80-81 Topps Hockey

Another Christmas post! One thing I wanted to do was try and get myself a significant set which I might not have normally bought with my hockey card budget. In addition, I am also trying to acquire one set from each year hockey cards were produced so when I saw an auction for a 80-81 Topps set on Boxing Day I decided to set my limit and try and win it.

The set was advertised as being an unscratched 80-81 Topps set. That was all, no other information. With about 3 hours left in the auction I based my bid on the set likely not being completely mint. There were low res-scans of Wayne and Ray but that was about it.

When the auction ended, I won the set for about a dollar less than my max. Then came the waiting game. Luckliy the set arrived about 4 days after paying which was pretty sweet.

In the binder, here is page 1.

The first page features a few Record Breaker cards most notably was Gretzky's record for being the youngest player to ever score 50 goals. The Bourque RB is for setting a record for most points by a rookie defenseman. Both cards were in nr-mt shape.

Page 4

I already had a Liut rookie in OPC form, here it is in the Topps form unmolested. One of my top 25 favourite cards of all time.....Hmmm....Seems like a post idea.

Page 10

Gretzky All-Star Card....about a mint as they get...Love it.



Page 21

Gretzky team leader card is pretty cool, but I also like the Bob Murray card next to it.



Page 23

Gartner rookie! It is also in great near-mint shape and it is my first Gartner rookie too.


Page 28

Gretzky 2nd year. I did a switch-a-roo here because the one that came with the set was actually better than the one I bought about 6 months ago! The one that came with the set is Near-Mint-Mint where the one that I bought a while back was less than Near-Mint when I finally took it out of the top-loader.

Spare Gretzky

Here is the one that arrived in the set. Nicer puck and better centering. Best part, 4 sharp corners and a perfect surface. The one that came a while back has a indentation on the surface.


Did I forget anything?

Oh yeah, Ray Bourque

This card isn't mint. Which I had to figure something was going to be wrong with this set. The card is in pretty good shape though and for what I paid, I believe I got an AMAZING deal. If I were to grade the Ray Bourque rookie, I would think EX condition likely. There are no creases or dents, but the corners are fuzzy.

So another set ticked off the checklist and a steal of a deal if you ask me. This set would have qualified for my Value Vintage list if it wasn't for the shipping. But having a few spare 2nd year Gretzky cards are nice, especially as trade bait!