Card of the Week: Kodak Moment

1987-88 OPC Leaders #14 – Glen Hanlon

We’ve all had to live down an embarrassing photo at least once in our lifetime. These “Kodak moments” we’ve had to endure were usually the byproduct of too much alcohol or a lousy haircut. My eight grade class photo was forever ruined by a bad case of “bed head.” Later on in college, a friend and I got drunk one night, and stumbled around my dorm room, knocking into things, while my roommate got photos of our buffoonery. Not much you can do about that, just laugh it off. Besides, it’s not like our own embarrassing photographs get printed in the thousands, and distributed in packs of hockey cards like this little gem of Red Wings goalie Glen Hanlon. 

Looking at this card, you would have to wonder if the photographer had consumed too much alcohol while snapping this pic. Or perhaps both the photographer and the art director were drunk for thinking that this photo of Glen Hanlon would look good on this 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Leaders trading card. This is definitely not a flattering photograph for the 5th overall leader in goals against average, now is it?

You can’t blame Hanlon for what’s been done here. Anyone who has played hockey – or any other sport where protection is needed you-know-where – has had to, um, “adjust” themselves every now and then. That seems to be what the Detroit Red Wings goalie is doing in this photograph.

Either that, or he has a really bad itch. Nonetheless, this photograph says “candid camera” more than it says “league leader.”

 

Maybe the folks at O-Pee-Chee could have zoomed in on Hanlon’s head, or at least cropped it from the waist-up. Or they could have even re-used his photo from the regular 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee set. I’m sure Hanlon would not have minded.

Then again, the poor judgment of the folks at O-Pee-Chee made for quite a humorous trading card – one that made me giggle when I was 13, and still gives me chuckle today. 

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk

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Author: Sal Barry

Sal Barry is the editor and webmaster of Puck Junk. He is a freelance hockey writer, college professor and terrible hockey player. Follow him on Twitter @puckjunk

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