Posts Tagged ‘Kansas City Scouts’

I hope that all of my American compatriots had a great Thanksgiving full of turkey, stuffing, football, and afternoon naps. For my Canadian counterparts, I hope your Thursday was at least a little more enjoyable than usual. With “Black Friday” behind us, I thought I’d share some recent eBay/checkoutmycards purchases that I snagged at “Black Friday” prices.

The first big purchase involves a personal “white whale” and finally puts an end to a longtime quest of mine. Finding a certified on-card auto of Woody Dumart is pretty darn tough. According to Beckett, there are only three options: a Bruins Alumni card set, a Parkhurst card that is sort of like a cut auto, and an In The Game Ultimate slabbed card. I had pretty much given up hope of ever finding any of these and instead had first settled on this card…

I’ve talked a bit about this card before. It belonged to a set that was to be produced by Dr. Brian Price of In The Game. As per usual, the NHL rejected his license request and these cards were never officially released. However, they eventually showed up in ITG’s Ultimate Memorabilia 5th Edition but set inside a black frame and slabbed. Like this…

The Parkhurst Dumart is sort of the same, only it is set behind a green border and was unslabbed.

Here is a little write-up ITG did concerning this card:

“In the Game, Inc., the manufacturer of the Be A Player brands of hockey cards, recently paid tribute to a Hockey Hall of Famer and Boston Bruin legend Woody Dumart in their 2001-02 Parkhurst brand.

When the Parkhurst brand was on the drawing board early in 2001, one of the planned insert sets was a 40-card effort entitled Parkhurst Autographs. The set featured an amazing lineup of hockey legends ranging from Gordie Howe to Jean Beliveau to Phil Esposito complete with their signatures. Woody Dumart was included in the set.

Once the cards were printed, they were sent to each of the players but sadly, Dumart passed away before he signed any of them on October 19. Officials at In the Game were now forced to revise their plans.

Rather than simply withdraw the card or replace it with another retired great, a plan was implemented which not only paid proper tribute to Dumart, it also provided something special for collectors. To avoid any further delays during pack-out, special Dumart redemption cards were inserted in packs of Parkhurst.

“Fortunately we had a small supply of Woody Dumart signatures,” explained Dr. Brian H. Price, President of In the Game. “We had discussions with Mrs. Dumart and decided to follow through with this tribute to a great player and a fine gentleman.

“It took some ingenuity on the part of our production staff but we were able to use them as ‘cut signatures’ and literally build a new card of Woody that featured his autograph. Anyone who pulled one of the redemption cards can send it to us in exchange for one of these. I’m quite pleased with the results and I think collectors will be too.”

Only 20 of these special signed Dumart cards were produced.”

As I had never seen either of these cards, I was mostly satisfied with my unframed “bootleg” version, even though I couldn’t say for certain it was real.

Later, I picked up a different Dumart autograph, this time for an obscure regional set.

You can read a little bit about it here. Although Beckett recognizes the set, they don’t mention an autographed version of it. Again, I took a (cheap) chance on this and was mostly satisfied.

Anyways, to make a long story longer, I picked up this gem…

2001-02 Parkhurst Autograph #PA-09 Woody Dumart

The hunt for a certified Dumart autograph is officially OVER! Twenty copies, no pricing due to scarcity, and I snagged it for a pretty good price. If anyone is interested in either of my other two Dumart cards, let me know; they are definitely up for trade.

Next up two more cards from the same eBay seller. Do you ever bid on something, look at the seller’s other auctions, and then bid on a couple others? I was not actively seeking these two cards, but when I saw them, I knew I needed them. First is this “nifty” card…

2001-02 Greats of the Game Autographs #70 Rick Middleton

I have always liked the Greats of the Game sets (all sports included) and when I saw this card, I had to have it. I love me some Middleton and the picture cracks me up.  Did you know Nifty had five straight 40+ goal seasons (40, 44, 51, 49, 47)? Or that he won the Lady Byng Trophy once?

Know who has never won and never will win the Lady Byng? This guy…

2000-01 Topps Premier Plus Private Signings #PS-CP Chris Pronger

Pronger is a future HOFer, so I figured I would get his card now. My preference is to get certified autos of HOFers from when they were still active (for guys like Richard, Howe, Beliveau, etc. it is impossible) and I like to have them in the jersey of the team they were most identifiable with. For me, Pronger enjoyed his best years with the Blues, so I was happy to get this one.  The Middleton and Pronger cost me a combined $13. Um, yes please.

The next couple of cards came courtesy of CheckOutMyCards.com. Paul over at Card Boarded sent me an emailing saying that he saw an Axelsson card on the site that I might not have. He was right, so I had to buy it. While there, I figured I’d poke around for a few other cards that I’ve been looking for and save on shipping. The Axelsson will have to wait for another time; for now you get to see these two…

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee #3 Phil Roberto

This is a card that I’ve been aware of for a long time and always mean to pick up a copy, but then just forget. Recently, though, Shane over at Shoebox Legends had a post highlighting a truly righteous quarter box haul and this card was in it. With that fresh in my head, I finally picked up a copy and I have to say, it is about time. This is one of the VERY few NHL licensed hockey cards to feature an actual fight (Sal over at Puck Junk has a great post about this card and fighting on hockey cards). I like that he played for three defunct teams during his career: Scouts, Rockies, and Barons.

Lastly, there is this jewel…

2003-04 Bowman Chrome Refractor #134 Gregory Campbell /300

Campbell is my second favorite current Bruin behind McQuaid and I have been looking to pick up his rookie since he joined the team. I struck out at the Shriner’s show and a couple other shows, so online I had to go. I like Campbell for a few reasons For starters, he wears #11, PJ’s old number. Secondly, the dude is a bad ass and will throw ‘em with anyone. Lastly, he is just a hard-nosed, gritty player who does all the little things very well. He’s good on the PK, can win his share of draws, goes hard into the corners, and can even put the puck in the back of the net (13 goals on the 4th line last year). He is like Axelsson’s rough and tumble twin brother. Okay, maybe not.

Anyways, here is a clip of Campbell feeding Pyatt his lunch (this is for you, Capt’n)

Business first; prize packages went out the other day. Keep an eyeball on your mailboxes you lucky winners. Speaking of contests and prizes, Sal over at Puck Junk has a contest going on, so go on over and enter yourself. Hurry, though, time is running out!

Okay, so a few weeks ago, my local card shop got in a sizable stash of mid-to-late OPC hockey goodness. There were big stars, but all the cards were in very nice condition. The owner (a fellow enforcer fan) and I went through the hundreds and hundreds of cards and picked out all of the goons; I will post those at a later date. What I wanted to share with you now were some additional random goodness from the lot.

1975-76 O-Pee-Chee #189 Bill Clement

1978-79 O-Pee-Chee #364 Bill Clement

Clement, Clement. Hands of cement! Clement is one of my favorite hockey analysts (along with Andy Brickley), so I needed to grab these cards. Also, he was a pretty good player. Gotta love the cartoon-y airbrush job on the 75-76 card, plus, doesn’t he look like he’s eight feet tall?

1977-78 O-Pee-Chee #278 Craig Patrick

I could never pass on a card of a member of the Miracle on Ice team.

1978-79 O-Pee-Chee #243 Jim Bedard

This card was recently voted by Beckett as one of the funniest cards ever produced. Or something. He certainly does look like a miserable human being in this picture. The back says that he is an up and coming goalie who hopes to have a long career in the NHL. Sadly, that never happened. He played just two seasons and went 17-40-13 with a 3.94 GAA during his time with the Capitals. Maybe Jim’s future came to him in a dream and hence the beaten down expression.

1978-79 O-Pee-Chee #280 Bruce Boudreau

There is just something about Bourdreau as a coach that I have always liked. He seems like a very serious guy behind the bench but I alway imagined him being funny in the locker room. Of course we all know now what he is like in the locker room. Thanks HBO! Weird that the back of his card contains no signature.

1982-83 O-Pee-Chee #328 Barry Melrose

I didn’t even know this card existed. I thought he just had the one rookie and that was it. No hockey collection is complete without a Melrose card. And just because I want to share another Hockey Falls clip (not like I need an excuse)…

Now let’s get to my Hockey Hall of Pretty Good revamp. I’m going to make a quick note; I am going to start counting a full season as any player who played in more than 40 games and ignore seasons with less. Why? Because its sort of unfair to count cups of coffee or injury shortened seasons when evaluating players.

Last post, I went through the 1974-76 classes, kicking out Dickie Moore, George Armstrong, Johnny Bower, and Bill Quackenbush while keeping Pierre Pilote and Glenn Hall. It was a tough group of players and I am doubting my rejection of Bower. But I must stand firm!

In case you missed the previous posts, here they are:

1961-1966
1967-1970
1971-1973
1974-1976

Let’s do this!

1977
Alex Delvecchio
Tim Horton

Delvecchio played an amazing 22 seasons, all with the Red Wings. During that time he finished in the top-10 in goals five times, assists ten times, and total points eleven times although he never led in any one category. He did take home thee Lady Byng Trophies and three Cups, so he has some hardware. Alex was very good for a very long period of time, routinely putting up 60+ points a season. Heck, at age 40, he totalled 71 points, his 2nd highest. I don’t think he was ever truly great but he was just so consistent and very good year in and year out that I think I have to put him in. I do wonder how good he would have been if he didn’t have Howe and Lindsay on his line, but I’m looking at his stats for what they are. He is in, but I am doubting my judgement here. Is it better to be dominant for 5 seasons and pretty good for ten OR very good for 22 seasons?

Next is the donut man, Tim Horton. Like Delvecchio, he played for 22 seasons. As a defenseman, he was regarded as one of the best of his time. He was also said to have been one of the strongest guys in the league. He never won a Norris Trophy or any other individual hardware, but he was named to three NHL All-Star 1st Teams and three 2nd Teams. He also won four Cups with the Leafs and is a beloved figure in Canadian sports history, if not also in regular history. Horton is in.

Inducted: Alex Delvecchio and Tim Horton
Kicked out: No one

1978
Andy Bathgate
Jacques Plante
Marcel Pronovost

Bathgate first. 15 seasons in which he finished in the top-10 in goals seven times, assists nine times (leading twice) and points nine times (leading once). A Hart Trophy, two selections as a 1st Team All-Star, two as a 2nd Team All-Star and one Cup is a nice little resume but I want great. I mean, his #9 jersey was raised to the MSG rafters AFTER Adam Graves’ #9 was. Hmmm. Bathgate is out.  It should be noted that he shares a little history with the next guy.

Jacques Plante is known for bringing the goalie mask to the game, but do you know who the player was that hit him in the face with a shot that led to the mask? Yep, Andy Bathgate. Plante played 12 complete seasons and good chunks of four others. He is basically a no-brainer but lets just recap. He led the league in wins five times (6th overall), goals against average eight times and shutouts four times. He won SEVEN Vezina Trophies, one Hart Trophy and six Cups. He was dominant at his position during his time and is one of the best goalies of all-time. Jacques is obviously in.

Pronovost, whose name I always want to spell Provonost, played 17 seasons and was known for his passion to make the big hit, oftentimes throwing himself with reckless abandon into a player or play. He was also considered one of the best poke and stick checkers of his time. He never won any individual awards or finished in the top-10 in any offensive category but he was a part of five Cup winning teams and averaged almost 20 points a season. I don’t really know much about him other than what I’ve read and until someone presents me with an article or evidence that he was a rock solid blueliner, I have to kick him out. Sorry, Marcel.

Inducted: Jacques Plante
Kicked out: Andy Bathgate and Marcel Pronovost

Okay, that is all I have time for right now. I’ll be back soon enough with more inductees!