1981-82 O-Pee-Chee #317 – Dave Farrish
I wonder why O-Pee-Chee even bothered including a card of Dave Farrish in their 1981-82 set if this was the best photo they had. Sure, the defenseman played 74 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the previous season…but he barely appears on his own card. You only catch a glimpse of his visage as he slightly leans over the boards of the penalty box, wistfully gazing upwards at the O-Pee-Chee logo floating above.
It’s hard to believe that someone was paid real money for this bad photo.
On the positive side, though, at least this wasn’t one of those airbrushed monstrosities that O-Pee-Chee was infamous for during the seventies and eighties. But then again, what is worse: having a new jersey “painted” on your photo, or barely appearing in the photo at all?
If this was really the best photo that O-Pee-Chee could find/buy of Farrish, then you’ve got to wonder why they cropped it the way they did. Do we really need to see his glove, or the butt-end of his stick? His glove actually takes up more space on the card than his face. If it were up to me, I would have at least zoomed in on his face. That is the whole point, right?
You know that, as a player, you are in trouble if you can barely see yourself on your own hockey card. Coincidentally, Farrish spent the entire 1981-82 season in the minors. ■