Peter Puck, The 1970's Ambassador To The NHL

Another much loved segment of Hockey Night In Canada and NBC's Hockey Game Of The Week, for the children anyways, was the Peter Puck cartoon that was generally shown in the intermission between the first and second periods of the game.
　
His first immortal words spoken between periods in 1973 were "Howdy fans, Peter Puck here to lay some facts on you about hockey - the world's fastest team sport." He often referrered to himself as the "pokecheck professor".　

The animated little puck would explain the rules of hockey to the junior crowd as well as equipment used in the games to keep your child safe and even ventured into the history of the sport of...you guessed it, hockey! It was adapted to TV with the help of Hanna Barbera a very popular cartoon company of the time.

The animated cartoons were designed to keep the kids happy between the first and second intermission of the hockey game.

1. Peter Puck - How To Play The Game (episode 1)

2. Peter Puck - Equipment, Officials and Players (episode 2)

3. Peter Puck - Pucks, Skates and Sticks (episode 3)

4. Peter Puck - Penalties, Signs and Fines (episode 4)

5. Peter Puck - Episode 5

Three books - Peter Puck: Love That Hockey Game (1975), Peter Puck and the Stolen Stanley Cup (1980), and Peter Puck's Greatest Moments in Hockey (1980) were also written and have all been given collectors item status.





Love That Hockey Game

The Stolen Stanley Cup

                  

Greatest Moments In Hockey

 

1970-71 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards

The 1970-71 Topps Hockey Card Series were almost identical for the first 132 cards with the one exception being card #24 which was Bob Baun in the Topps Series and a checklist in the O-Pee-Chee Series. Another difference was the little write up on each player on the back of the O-Pee-Chee card was in English and French.

132 Checklist
133 Ed Johnston
134 Ted Green
135 Rick Smith RC
136 Derek Sanderson
137 Dallas Smith
138 Don Marcotte RC
139 Ed Westfall
140 Floyd Smith
141 Randy Wyrozub RC
142 Cliff Schmautz RC
143 Mike McMahon
144 Jim Watson
145 Roger Crozier
146 Tracy Pratt
147 Cliff Koroll RC
148 Gerry Pinder RC
149 Ron "Chico" Maki
150 Doug Jarrett
151 Keith Magnuson RC
152 Gerry Desjardins
153 Tony Esposito
154 Gary Bergman
155 Tom Webster RC
156 Dale Rolfe
157 Alex Delvecchio
158 Nick Libett
159 Wayne Connelly
160 Mike Byers RC
161 Bill Flett
162 Larry Mickey
163 Noel Price
164 Larry Cahan
165 Jack Norris RC
166 Ted Harris
167 Murray Oliver
168 Jean-Paul Parise
169 Tom Williams
170 Bobby Rousseau
171 Jude Drouin RC
172 Walt McKechnie RC
173 Cesare Maniago
174 Rejean Houle RC
176 Henri Richard
177 Guy Lapointe RC
178 J.C. Tremblay
179 Marc Tardif RC
180 Walt Tkaczuk
181 Jean Ratelle
182 Pete Stemkowski
183 Gilles Villemure
184 Rod Seiling
185 Jim Neilson
186 Dennis Hextall
187 Gerry Ehman
188 Bert Marshall
189 Gary Croteau RC
190 Ted Hampson
191 Earl Ingarfield
192 Dick Mattiussi
193 Earl Heiskala
194 Simon Nolet
195 Bobby Clarke RC
196 Garry Peters
197 Lew Morrison RC
198 Wayne Hillman
199 Doug Favell
200 Les Binkley
201 Dean Prentice
202 Jean Pronovost
203 Wally Boyer
204 Bryan Watson
205 Glen Sather
206 Lowell MacDonald
207 Andy Bathgate
208 Val Fonteyne
209 Jim Lorentz RC
210 Glenn Hall
211 Bob Plager
212 Noel Picard
213 Jim Roberts
214 Frank St. Marseille
215 Ab McDonald
216 Brian Glennie RC
217 Paul Henderson
218 Darryl Sittler RC
219 Dave Keon
220 Jim Harrison RC
221 Ron Ellis
222 Jacques Plante
223 Bob Baun
224 George Gardner RC
225 Dale Tallon RC
226 Rosaire Paiement RC
227 Mike Corrigan RC
228 Ray Cullen
229 Charlie Hodge
230 Len Lunde
231 Terry Sawchuk
232 Stanley Cup Champs [Boston Bruins Team]
233 Ken Hodge [Esposito Line]
234 Tony Esposito [First Team All-Star]
235 Bobby Hull [First Team All-Star]
236 Bobby Orr [First Team All-Star]
237 Phil Esposito [First Team All-Star]
238 Gordie Howe [First Team All-Star]
239 Brad Park RC [First Team All-Star]
240 Stan Mikita [Second Team All-Star]
241 John McKenzie [Second Team All-Star]
242 Frank Mahovlich [Second Team All-Star]
243 Carl Brewer [Second Team All-Star]
244 Ed Giacomin [Second Team All-Star]
245 Jacques Laperriere [Second Team All-Star]
246 Bobby Orr [Hart Trophy]
247 Tony Esposito [Calder Trophy]
249 Bobby Orr [Art Ross Trophy]
250 Tony Esposito [Vezina Trophy]
251 Phil Goyette [Lady Byng Trophy]
252 Bobby Orr-Conn Smythe Trophy Winner [Conn Smythe]
253 Hubert "Pit" Martin [Masterton Award]
254 The Stanley Cup
255 Prince of Wales Trophy
256 Conn Smythe Trophy
257 James Norris Trophy
258 Calder Trophy
259 Vezina Trophy
260 Lady Byng Trophy
261 Hart Trophy
262 Art Ross Trohpy
263 Clarence Campbell Bowl
264 John Ferguson
111A Brit Selby
111B Brit Selby
175A Mickey Redmond
175B Mickey Redmond
248A Bobby Orr [Norris Trophy]
248B Bobby Orr [Norris Trophy]

I'll try to explain the Brit Selby 111A and 111B card.
First of all the cards are the same front and back as far as photo and write up goes. What separates the two is that the A card does note denote the trade Toronto had done with St. Louis where as the B card mentions this on the front of the card with the notation “Traded From Toronto Nov. 13/70”

The Bobby Orr Norris Trophy alternative makes a notation of Gordie Howe on the puzzle piece on the back of the card where as the A card does not.

1971-72 Colgate Toothpaste Hockey Heads

A Colgate toothpaste promotion in the winter months of 1972 had kids buzzing and brushing with the hope they might "score" a Bobby Orr head which were being included in specially marked packages of Colgate toothpaste.

They were manufactured as a tribute to players of Team Canada who had beaten the Russians in an eight game series in September 1972 winning 4, losing 3 and 1 tie.

In all there were 16 busts in the collectible series, each measuring about 1 1/4 " in height with a base of about 7/8" and were made of a cream colored or beige plastic.

Out of the 16 heads there was still room for an error and was found in the spelling of Norm Ullmans name which they spelled Ullmann.

The sixteen players chosen for the promotion were:

1 Bobby Orr

2 Brad Park

3 Ken Dryden

4 Jean Ratelle

5 Paul Henderson

6 Jacques Plante

7 Richard Martin

8 Marcel Dionne

9 Derek Sanderson

10 Frank Mahovlich

11 Walter Tkaczuk

12 Norm Ullman

13 Gary Unger

14 Dale Tallon

15 Norm Ullmann(defect)

16 Guy Lafleur

17 Yvan Cournoyer

1970-71 Topps Hockey Card Checklist

1970-71 Topps Hockey Cards

This set is nearly identical to the first 132 cards of the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee set - the exception is card #24, a checklist in the O-Pee-Chee set and Bobby Baun in Topps. Some of the photos are also different.

This checklist is meant to give those interested a look at what the cards actually look like. I do not have these cards for sale it is a pictorial reference only.

#	Description
1	Gerry Cheevers
2	Johnny Bucyk
3	Bobby Orr
4	Don Awrey
5	Fred Stanfield
6	John McKenzie
7	Wayne Cashman RC
8	Ken Hodge
9	Wayne Carleton
10	Garnet "Ace" Bailey RC
11	Phil Esposito
12	Lou Angotti
13	Jim Pappin
14	Dennis Hull
15	Bobby Hull
16	Doug Mohns
17	Pat Stapleton
18	Hubert "Pit" Martin
19	Eric Nesterenko
20	Stan Mikita
21	Roy Edwards
22	Frank Mahovlich
23	Ron Harris
24	Bob Baun
25	Pete Stemkowski
26	Garry Unger
27	Bruce MacGregor
28	Larry Jeffrey
29	Gordie Howe
30	Billy Dea
31	Denis DeJordy
32	Matt Ravlich
33	Dave Amadio
34	Gilles Marotte
35	Eddie Shack
36	Bob Pulford
37	Ross Lonsberry
38	Gord Labossiere
39	Eddie Joyal
40	Lorne "Gump" Worsley
41	Bob McCord
42	Leo Boivin
43	Tom Reid RC
44	Charlie Burns
45	Bob Barlow
46	Bill Goldsworthy
47	Danny Grant
48	Norm Beaudin RC
49	Rogatien Vachon
50	Yvan Cournoyer
51	Serge Savard
52	Jacques Laperriere
53	Terry Harper
54	Ralph Backstrom
55	Jean Beliveau
56	Claude Larose
57	Jacques Lemaire
58	Pete Mahovlich
59	Tim Horton
60	Bob Nevin
61	Dave Balon
62	Vic Hadfield
63	Rod Gilbert
64	Ron Stewart
65	Ted Irvine
66	Arnie Brown
67	Brad Park RC
68	Ed Giacomin
69	Gary Smith
70	Carol Vadnais
71	Doug Roberts
72	Harry Howell
73	Joe Szura
74	Mike Laughton
75	Gary Jarrett
76	Bill Hicke
77	Paul Andrea RC
78	Bernie Parent
79	Joe Watson
80	Ed Van Impe
81	Larry Hillman
82	George Swarbrick
83	Bill Sutherland
84	Andre Lacroix
85	Gary Dornhoefer
86	Jean-Guy Gendron
87	Al Smith RC
88	Bob Woytowich
89	Duane Rupp
90	Jim Morrison
91	Ron Schock
92	Ken Schinkel
93	Keith McCreary
94	Bryan Hextall
95	Wayne Hicks RC
96	Gary Sabourin
97	Ernie Wakely RC
98	Bob Wall
99	Barclay Plager
100	Jean-Guy Talbot
101	Gary Veneruzzo
102	Tim Ecclestone
103	Gordon "Red" Berenson
104	Larry Keenan
105	Bruce Gamble
106	Jim Dorey
107	Mike Pelyk RC
108	Rick Ley
109	Mike Walton
110	Norm Ullman
111	Brit Selby
112	Garry Monahan
113	George Armstrong
114	Gary Doak
115	Darryl Sly RC
116	Wayne Maki
117	Orland Kurtenbach
118	Murray Hall
119	Marc Reaume
120	Pat Quinn
121	Andre Boudrias
122	Poul Popiel
123	Paul Terbenche
124	Howie Menard
125	Gerry Meehan RC
126	Phil "Skip" Krake
127	Phil Goyette
128	Reg Fleming
129	Don Marshall
130	Bill Inglis RC
131	Gilbert Perreault RC
132	Checklist

14 rookie cards in set.

1970-71 Esso NHL Power Players

By the winter of 1970 I was eight years old and the hockey card bug had bitten hard.

Not only did O-Pee-Chee and Topps have what I personally consider their finest set of cards ever printed but Esso gas stations in Canada were running a promotion where with a gasoline purchase, a mimimum of $3.00, you were given a booklet of six hockey stamps which they called NHL Power Players.

1970-71 NHL Power Player Stamp Packet

Inside Stamp Packet

These Power Players came with a little blue plastic wallet(shown below) to keep your spares in for trading purposes. There was also a soft cover album that came with some players already printed in the book and a deluxe hard cover edition that required you to collect all the trading stamps to complete. There were 252 cards in the set which came out to 18 players for each of the 14 NHL teams.

Soft Cover Album

Hard Cover Edition

Now, the idea was simple enough. Have Mom or Dad fill up their car at Esso and collect the stamps each time. Problem was what happened if they bought their gas at a competitors gas station?

For me personally I remember getting some Power Player stamp booklets from my Uncle David whos father owned the Esso station in town at that time. But it wasn't until several years later when visiting my cousins in a small northern Ontario community that I finally layed my hands on a complete set of NHL Power Players in a soft cover album.

1970-71 NHL Power Player Stamps

NHL Power Player Trader Wallet

                                

If you are old enough to remember collecting NHL Power Player Stamps you likely also remember the catchy commercials Esso had to promote the cards generally shown during Hockey Night In Canada broadcasts on Saturday Night. Below, you'll find links to some of Imperial Oil Essos timeless commercials, aired during the fall and winter months of 1970-71, that will take some of us back to a era when heroes were real.

1. NHL Power Players Promotion #1

2. NHL Power Players Promotion #2

3. NHL Power Players Promotion #3

4. NHL Power Players Promotion #4

5. NHL Power Players Promotion #5

6. NHL Power Players Promotion #6

The above commercials are provided to the public via Youtube by Glenbow Archives who feature Imperial Oil Esso television commercials from the 1950s to the 1970s.