1952 Topps Look ‘N’ See #99 – Lester B. Pearson

Being an American, I was not really knowledgeable about Lester B. Pearson, other than he had a National Hockey League trophy named after him. I was vaguely aware of his political career. Then again, I couldn’t name all of the U.S. Presidents if asked to do so (I failed that test in fourth grade, FYI). Yet, the name Lester B. Pearson was one of those names synonymous with excellence in hockey, like Art Ross or Conn Smythe. So, does he have a rookie card? Yes, he does–but it isn’t in a hockey set.

Pearson never played professional hockey, but he did excel at the collegiate level. He played for Oxford University’s Ice Hockey Club, which won the first-ever Spengler Cup invitational in 1923. Later, he would coach the University of Toronto’s varsity hockey team.

But it is politics is what Pearson is famous for. He would serve Canada as their Ambassador to the United States, as a member of Canadian Parliament, the President of the United Nations General Assembly and the Prime Minister of Canada. Plus, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his efforts in ending the Suez Crisis, and he pushed for the redesign of the Canadian flag to the one we all now know and love.

Overall, Pearson was a pretty awesome guy, so I understand why a hockey trophy had to be named after him. From 1971 to 2010, the Lester B. Pearson Award was given to the best NHL player as voted by the Players’ Association.

The Pearson Award has made several cardboard appearances over the years, including 1990-91 Pro Set (left) and 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee (right).

As for Pearson himself, he has appeared in a scant few card sets because he was not a professional athlete. He had a card in the 2008-09 Upper Deck Masterpieces set, but his very first card appears in 1952 Topps Look ‘N’ See, a set that features historical figures such as politicians, generals, explorers and inventors.

Click pictures to enlarge

Each Look ‘N’ See card has a trivia question on the back. To read the answer, you lay a piece of clear red plastic over it to reveal hidden text. The answer to the question on Pearson’s card is “He’s the head of the Canadian delegation.”

Here, Pearson is depicted as  just a humble U.N. Delegate. As far as trading cards of politicians go, this works well as a “rookie card,” as it shows him before he went on to become a Nobel Peace Prize winner and Prime Minister of Canada.

In 2010, the Lester B. Pearson Award was renamed the Ted Lindsay Award, which is a more fitting moniker. While few politicians have equaled the good he did nationally and internationally, Lindsay’s efforts and sacrifice led to the formation of the NHLPA.

The award for best player as voted by his peers should be named after Lindsay, given that what he did directly benefited NHL players. But after learning about Pearson, I wish his name was still somehow associated with hockey. Perhaps the name Lester B. Pearson will once again grace the placard of a trophy.

1958-59 Topps #43 – Charlie Burns

Paging through a binder of old hockey cards, this one of Charlie Burns–donning a helmet–sticks out like a sore thumb. Of course, he must have really stood out on the ice during his rookie season of 1958-59. Back then, Burns was the only NHL player to wear a helmet.

Burns sustained a head injury while playing junior hockey, resulting in a fractured skull. Surgery was performed and a metal plate was inserted into his head. From that point forward, Burns wore a helmet in games and in practices until he retired in 1974.

The backside of the card notes both his injury and his status as the league’s only helmeted player. The biography paragraph mentions that “he’s in comeback after severe skull injury.”

The cartoon, though, is ridiculous–and perhaps a bit insulting–as it shows a helmet-wearing player ramming another player in the midsection. Burns was not a reckless player, so the cartoonist was going for a cheap laugh. Mind you, this was during a time when even goalies didn’t wear masks and anyone wearing a helmet was usually considered soft.

Burns didn’t seem to mind the helmet, though. The photo above is obviously a posed portrait, so he easily could have removed his headgear before smiling for the photographer. But he chose to leave it on. A few of his other early cards show him posing while wearing a helmet.

Burns enjoyed a 16-year professional career–including 11 seasons in the NHL–all while wearing a helmet. Although he probably wouldn’t have worn it if he didn’t need to, he was a trailblazer nonetheless. By the time he retired in 1974, other players were starting to follow Burns’ lead and take a greater interest in their own safety on the ice.

1994-95 Classic Milwaukee Admirals – The Fabulous Fritz

 I recently purchased a team set of 1994-95 Milwaukee Admirals, made by Classic Games, when I unearthed this little unexpected gem: Fritz Usinger–a.k.a. “The Fabulous Fritz.” This was a card that totally caught me off guard when I first saw it. Who the heck is Fritz, and why is he so fabulous?

The front shows us a rosy-cheeked lawn gnome, wearing goalie equipment from the 1950s, strolling–not skating–by while catching a flying bratwurst with an open bun.

Suddenly, I’ve lost my appetite.

The Fabulous Fritz is a cartoon mascot used on the sign for Usinger’s Sausage Shop (picture here). Fritz Usinger is also the name of the business’s present owner. Usinger’s has been in business in Milwaukee since 1880.  The sole purpose of this card was to make Milwaukee Admirals fans, circa 1994, aware of the sausage shop’s existence.

The back of the card tries to play up both Fritz’s love of making sausage and his supposed love for hockey. His height and weight are listed as “short” and “stocky” respectively, his favorite food as (surprise!) “Bratwurst,” while his Win-Loss total reads “It’s how you play the game that counts.”

I think we are all pretty used to advertisements on team-issued card sets, usually in the form of a sponsor logo somewhere on the card.

So, which do you prefer–a sponsor card like this one–potentially displacing a more relevant card–or a sponsor logo on every card in the set?

For me, a card like this is amusing for about 5 seconds. I’d rather have a card of the team’s mascot, secretary or PR guy.

2005 Topps Chronicles #TC8 – On Ice

In 2005, Topps released a set of trading cards called The Topps Chronicles. Each week during the 2005 calendar year, you could buy an exclusive card directly from the Topps’ website for $4.75. The cards were printed on plastic and had a shiny chromium finish.

The Topps Chronicles wasn’t so much a sports/non-sports hybrid set as it was a set about current events. Each card would focus on an event deemed by Topps to be the biggest news of the previous week. Some cards featured entertainment or political news, while other cards were about sports. This card, entitled “On Ice,” discusses the cancellation of the 2004-05 NHL season.

The front of the card has a photo illustration of a chain and a lock–emblazoned with the NHL logo–obstructing our view of the ice at Madison Square Garden. Not the most subtle point, but perhaps better than a picture of Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman picketing in front of Maple Leaf Gardens.

The back shows a Chicago Blackhawks’ ticket sign and gives more information about what went down that fateful day in February 2005:

The 2004-05 NHL season became the first in any major American sport to go completely unplayed when Commissioner Gary Bettman cancelled it on February 16. Despite s aeries of last-ditch meetings and concessions on both sides, the NHL and its Players Association could not agree on a new collective bargaining agreement that would provide the “cost certainty” the owners believed to be necessary to proceed.

Did you hear that? The NHL was the first major American sport to cancel an entire season. Suck it, Major League Baseball!

I also like the fact that Topps told it like it was, calling those final meetings “last ditch” and not some wussy euphemism like “11th hour.” Trying to salvage the season in February,  when it is all but over, is truly a last ditch effort.

Topps’ license to make hockey cards expired in 2004. Technically, this is the last hockey card they ever made, though it is from a non-hockey set of cards.

1933-34 World Wide Gum Ice Kings #5 – Earl Robinson

I’ve collected hockey cards for over 20 years and never saw an original “Ice Kings” card until recently, when I found this one at a show for $20. Granted, you don’t just go to a card show and say “I’ll think I’ll buy some Ice Kings cards today,” unless you mean the ones of the Donruss variety.

But when a dealer showed this card to me…I hesitated. While I’ve never seen an Ice King in person, this card was in such terrible shape, I had to think if I really wanted to spend $20 on such a crummy-looking card.

Then I remembered some advice my Aunt Gayle once gave me when I was a kid–if you go to a card show, try to get something you won’t find anywhere else. Not counting the interwebs, I have never seen a card from this set.

Thus, I decided to buy this card of Montreal Maroons right wing Earl Robinson. It has clearly seen better days–those days being the 1933-34 season, when some kid bought a pack of World Wide Gum and got this card with it.

Some might say this card was abused. I say it was loved. The crease running vertically down the middle signifies that it was folded in half—-maybe to put in a pocket when taken to school, or tucked it in a sleeve to keep a teacher from confiscating it. It was folded so it could be put somewhere. Whoever owned this card circa 1934 wasn’t thinking of future value–they were thinking of keeping it safe.

Either that, or they were just clumsy.

The back of the card doesn’t look much better.

Did someone–GASP!–glue this card somewhere? Again, the owner of this card 75 years ago wasn’t thinking of maintaining its collectibility; they were thinking of putting it in a place they could see it, where it would make them happy. Maybe it was glued to their bedroom wall or in a scrapbook with pictures of other Montreal Maroons players.

The glue and paper loss makes the text hard to read, so I’ve transcribed it the best I could:

Earl began as a juvenile with the North Branch of the Montreal Y.M.C.A. only 13 years ago. He rose steadily, playing with the Strathcona High Squad, followed by the Royal Juniors, the Royal Bank and the Victorias. He turned “pro.” in 1927 with Philadelphia, came to the Maroons in 1928 and aside from a few trips to Windsor, has remained there since. He is 26 and weighs 153 pounds.

The season after this card was issued, Robinson led the Maroons in scoring, and the Maroons won their second and last Stanley Cup championship. Robinson also played for the last-ever Maroons squad in 1937-38

Condition-wise, this card is one of the poorest in my collection. It is also one of (but not the) oldest cards that I own. But it might be another 20 yeas before I come across another Ice King. ■

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk. 

Upper Deck released a more affordable hockey card set in the mid-1990s called Collector’s Choice. At 99 cents per pack, the set was aimed at kids who weren’t mature enough to collect “grown up” Upper Deck hockey cards at $2.49 per pack. Since Collector’s Choice had to be “kiddified,” some cards included a crudely drawn mascot named Chippy.

No, no no…not CLIPPY….CHIPPY.

Both are pretty annoying, though what makes Chippy worse is that he looks like the fat kid that bullied me in grammar school.

In the 1997-98 Collector’s Choice Hockey set, the last 8 cards are checklists featuring Chippy. On each card, Chippy offers collecting advice. My favorite tip is on card #316:

Chippy on taking care of your cards…The better shape your cards are in, the more fun they are. It’s a good idea to keep your cards in clear plastic sheets in a binder. That way, you can enjoy your collection while keeping it in mint condition.

I did not know that keeping my cards in “mint condition”–as if there was truly such a thing–made my cards more fun. In my “pre-collector” days, I used to tape cards to my notebook, or play a game of “flips” with them, or throw them at my friends like Gambit throws playing cards in the  X-Men comic books. That was way more fun than putting them in a binder…though in retrospect, I wish I didn’t tape that Brett Hull rookie card to my notebook. If only Chippy existed in 1989 to stop me from my fun.

And why can’t Chippy just cut through the B.S., level with us and say that keeping our 1990s hockey cards in mint condition will make them worth lots of money, while also making us smarter and more likeable to girls? Of course, I’d be happy if one of those things were true.

2010-11 Upper Deck #158 – Dave Bolland

Awesome photography has practically defined Upper Deck hockey cards since they entered the market in 1990. For two decades, the set’s range of close-ups, candid moments and action photos has brought us closer to the game we all know and love.

But on their 2010-11 card of Blackhawks’ center Dave Bolland, Upper Deck chose a photo that daringly moved a few steps back–taking us from being in the game, and putting us at the game instead.

It is being removed from the “on-ice” view that makes this card special.The poor composition makes the photo look like it was hastily snapped by a spectator with a cell phone camera. We see things from the fans’ perspective, as the picture was taken at least several rows back from the glass, in the midst of the United Center crowed. Our view of Bolland, through the glass, is partially obstructed by the stanchions and the outstretched arms of ‘Hawks fans.

We feel like we are there, celebrating Bolland’s goal with the other Blackhawks’ fans.

In using a less-than-ideal photo, Upper Deck made this moment feel all the more real.

Bolland scored 3 goals and 3 assists in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. This picture was taken seconds after he scored in Game 5. Here is video of that goal.

1989-90 Procards AHL/IHL #22 – Gordie Walker

You probably could not help but notice that the flaming hockey stick on the card above–a gimmick you most likely would not see today. But back in the 1990s, minor league hockey cards were a great source for all things wacky and tacky. From stupid mascots (hello Buzz the Beaver) to showboating for the camera, if it was a bad idea, it probably graced the front of a minor league hockey card. Continue reading “Card of the Week: Flame On!”

1990-91 ProCards AHL/IHL #294 – The Moose

Some old school hockey fans might think of Mark Messier when they hear a reference to “The Moose.” Yes, Messier was indeed moose-like–big, strong and hard to knock over–during his playing career. True hockey fans, however, know that hockey’s real moose is none other than The Moose–the mascot for the Rochester Americans. Continue reading “Card of the Week: The Moose”