Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
Jean-Claude Tremblay is the 27th card added to my 1963-64 Parkhurst set. The card is a bit off center (about 70/30), but the corners are nice and the back is clean.
I wonder if anyone ever ordered one of those Stanley Cup replicas. What was it made of, paper-mâché?
Released in April 2010, the O-Pee-Chee Update Set featured 200 cards that extended the O-Pee-Chee set issued earlier in the 2009-10 hockey season. This was a smart move by Upper Deck, who currently leases the “O-Pee-Chee” brand name from Topps.
In 2009, Upper Deck released a 200-card Update Set for its 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee set, but in 5-card packs. Three out of 5 of the cards in the pack were parallels, making this a particularly hard set to piece together. Fortunately, Upper Deck did not repeat that mistake, and instead issued the 2009-10 Update as a pre-collated factory set. Continue reading “Review: 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee Update”
The Blackhawks still haven’t confirmed exactly WHO will be signing autographs at the 2010 Blackhawks Convention–or Hawks Con, as I’m gonna call it–this weekend. According to a source of mine, the team won’t let fans know until the convention actually starts on Friday. Continue reading “Who’s Signing ‘Graphs at the ‘Hawks Con?”
I have been working on a new set review that isn’t quite ready to share just yet, so in the meantime here is another card in my ever-increasing 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey Set.
Red Kelly is my 26th card. This one also has a few pin holes in it, but otherwise is not a bad-looking card. No stains, no creases and no badly-rounded corners.
A few quick thoughts on what’s going down in HAWKeyTown…
Stanley Cup visiting Elmwood Park – The Stanley Cup will be in the Chicago suburb of Elmwood Park on Wednesday, July 28.. However, the Cup will be at a private event, held at First Security Bank. The Wirtz family owns First Security Bank.
Who’s Signing Autographs? – As of Tuesday, the Chicago Blackhawks still haven’t told us who will be signing autographs at the Blackhawks Convention this upcoming weekend. Sure, some are a given (Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Bobby Hull, Tony Esposito), but who else? Maybe I’ll just bring one card of every Blackhawk ever, just to be safe. The team did announce a pretty explicit autograph policy, though.
Training Camp Fest – On September 18, the Blackhawks will hold a Training Camp Festival. Seriously. For $5, you can watch the team practice. There is also a charity run/walk/skate event, and a 3-on-3 street hockey tournament. Tickets can be bought here.
Easy Come, Easy Go– Last month, the Chicago Blackhawks traded away three good players and a prospect for Marty Reasoner and Jeremy Morin. Last week, the ‘Hawks traded Reasoner to the Florida Panthers for Jeff Taffe. Guess Reasoner’s $1 million annual salary was taking up too much cap space. Funny, though, because the ‘Hawks made a big deal about acquiring Reasoner, going so far as to “Photoshop” him into the Indian-head sweater (above). But Reasoner’s subsequent trade to the Panthers was nary a mention on the ‘Hawks home page.
JR in the HOF – Former Chicago Blackhawk Jeremy Roenick was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last week. Roenick was a favorite player of mine, so I certainly hope that he will make it into the “real” Hall of Fame when he is eligible in 2012. For those who missed it, I posted a Career in Cards about Roneick earlier this month.
This is the 25th card in the 1963-64 Parkhurst set that I am slowly building.
That’s 25 out of 99 cards.
Twenty-five percent.
One-fourth of the way there.
Hoo-yah!
As you can see, this card of Carl Brewer–like the card of Robert Baun–has pinholes in it. But like I have said before, I didn’t pay a heck of a lot for it (less than $4).
The term “rink rat” is used to describe a kid who hangs out at an ice arena and does chores in exchange for ice time. In the early 1990s, Rink Rat was also the name of a character featured on Pro Set hockey cards. Continue reading “I Smell a Rat”
On Thursday, I received my passes to the third annual Chicago Blackhawks Convention–a full 8 days before the convention starts. Last year, I got the passes barely 2 days before the convention started. Of course, the team’s last-minute mailing practices last summer cost Dale Tallon his job.
Anyway, here is what the front of the pass looks like. As you can see, it has a large shiny object on it.
Yup, they put a HOLOGRAM sticker in the upper right corner. It really makes the pass feel both classy and official. Continue reading “2010 Blackhawks Convention – Passes”
Robert Baun is the 24th card in my 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey Set.
There are a few pin holes in the card and a dent on the back at the top. One of the corners is also rounded a bit.
But at $2.50–yes, two dollars and fifty cents–I could not turn down this 47-year old “artifact.”
47 years back, someone felt strongly enough about this card to want to pin it up where it could be seen and enjoyed.
If you think about it, this card was more loved than most modern cards, which are slapped into protective plastic immediately and sequestered in cool, dark, dry places for the rest of their existence.
The last time I bought a Parkhurst card from 1963-64, it was February. Attending a card show this weekend, I decided to rectify that issue and get me some old Parkies. This one is of Hall of Fame Red Wing Alex Delvecchio, who proudly displays the “C” as team captain on his uniform.
The back of the card has a bit of a flaw–a slight crease towards the middle. The crease does not break through to the front, and actually looks worse in the scan than in real life.
This is the 23rd card in my 1963-64 Parkhurst set. Later this week, I’ll reveal the other cards I picked up at that show.