jeremy Roenick Upper Deck rookie cards, which are from the 1990-91 season. Coincidentally, the card holders, now yellowed with age, are from 1990 too. And so are the price tags, which are marked $6.00. I paid 50 cents per card, but once upon a time a UD JR RC was a solid $6 card.
Upon closer inspection of these price tags, you will notice something cool. Continue reading “Hockey Card Price Tag Sticker”
![This holiday card was sent to shop owners in 1993. [Click to see larger]](https://i0.wp.com/puckjunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1993_action_packed_holiday_card.jpg)
All right, the holiday season is still a ways off, but I couldn’t wait until December to show you this awesome, oddball item I recently acquired. Sharp-eyed collectors will recognize the Bobby Hull card above as a promo for Action Packed’s ill-fated 1994-95 Hockey Hall of Fame set, which was advertised but never produced.
But what really drew me to this is what the card came with: a holiday card! How about that? A holiday card that included a promo card. But this was the early 1990s, so putting a promo card inside of a Christmas card was just as good as putting a wrinkled $20 bill inside. Of course, looking back I’d rather have the $20. The Hull card can be found easily for around $5.
In 1993, Action Packed sent this to card shop owners. The holiday card measures 5″ x 7″ and included the Hull promo, which can be removed. It is the same Hull promo card that was given out in gold-foil promo packs.
At the bottom, the card greeting card reads “Happy Holidays from everyone at Action Packed.” To the right of the Hull card is two lists of Action Packed employees, noting 13 of them as “Naughty” and the other 13 as “Nice.”
Also notice the small tear in the holiday card, right above the Hull card. I asked the dealer who originally owned this if he tried to remove the Hull card. He informed me that he did not remove the Hull card, and that his holiday card came with the small tear already in it. An Action Packed employees may have torn the greeting card while trying to slide the Hull card in — it was probably one of the naughty employees. ■
I am not really a collector of pucks, even though you think I was, considering that this blog is called Puck Junk. Pucks are an iconic and necessary part of hockey. But pucks are also hard to collect. They are heavy and take up a lot of space. Numerous pucks are made each season — not just counting one for each team, but all the commemorative, outdoor games, all-star game and other “one-offs.” And really old, or really unique pucks can go for hundreds of dollars. So I usually steer clear of pucks and stick to cards, which I enjoy so much more anyway. However, I recently gave in and added a few pucks to my hockey collection.
I was at my local card shop and saw a box marked “Pucks $3 Each.” Continue reading “Vintage Puck Haul”
Paper football is about to get a run for its money. Eraseez is a new line of collectible erasers by Bulls i Toy that double as a tabletop hockey game. Each pack retails for around $3 and contains two puck erasers, two sheets of stickers for the pucks and one hockey stick eraser.
The puck erasers are 1.5″ in diameter, and the stick eraser is about 2.5″ long. The logo sticker and NHL shield sticker are circular and meant to be affixed to the pucks to make them slippery.
Stick blade erasers come in at least three different colors: orange, red and blue.
The top of the stick blades have a hole in them so you can put in a pencil to make a hockey stick. All you need is a number two pencil (always bring a number two pencil!) and a smooth surface and you are ready to play.
The puck erasers — referred to as puzzle erasers on the packaging — can be broken into three pieces. I was told that this was “just for fun,” but I would argue that this allows you to either make the puck lighter for a game play variation (if you pull off one or both surfaces before affixing the stickers) or to use the smaller surface “parts” as erasers. Speaking of which…
…Eraseez actually work as erasers. Usually, “fun” erasers look cool but don’t work all that well, but Eraseez can be used to eliminate your mistakes. Well, mistakes made in pencil, anyway.
Bulls i Toys generously provided six packs of Eraseez. Let’s see what we got: Continue reading “Pack Break x 6: Eraseez Collectible Hockey Eraser Game”
Longtime Chicago Blackhawks fans may recognize this patch. It was issued in 1989 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Chicago Stadium, which was the home of the Blackhawks back then, as well as the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. I missed out on getting this patch when it was a giveaway in 1989. Since then, it has been on my want list — but I finally nabbed one! Continue reading “Chicago Stadium 60th Anniversary Patch”
Today, Chicago Blackhawks play-by-play announcer Pat Foley will be inducted into the broadcasters’ wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame. There are many cards and collectibles of most Hall of Fame players and coaches. But for a play-by-play announcer? Not so much. So here’s a handy rundown of some of the most notable Pat Foley collectible items. If you call yourself a Blackhawks’ fan, then you should have at least one of these items of the team’s greatest announcer. Continue reading “Four Awesome Pat Foley Collectible Items”
In 2001, Hallmark released two hockey player ornaments: Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux. The Jagr ornament was the fifth and final of the Hallmark Hockey Greats series. The 2001 Mario Lemieux ornament was technically not part of the series, but it does fit in with the other ornaments nicely. In fact, it is a straight-up repaint of the Lemieux Hockey Greats ornament released in 1998. Still, it is not noted as part of the Hockey Greats series on the box like the other ornaments from 1997 to 2001.
Releasing a second Mario Lemieux ornament made sense at the time. Lemieux came out of retirement in late December 2000, scoring 76 points in 43 games. During the 2001-02 season, he missed much of the season but was still considered one of hockey’s elite players. Continue reading “Mario Lemieux Hallmark Hockey Greats Keepsake Ornament 2001 edition”
Hallmark continued it’s series of NHL player ornaments in 2001 with Jaromir Jagr. Although the box states that this is the “fifth and final” ornament in the series, there was actually two ornaments released in 2001 — Jagr and teammate Mario Lemeiux. Here, Jagr is decked out in the Pittsburgh Penguins road uniform. For a holiday ornament, this is actually a pretty cool-looking keepsake, due to the high level of sculpted and painted detail lavished on this figure. Continue reading “Jaromir Jagr Hallmark Hockey Greats Keepsake Ornament”
TeenyMates — perhaps the smallest hockey toys ever — made their NHL debut for the 2013-14 season. They are made by a company called Party Animal Toys, who also has a line of 3-inch tall sports figures called Lil’ Teammates.
So just how small are TeenyMates? They measure about an inch tall, just a smidge taller than a U.S. quarter. The figures are fully licensed by the NHL, and seems to draw inspiration from both Japanese anime — with their big, cartoony eyes — and the “Lil’ Sports Brats” keychains from the 1990s. Each figure has the team name across their helmet and the logo on their jersey.
A pack of TeenyMates costs $3.99 and contains two random figures, two random puzzle pieces and a pamphlet. One of the figures is wrapped, presumably so that it does not rub against the other figure, which could remove some of the paint. The puzzle pieces are two sided, with one side making up a rink and the other side making a poster of all 30 TeenyMates.
One side of the pamphlet shows what the completed puzzle looks like.
The other side of the pamphlet shows all 30 figures plus a few — HEY, WHAT’S THAT IN THE CORNER?
OH MY GOD — THEY MADE A NORDIQUES FIGURE! And a Whalers figure too. Of course, those are the “chase” figures that are harder to get, as are the Metallic Gold and Glow-In-the-Dark figures.
Recently, I opened four packs of TeenyMates and photographed the figures. Not pictured below but also included were two puzzle pieces per pack. Here are the figures I got.
Pack #1: Los Angeles Kings figure & Carolina Hurricanes figure. The figures use the official “team font” on their helmets.
Pack #2: Philadelphia Flyers figure & Ottawa Senators figure. You’ll notice that all of the figures are left-handed shots.
Pack #3: Detroit Red Wings figure & Vancouver Canucks figure. All figures have the text “© NHL” on their backs.
Pack #4: Ottawa Senators figure & Philadelphia Flyers figure. Basically, this was exactly the same as Pack #2. Even the two puzzle pieces were the same.
In a set of 30 figures (not counting the four chase figures), doubles are to be expected. But getting the exact same two figures is a bit worrisome. Perhaps the figures aren’t packaged very randomly. That is, maybe every pack that contains a Flyers figure contains a Senators figure, every pack that contains a Red Wings figure contains a Canucks figure, and so forth.
What I like about TeenyMates figures: Incredible detail for one-inch tall figures.The smug looks on their faces makes me smile. The idea of getting a Nordiques or Whalers figure is pretty cool, though the odds on those are a bit long. The rink puzzle is a good idea, since it will give kids a “scene” to play with their TeenyMates figures.
What I dislike about TeenyMates figures: All the figures are exactly the same –how about a right-handed shot or a goalie for some variety? The collation seems questionable, at least based on the sample packages.
If you are a kid — or have kids of your own — then you might rate this product higher than the 3 1/2 pucks I gave it. Two figures for $4 isn’t so bad when you compare that cost to other blind-packaged mini figures, such as G.I. Joe Micro Force. However, I wish there was a little more variety in the poses used for TeenyMates. Party Animal Toys did release goalies in their line of Lil’ Teammates 3-inch figures; perhaps we might see a goalie or a righty skater in next year’s set of Teenymates, too.
Special thanks to Party Animal Toys for providing the packs for this break.
You can check out the TeenyMates website here.
Jonathan Quick is finally getting some love from McFarlane Toys–and all he had to do was lead the league in shutouts, win the Stanley Cup AND be named the Final’s Most Valuable Player. In December, Quick will have an exclusive 6-inch SportsPick figure released in his likeness by McFarlane Toys. The figure will feature Quick in the “glove save” pose and will be in the Los Angeles Kings’ home uniform. It will come packaged with a mini Stanley Cup.
An exclusive figure of Quick is a great idea–but one that does not go far enough. Why not include a mini Conn Smythe Trophy as well? Or how about a net? Longtime collectors of NHL SportsPicks figures will remember back when the goalies actually included nets and a water bottle. Unfortunately, the nets (and bottle) no longer come with goalie figures.
Sure, including a Conn Smythe Trophy and net would undoubtedly raise the production costs of the figure, and thus the price. But most collectors would not mind paying a few dollars more for an exclusive figure that feels more like an exclusive and less like a repaint of a Marty Turco.
Collectors in the United States can purchase the Jonathan Quick figure through the Spawn Online Store. In Canada, the figure is exclusive to Grosnor Distribution. Additionally, fans in L.A. can get this figure in the Kings’ team store–assuming the season resumes by December. In the meantime, I will have to evict a less-worthy hockey figure off my bookshelf to make room for this one.
Photos courtesy of McFarlane Toys.