Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
When sports card collecting became huge in the 1980s and 1990s, many comic book stores tried to get in on the action. Often, it was just a few wax boxes and display cases with singles to cash in on the trend without investing too much into it. But at the end of the day, most comic book dealers knew Wolverine better than they knew Wayne Gretzky. Sometimes, you could take advantage of that.
Continue reading “Buying Cards in the 1990s, Memory #2: The Comic Book Store”
This is the first in what will hopefully become a regular podcast series on this website, hosted by Sal Barry and Tim Parish. For those who don’t know, Tim maintains a sports card blog called The Real DFG and hangs out on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Today, Sal and Tim talk about:
Total running time is 28:17. Scroll down to see some card images.
Question #1: If you listened to the podcast, what did you think? Positive or negative feedback is welcome, but please keep it constructive.
Question #2: What is your opinion on any of the topics we discussed?
Podcast Intro and ending music credits:
“RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
During the sports card boom in the 1990s, you could find hockey cards almost anywhere in Chicago and the suburbs. I went to a lot of card shops back then; there were more of them 20 years ago. But what stands out two decades later is when I found hockey cards off the beaten path.This is one such story. Continue reading “Buying Cards in the 1990s, Memory #1: The Suburban Convenience Store”
This is one of my all-time favorite hockey card photographs. On the front of his 1991-92 Upper Deck “Star Rookies” card, Felix Potvin is shown hoisting the trophy he won as the MVP of the 1991 QMJHL playoffs. Everything about this photo is excellent, from the elated look on Potvin’s face as he proudly hoists the trophy, to the crowd of cheering people who have flooded onto the ice behind him.This picture successfully captures a moment in time.
It also succeeds in explaining why Potvin is a “Star Rookie” without saying a word. We don’t even need to read the text on the back of the card. Using this picture was a great choice by Upper Deck, and says more about Potvin than a staid draft day photo or a shot from Maple Leafs’ training camp. But Upper Deck wasn’t the first company to use this picture on a hockey card.
The photograph on Ryan Johansen’s 2014-15 Upper Deck trading card is bad. No, it isn’t quite as terrible as the infamous Bryan Pitton Score rookie card from a few years back. Nor is it the worst card of all time, though it is the worst card from this year’s UD Series One. Seeing the back of a player on the front of his own card is unremarkable. In fact, this photo is so unremarkable that apparently no one at Upper Deck noticed that they used the exact same photo on Johansen’s card from the previous season. Continue reading “Deja Vu Tuesday: Ryan Johansen”
As much as I like odd pre-production items like promo cards, proof photos and so forth, I’ve steered clear of printing plates. This is because they tend to be expensive. And really, who wants to spend money on a card that only shows only one-fourth of the image; either the cyan, yellow, magenta or black areas that makes up the photograph. But then I saw this card on eBay — a 2014-15 Upper Deck Series One Yellow Printing Plate of Nashville Predators goalie Carter Hutton — and had a conundrum. I collect all of Hutton’s cards. Do I go after this one too? Or do I let it slide by me, since it isn’t really a card? Continue reading “Carter Hutton Yellow Printing Plate”
I finally got around to opening my third (and final) box of 2014-15 Upper Deck Series One Hockey. This was singularly both the best and worst box of the three. But…how is that even possible? Continue reading “2014-15 Upper Deck Series 1 box break #3”
Another day, another box break of 2014-15 Upper Deck Series One. A box has 24 packs, and each pack has eight cards. Continue reading “2014-15 Upper Deck Series 1 box break #2”
Upper Deck Hockey is the one set I’ve looked forward to each year for the past 25 years. It’s a great mix of high-quality production values, a decent-sized base set (when counting Series 1 and 2), plus all the rookies that matter. So, of course when this year’s set came out, you know I had to buy a box or three. There’s nothing more relaxing than watching a hockey game while opening up some cards. And that’s just what I did. Continue reading “2014-15 Upper Deck Series 1 box break #1”
Several different companies have leased the Parkhurst name over the past 20-plus years, starting with Pro Set way back in 1991, as an effort to sell a brand of hockey cards with some nostalgia attached to it. The 2005-06 Parkhurst Hockey set was produced by Upper Deck, coming out just as the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals were underway. This late-season set was a great “jumping on” point for collectors who had fallen off the hockey card-collecting wagon, but wished to return and try to get some rookie cards from the 2005-06 “double rookie class” — without spending over $100 on a box of cards. This relatively low-price, late season release was met with mixed feelings from collectors. Continue reading “Review: 2005-06 Parkhurst Hockey”