1970-71 O-Pee-Chee/Topps Hockey Cards

Bobby Orr Topps Card

With the dawning of the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee hockey card series came two new expansion teams to the NHL namely the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks.

The cards that remain most elusive today however are not the players of the expansion teams but those of one of the Original Six teams, the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins, having just won the Stanley Cup prior to the release of the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee set took the first eleven card slots in the series including Bobby Orrs card #3. The famous defensemans image can also be found on five other cards in the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee series.

The problem with getting these cards in really good shape comes from the fact that they were near the top of the stack in most collectors piles and therefore suffered other wear and tear cards further down didn't suffer from. A main culprit in a cards poor condition came from using rubber bands to hold the stack together. The cards near the top and bottom of the stack usually ended up with "band marks" on their edges. The other problem came from the factory where the cards were cut with an awful lot of them being cut on an angle making the card O/C or off center which is in reference to how the white boarder looks on the face of the card.

PSA, a card grading and authentication service reported only one Bobby Orr, card number 3, PSA Gem Mint 10 having been uncovered and a PSA Mint 9 sold on Ebay in July 2007 for $1412.50.

Another tough Bruin to find in high grade shape is #5, Fred Stanfield because of its position in the top row of the factory sheets, it's most often found O/C top to bottom.(off center) Of the dozen or so graded by PSA only 2 have been graded a PSA 8 and none have been graded higher. A PSA 8 sold on Ebay in December 2007 for $161.50.

The 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee set was distributed in two 132 card series. The first series cards remain the toughest to collect in high grade status.

Bobby Orrr Deckle Edge Card

Bobby Orr Sticker Stamp

First series packs contained eight cards and a sticker stamp. The sticker stamp set consisted of 33 unnumbered color stamps with a blank back. The stamps were inserted in the 1970-71 Topps wax packs as well as in the first series of the Canadian O-Pee-Chee wax packs.

Second series packs contained eight cards and a Deckle Edge card that was substituted for the sticker stamp. Deckle Edge cards were black and white photos of players and each photo carried a facsimile autograph. There were 48 Deckle Edge cards in the second series.

The standard format of the 1970-71 set featured the players photo, position played and team name and white borders on the front with a green back that highlighted personal statistics by year, a short biography in French and English, the card number and a cartoon like sketch of the player.

Variations do exist of several cards in the series the most notable being card number 111, Brit Selby. Most show the St. Louis Blues as his team name with a notation "Traded from Toronto November 13, 1970". A version showing Selby as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs without the trade notation also exists but is very rare.

It is thought that Selby was traded sometime early in the production of the first series and that the print process was halted to update the trade.

A similar card, number 175, Mickey Redmond states he was "Traded to Detroit January 13, 1971" in the upper right hand corner. In Redmonds instance the card without the trade information is the most abundant to collectors.

Card number 248, the Bobby Orr Norris Trophy winner single has an evil twin also. One version states "Gordie Howe NHL All Time Leading Scorer" on the back while it's twin doesen't. A premium price is generally not recognized for either version.

Over and above the six Bobby Orr cards contained in the series the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee set also boasts cards of NHL legends Bobby Hull, #15, Gordie Howe, #29, Phil Esposito, #11 and Terry Sawchuck, #231. Five future Hall Of Famer rookie cards are also contained in this set including Gilbert Perreault, #131, Guy Lapointe, #177, Brad Park, #67, Darryl Sittler, #218 and Bobby Clarke, #195.

Bobby Clarke Rookie Card

The Bobby Clarke card, #195, has always been regarded as the key rookie card of the set but compared to the Gilbert Perreault card, #131 it is reasonably easy to come by in high grade status. Of the couple hundred Clarke cards submitted to PSA for grading there has been two PSA 10 and nineteen PSA 9. A PSA 9 sold on Ebay for $658 in April 2008. The Perreault card, out of seventy-seven graded by PSA there was only one PSA 10 and two PSA 9's. Centering top to bottom seems to be the biggest problem with this card and again it was in the top row of the first series sheets. The only PSA 10 Gilbert Perreault card sold for $2827.77 on Ebay in June 2008.

Other notable rookie cards in this set include Wayne Cashman, #7, Don Marcotte, #138 and Walt McKechnie, #172. In all there were forty-one rookie cards in this set.

Like the Stanfield card #114, Gary Doak is also hard to find in top condition. Of twenty-three sent to PSA for grading the highest grade was a PSA 8. Centering is the problem with this card also. A PSA 8 sold on Ebay for $201.50 in January 2008.

Also evading PSA's highest honors is #121, Andre Boudrias. Out of ten graded only two have graded as high as PSA 8. A PSA 8 sold on Ebay for $210.21 in March 2008.