Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
Hallmark Hockey Greats, 2000 During the holiday season of 2000 Hallmark continued its line of “Hockey Greats” Keepsake Ornaments. Philadelphia Flyers forward Eric Lindros was chosen to be this year’s tree decoration. At that time, Lindros was at the top of his game, and was one of the best players in the NHL. However, he … Continue reading “Eric Lindros Hallmark Keepsake Ornament”
1990-91 Score Canadian Mark Messier – Promo Card Every now and then, trading card companies release promo cards to dealers and distributors, to show off what a new card set will look like, and hopefully increase orders for the product. In the late summer of 1990, trading card manufacturer Score issued several such promo cards … Continue reading “Don’t Mess With Messier”
1973-74 Topps card #151 – Phil Roberto Most hockey card photography from the late 1960s and early 1970s consisted of either portraits or posed shots. By the mid-70s, Topps and O-Pee-Chee started to use game action photography. And nothing says ACTION like two hockey players fighting. Phil Roberto, of the St. Louis Blues, is shown … Continue reading “Card of the Week: Fight Card”
Ten card set is 30% goalies, 100% mediocre. The 1985-86 New Jersey Devils postcard set was very small, consisting of only ten cards. Allegedly, only 3,000 sets were produced. While I am not sure if this is true or not, I don’t think the demand for this set is going to raise its value anytime … Continue reading “Review: 1985-86 New Jersey Devils postcard set”
1969-70 O-Pee-Chee Al Arbour – card #178 On November 3, 2007, longtime hockey coach Al Arbour came out of retirement to step behind the bench for the New York Islanders for just one more game. This game – a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins – brought his total number of games coached for the … Continue reading “Bespectacled Blueliner”
1981-82 Topps Denis Potvin – card #130E Wow. This card is bad…very bad. If Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin was looking for a flattering portrayal of his career, it would not be this 1981-82 Topps hockey card.
Fantastic design, great photography make for a worthwhile base set This day and age of short-printed rookie cards has led to a plethora of “base sets” that can be purchased “on the cheap”. Base sets have become a byproduct – almost an epidemic – in the hockey card collecting world. Since collectors will buy multiple … Continue reading “Review: 2005-06 Upper Deck Ice”
Bad photography makes this one forgettable set The 1998-99 Photocards set was an odd release for Panini. While the company usually focused on making sticker albums, this season they also made this set of “photo cards,” which were similar in size to postcards. Panini also issued a small hardcover album to store the photocards. You … Continue reading “Review: 1998-99 Panini Photocards”
Yesterday, in a weak moment, I bought a box of 2007-2008 Upper Deck MVP hockey cards. I knew that if I bought a box, that I’d have to get at least one more to complete a base set. But I’ve always enjoyed opening packs, so I gave in to the Dark Side. I won’t post … Continue reading “2007-2008 MVP Box Breakdown”
1979-80 Topps / O-Pee-Chee Dale McCourt – Card #63 One day while thumbing through my extra hockey cards, I came across this odd card – 1979-1980 Topps #63, Dale McCourt. This card featured McCourt in his L.A. Kings Jersey. However, Dale McCourt was never a member of the L.A. Kings. And yet, this card clearly … Continue reading “Card of the Week: King for a Day”