Sal Barry, Author at Puck Junk

How to Build an Awesome-Looking Sports Card Library

Sports card collections are always a work in progress caught somewhere between chaos and order, but every card enthusiast has some method of organization that helps them enjoy their collection. Putting my cards into pages and albums, then storing them on bookcases, has helped me tame the chaos. This way, I can quickly find a specific card or set to look at and enjoy; or easily put away a new card when I add it to my collection. A fellow collector once remarked that my collection looked like “The Library of Congress for Hockey Cards,” which I took as a huge compliment. If you have a little floor space in your bedroom, rec room or “man cave,” you too can create your own impressive sports card library.

Here is what you will need: Read the rest of the story at the BCW Supplies Blog.

Puck Junk Podcast: 1982-83 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards

Episode #68: August 28, 2020

In the latest Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish look back at the 1982-83 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Card set. They also discuss the pause of the NHL playoffs due to players protesting systemic racism, the legacy of Dale Hawerchuk, Mike Milbury putting his shoe in his mouth one too many times, the problem with Topps NOW Hockey stickers, and much more. This episode is 2 hours 8 minutes, so kick back and enjoy!

Show Notes, Links and Images:
NHL Postpones Games Until Saturday (NHL.com)
Dale Hawerchuk’s page on the Hockey Hall of Fame Website (HHOF)
NBC Removes Mike Milbury Due to Comments (Yahoo Sports)
Review of “The Don Cherry Story, Part 1” (Puck Junk)
Review of “The Don Cherry Story, Part 2” (Puck Junk)
Marc-Andre Fleury Asks Agent to Delete Controversial Tweet (NBC PHT)
Topps Now NHL Sticker Archive with Print Runs (Topps)
2020-21 Upper Deck MVP Hockey Checklist (Cardboard Connection)

The 1981-82 Oilers card of Wayne Gretzky with a mullet…

…looking like Jack Blades from the band Night Ranger.

Images of the 1982-83 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Card set:

1982-83 OPC #106 – Wayne Gretzky

1982-83 OPC #106 – Wayne Gretzky (back)

1982-83 OPC #380- Dale Hawerchuk rookie card

1982-83 OPC #105 – Grant Fuhr rookie card

1982-83 OPC #123 – Ron Francis rookie card

1982-83 OPC #307 – Joe Mullen rookie card

1982-83 OPC #342 – Marc Crawford rookie card.
More about this card here.

1982-83 OPC #327 – Bob McGill rookie card

1982-83 OPC #48 – Steve Konroyd rookie card

1982-83 OPC #165 – Dino Ciccarelli second card

1982-83 OPC #292 – Peter Stastny second card

1982-83 OPC #252 – Mark Howe

1982-83 OPC #64 – Tony Esposito

1982-83 OPC #265 – Randy Carlyle.
Note the “UFO” in the lower-left corner

1982-83 OPC #107 – Wayne Gretzky “In Action”

1982-83 OPC #40 – Mel Bridgeman “In Action”…or is it “Inaction“…?

1982-83 OPC #238 Paul Baxter Penalty Minutes Leaders

1982-83 OPC #4 – Mikko Leinonen Record Breakers.
Tim thinks that he looks like Peter Dinklage.

1982-83 OPC Hockey Wrapper

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.

Love hockey? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #3

This is my third and final box of 2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers. With each box containing 250 stickers, my hope was that I would get pretty close to having a complete 630-sticker set. The first box gave me over 39% of the set, while the second box put me at 62%. While I know that I am not going to get every sticker that I need, my hope is that I am at a respectable enough number that I could finish the set off in a few trades.

Continue reading “2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #3”

2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #2

If you want to build a set of 2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers, you’re going to need to buy many packs. Considering that you get five stickers per pack and there are 630 stickers in the set, you would need to purchase at least 126 packs, or about 2-1/2 boxes. I purchased three boxes — each has 50 packs — and posted the results of the first box last week.

Opening packs of stickers is not for the “hit chasers,” as there are no hits to speak of. Really, a good box is one that has few doubles in its collation; a great box is one that has very few doubles from the previous box. Hopefully, this box is a “hit” by not giving me most of the stickers that I got in my previous box. So, without further ado, here are the results of my second box break of 2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers:

Continue reading “2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #2”

2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #1

I bought three boxes of 2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers way back in January, but a lot of stuff happened in my life that kept me from opening and sorting through them. When the NHL restarted its season in late July, I finally had the time and the motivation to open my sticker boxes to try and build a set.

The 2019-20 season is the first time in a long time that Topps made any sort of tangible hockey collectible; the company last made hockey cards for the 2003-04 season. Topps also made sticker albums way back during the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons. Over the past three decades, Panini was the preeminent manufacturer of hockey stickers until Topps got the license for the 2019-20 season.

About 2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers

2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers cost about $1 per pack and contain five stickers: four regular stickers and one shiny “foil” sticker. Boxes contain $50 packs and can be bought from the Topps Online Shop. However, you can find boxes in the $30-$40 range on Ebay and from various online card retailers.

Interestingly, the stickers come in foil wrappers that are “crimped” at the top and bottom, just like how sports trading cards are packaged today.

There are 630 stickers in the 2019-20 Topps Hockey Sticker collection, so you would need three boxes to hope to make a complete set. Here is what I got in my first box.

Continue reading “2019-20 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #1”

No Stanley For Old Men: 2020 Edition

Which Grey Beard in the “Playoff Bubble” Do You Want to See Win the Stanley Cup?

It took what felt like forever, but Round One of the 2020 NHL Playoffs is finally underway. (And yes, this blog post is two days late; I’m working on “Quarantine Time” here, so bear with me.) After a four-and-a-half month pause, followed by Round Robin and Qualifying Round games, we have our 16 playoff teams, ready to put it all on the line to be winners of the 2020 Stanley Cup Championship.

But with the playoffs, the inevitable questions are always raised:

What player hasn’t yet won the Stanley Cup yet during their career?

What grizzled old vet will retire at season’s end without ever hoisting the Stanley Cup?

What all-time will never get to sip champagne from Lord Stanley’s Cup?

And considering the COVID-19 pandemic, I don’t think any NHL player is going to want to drink from the Stanley Cup this October. Regardless, there are players who play for nearly two decades who will never have the opportunity to drink from the Cup then think better of it.

Every year, playoff teams are chock-full of young, eager players who have seemingly all the time in the world to win the toughest championship trophy to win in all of sports. But every team also has some more experienced players who know that they don’t have all the time in the world, or even a wily old veteran that has stuck around to give it one more go before hanging ’em up.

Here is a look at the oldest player on each 2020 Stanley Cup playoff team and why we’re hoping for each one of them to win, even if we don’t like the team they play on.

Continue reading “No Stanley For Old Men: 2020 Edition”

Puck Junk Podcast: August 11, 2020

1989-90 OHL & 1990 Memorial Cup Hockey Sets

In this week’s episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about Phase 2 of the NHL Draft Lottery — including the New York Rangers somewhat controversial win of the first-overall pick. They also talk about the Stanley Cup Qualifying and Round Robin games, the upcoming first round of the playoffs, and Dale Tallon leaving the Florida Panthers. Then, the guys look back at the 1989-90 OHL and 1990 Memorial Cup hockey card sets made by short-lived company 7th Inning Sketch. The cards were charming in a no-frills sort of way and included “pre-rookie” cards of many future NHL players, like future superstars Eric Lindros and Scott Niedermayer.

Show Notes, Links and Images:
2020 NHL Draft Lottery Phase 2 Results (NHL.com)
2020 NHL Round One Playoff Schedule (NHL.com)
Dale Tallon and Florida Panthers Part Ways (NHL.com)
Topps Now Hockey Stickers order page (Topps.com)
Upper Deck Game Dated Moments for Week 44 (Upper Deck Blog)
1989-90 7th Inning Sketch OHL checklist & images (Trading Card DB)
1989-90 7th Inning Sketch OHL packaging (Trading Card DB)
The creepy Casey Jones card from the 1989-90 OHL set (Puck Junk)
1990 7th Inning Sketch Memorial Cup checklist & images (Trading Card DB)

1989-90 OHL #1 – Eric Lindros

1989-90 OHL #174 – Casey Jones – more about this card here

1989-90 OHL #195 – Where In 91? (Eric Lindros)

1989-90 Memorial Cup #18 – Scott Niedermayer

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.

Love hockey? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Puck Junk Podcast: August 6, 2020

Episode 66: Collecting Mario Lemieux

In Episode #66 of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish focus on the greatest “Number 66” ever: Mario Lemieux! They discuss the many, many different Mario Lemieux insert and tribute sets that were issued over the years, as well as some of the more offbeat Super Mario cards. Sal and Tim also talk about the new “Red Penguins” hockey documentary, the NHL playoffs so far and new hockey cards released this week.

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Profile on CBC announcer Jim Hughson (CBC)
“Red Penguins” streaming links (iTunes & Amazon Prime Video)
Topps Now Hockey stickers (Topps)
Panini hockey cards at the Panini online store (Panini)
Upper Deck Game Dated Moment card for Week 43 (Upper Deck Blog)
More about the LeBron James card that sold for $1.8M (Sports Byline USA)
The card that Randy Carlyle won’t autograph (Puck Junk)
Career In Cards: Mario Lemieux (Puck Junk)
More about Warren Young, Mario Lemieux’s teammate (Puck Junk)
Tim’s list of Mario Lemieux insert and tribute sets (PDF)

Images and set reviews of various Mario Lemieux cards.

1985-86 Topps #9 – Mario Lemieux (rookie card) – set review here.

1992-93 Clark Bun Mario Lemieux card – set review here.

1993-94 Leaf Mario Lemieux Collection #3 – set review here.

1997 Mario Lemieux Moments Card #13

1997 Mario Lemieux Moments Empty Wrapper for Pack #6

1983 Canadian National Junior Mario Lemieux postcard – set review here

2001-02 Topps #328 – Mario Returns

1996-97 Metallic Impressions Mario Lemieux Set

1997-98 Pacific #66 Mario Lemieux (found in packs of 2001-02 Pacific)

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.

Love hockey? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

“Red Penguins” Movie Released Today

“Red Penguins” is a new hockey documentary about the strange partnership between the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Russian Red Army hockey team and the Walt Disney Corporation. Back in the early 1990s, the famed Red Army hockey team was broke, so it reached out to NHL teams for help. The Pittsburgh Penguins answered the call, and for two seasons co-owned the Red Army team, re-branding it as the Russian Penguins.

Things went well at first. Pittsburgh Penguins ownership brought in a marketing team that introduced “North American Hockey” to an unsuspecting Russian fan base — from opening-night theatrics, game-night giveaways, strippers (seriously), bears drinking beer and more. It was nothing like Russian hockey fans had ever seen. Unfortunately, this also drew the attention of the Russian Mob, who wanted a piece of the action, too. And that’s when things really go off the rails.

If this story sounds familiar to you, it is because I wrote about it last year for The Hockey News. Last fall, “Red Penguins” was featured at the Toronto International Film Festival and received strong reviews. The film was set to be released in theaters this spring, but then the COVID-19 pandemic swept the continent and closed theaters.

However, “Red Penguins” is finally available as of today via streaming services. You can stream “Red Penguins” on iTunes and on Amazon Prime Video for $5.99.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.

Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube, and support this site and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Video: We Make Fun of Bad Hockey Cards

Last month, Sal Barry and Tim Parish were guests at the Sport Card Expo’s “Virtual Expo,” hosting the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast live and making fun of some bad hockey cards. Of course, some of these cards you probably know already, such as “Mad” Mel Bridgeman and “Cowboy” Doug Gilmor. But there are sure to be a few surprises here too. Video is 30 minutes long.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Intro music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube, and support this site and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■