The Boston Bruins were on their way to a second Stanley Cup championship in three years, Bobby Hull would score his 600th goal, Montreal’s young rookie goalie was quickly becoming a star and 43-year-old Gump Worsley was still stopping shots. Hockey card collectors had two sets to pick from but the Topps set was half the size of its Canadian cousin, OPC. The good news? It didn’t take a ton of work to put a set together.
This week’s edition of Vintage Pack Facts from Vintage Breaks is all about 1971-72 Topps hockey.
- Topps certainly hit the highlights with their checklist. There are 26 Hall of Famers–not counting those pictured on leader cards–among the 132 cards in the set (about one in every five cards meaning you’ve got a good shot to land one in a pack).
- While not packed with rookie cards, the set does contain one of the key post-War cards: Ken Dryden’s rookie, valued at about $300 in mint condition today. Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull are all here, too. Howe appears in the Topps set, but not OPC.
- The first card (Goal Leaders with Orr and Hull, the checklist and the last card in the set, Dunc McCallum, are tough ones for those putting together high-grade sets.
- Traditional wax boxes contained 24 packs of eight cards, with one of 24 booklet inserts featuring stars of the day. Occasionally, you’ll find two booklets in a wax pack. The price remained steady at 10 cents. A wax box sold for $4,044 in 2016.
- Topps also produced 54-card rack packs for 39 cents. While a smattering of wax boxes and packs have been in the market, rack packs are extremely rare. A pack with a Dryden rookie on the top sold for $2,608 several years ago.
- As usual, Topps vending boxes contained 500 cards. Several have surfaced over the last decade, originating with long-time dealer Larry Fritsch Cards. The last one sold in November 2018 for nearly $5,000.
- Vintage Breaks is offering spots in an unopened wax pack break at $65. You can watch a previous break below.
You can learn more about participating in vintage pack breaks—or just watch—by visiting VintageBreaks.com.
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Vintage Pack Facts: 1976 Topps Baseball
Vintage Pack Facts: 1968 Topps Football
Vintage Pack Facts: 1959 Topps Football
Notes: Moeller Show Off; New Shop in Hollywood; ’73 Rack Box; NBA Legends Event
Ken Dryden Rookie Card Turns 50
Ultra Rare 1959 Topps Football Vending Box a Hot Auction Item
