The 1973-74 hockey season marked a changing of the guard in the NHL. The Philadelphia Flyers became the first team from the 1967 expansion class to win the Stanley Cup, stopping Boston in six games. Topps was also undergoing some changes in its hockey product, most notably expanding its set by 22 to an all-time high of 198 cards. That’s a good thing. Not only did a larger … [Read more...]
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Bad Rap? 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Set Does Have Merit
The 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee set has a bit of a bad reputation with collectors thanks to a lack of big rookie cards and a somewhat unimaginative design. For decades, it has been relatively ignored and the reasons for that are certainly fair from an investment standpoint. For those that have come to love it, though, 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee can have some hidden beauty which perhaps … [Read more...]
1976-77 Topps Hockey Short on Rookies but Big on Subsets and Inserts
For the most part, the 1976-77 Topps hockey set was your standard run-of-the-mill 1970s hockey issue. But in addition to numerous subsets in the release, Topps also introduced a unique insert, which helped it stand out from others. Here's a closer look at Topps' issue for the 1976-77 hockey season. 1976-77 Topps Hockey Overview The 1976-77 Topps hockey set was a 264-card … [Read more...]
1974-75 Topps Hockey Continued Shift Toward Larger Sets
After producing several issues that included only a few dozen cards, Topps made a major push in the 1970s to increase the size of its hockey sets. Here's a closer look at the 1974-75 Topps hockey issue that continued that model of growth. 1974-75 Topps Hockey Overview At the start of the decade, Topps' hockey sets consisted of 132 cards. That was double the size of what … [Read more...]
Hall of Famers, All-Stars Anchor 1972-73 Topps Hockey Set
Topps continued production of its hockey cards in 1972. The 1972-73 Topps Hockey set included a few rookie cards, but the set was led by the usual collection of Hall of Famers along with an All-Star subset. Here's a closer look at the issue more than 40 years later. 1972-73 Topps Hockey Basics The 1972-73 Topps hockey card set was fairly typical for what Topps produced in both … [Read more...]
Ken Dryden Rookie Card Headlines 1971-72 Topps Hockey Set
Even with recent expansion, there were just 14 teams in the National Hockey League when the puck dropped on October 8, 1971. While going deeper into rosters for the O-Pee-Chee brand, Topps' 1971-72 hockey set remained at just 132 cards. 1971-72 Topps Hockey Basics The 1971-72 Topps hockey cards maintained the standard 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" size. However, the cards were much … [Read more...]
Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card Values Rising as Icon Turns 55
Before he’d turned 20, he’d played in 126 games, scored 76 goals and had 144 assists to his credit for a total of 220 points. He turned 55 on Tuesday and hasn’t played in a game since the 1998-99 season but he still holds about five dozen NHL records. Still considered the greatest of all-time, the Wayne Gretzky rookie card is still the gold standard for modern hockey … [Read more...]
Rare 1971-72 OPC-Bazooka Hockey Box with Bobby Orr
One of the rarest hockey card sets doesn't date back to the game's humble beginnings. Talk to any collector and they'll tell you putting together a complete set of 1971-72 Bazooka hockey panels is something that happens to folks with money-- or in their dreams. Distributed for only a brief time in a very limited area of Canada, the Bazooka boxes are similar to their American … [Read more...]
