Benny Woit's Career Through Cards - A PC Completed

My Benny Woit PC began when I found his 53-54 Parkhurst card at a swap meet for 5 bucks. It ended when I finally landed his autograph. Here is the complete PC and his complete career in cards. Benny was very much an unsung workhorse who didn't light the lamp often (7 career goals) but he was an important cog in a Red Wings machine that won 3 Cups with. Enjoy, I sure did. 

51-52 Parkhurst Card 58 - The Rookie

Here is his rookie. Simple card, posed picture and no stats. The year he spend 2 game with the club in the regular season and 4 games in the post-season. He had 2 PIM in the regular and 2 more PIM in the post-season.

Back side. Those slash marks are on the penny sleeve and not the card. The creases sadly are on-card crease.

52-53 Parkhurst Card 62 - Second Year card

Same picture as before but you can see a backdrop now. Images of a net and some fans in the stands. Benny played nearly a full season and 8 post-season games. He did win his first of three Cups that year.

Here is the back, again card is in rough shape but is complete.

53-54 Parkhurst Card 45 - Third Year card

This is the card that got is all started. I learned he was born in my hometown when I got this card and it began my research into his career. Personally this is my favourite from his career, and I really think its cool that the ref is included in the picture. Despite having the best regular season record, this year the Red Wings lost 4-2 in the semifinals against the Boston Bruins.

Here is the back side. You learn that he has a very hard shot. What you don't learn is the lots of goals he scored were in Junior and the AHL.

1954-55 Parkhurst Card 38 - Fourth Year Regular Version card

This is without a doubt my second favourite Woit card. Here you see an action shot, puck on end, Sawchuk in the background all things awesome. Like the last couple years, a facsimile autograph on the front as well. Card number on the front is a new feature of this year.

Here is the back side of the card. Very similar to the previous year, lots of info and the previous year's stats. There is also a Premium Lucky Version too which I felt I needed to have for a complete PC.

1954-55 Parkhurst Card 38 - Fourth Year Lucky Premium Version card

Same front, just awesome.

Different back. Here is a chance I could have traded my card for a Camera (along with a $1.50 which is about 14 dollars in today's money).

1955-56 Topps Benny Woit Card 9 - Fifth Year Card (last from playing days)

Topps first foray into hockey cards. This is often thought of as one of the best sets of the decade and of all-time. I do like the look of the card and really the best part of the card is on the back.

Here is the back side, loads of cool images, stats and facts. I like that the back does mention he is a bit of a unsung hero and what he brings to the table isn't often found in the box score. .

1956-57 Parkhurst Missing Link Set Card 40 - (My Benny Auto)

This was a set that came out in the early 90's looking at what a 56-57 Parkhurst set may have looked like if that year wasn't skipped. The cards look very nice and retro like but of course they still feel modern because of the thickness of the cards etc. What is different about this over the regular base cards is Benny signed it. I had no intention of tracking this card down because it was modern and after he was done playing but when I found one signed it was almost too perfect. The dealer is very reputable and I got the story behind the signing so I felt good enough to pay the fiver with shipping to land this. I did have a failed attempt at a Benny TTM so this was my best chance apart from paying an extreme premium on a PSA/DNA copy.

Here is the back side of the card, a nice attempt at a retro back. If you look at the previous backs you can see how this one was inspired. Similar but different enough to look like a legit new release. I have two of these now, my other is a Tom Johnson auto but I am interested enough to want to try and get the set now. If anyone has an extra set out there, I will trade handsomely for it....lets say twice BV to help cover shipping etc...

Anyway, there is the career of Benny Woit in cards, check out this write-up for facts and info too. 

Rescued from the "pound"

Here are a couple more random couple dollar cards from my LCS. 

54-55 Parkhurst Eric Nesterenko

Here is a pretty cool looking card in pretty rough shape. There appears to be a bit of a scrum with a few fallen players and Nesterenko is all poised to make them pay with a goal! This is a second year card of Eric Nesterenko which features him in a Leafs uniform. It would be a couple years before Eric would land in the Windy City and post his finest numbers and win a Stanley Cup with the 'Hawks.And as Sal would tell you, many many more years until he would hit the silver screen only to be shunned by the academy for his role in Youngblood.

01-02 UD Series 2 Sergei Fedorov FJSF Game Used

Once upon a time, getting a game used card was an EVENT! Case hit! Back when I wasn't collecting these gimmicks came along and were highly sought after and over time they became rather common and less magical. I saw this former 1:144 pack hit sitting in my LCS for 3 dollars and I thought that I could use a card like that. I do have one Fedorov game used already (with the Blue Jackets) and I knew I needed a nice Red Wings one because in my own heart of hearts, he will always be a Red Wing to me. 

Well there you have it, two odd ball cards sitting in the cheap box that I rescued and I assure you these cards are now being loved properly in a good home.

1954-55 Parkhurst Harry Howell - Auto

When it comes to card buying, I have a few simple rules that I try to follow to help ensure I get the best bang for my buck, so I don't get scammed and so I can maximize my enjoyment. Well this post and the next post are examples of when I throw all those rules out the window and still have as much or more fun than following my silly rules.

Harry Howell is a Hall of Fame defenseman who played for the New York Rangers, Oakland Seals, Los Angeles Kings and a few other pro teams. He won the Norris Trophy as top defenseman in 1967 and won his first and only Stanley Cup with the Oilers in 1990 as a scout. Harry wasn't an offensive defensemen and his 94 career goals in 1411 games tell you so. But he was a smart and reliable player who made a career of shutting down the other team's top guys.

This card popped up on eBay as a "buy it now". I almost never do these because usually the asking price is a little silly and even when it isn't silly, I try and negotiate a slightly lower price. However, this was priced to move and I know this because it had only been posted for a few hours and I was salivating at the price it was listed at. This is his second year card and if you look at the condition, there are two bad corners and a slight crease on the upper right of the card. The surface, apart from the slight crease is flawless. This card's surface almost looks like it came out of the pack yesterday. The crease on the front doesn't appear on the back which I must tell you is flawless.

1954-55 Parkhurst Harry Howell #70 BV$50

There is one other flaw on this card and that is someone wrote on it. At first glance it certainly doesn't look like Harry Howell was the culprit. I have never bought an autograph on-line that was not an insert from a card manufacturer. However, something about this auto make me think it was legit. So I immediately did a quick search and sure enough I came across this:

                                 
This gave me the confidence to believe the auto was indeed legit and there are no incorrect starts and stops in my auto.

So, I did the buy it now and even bought a second card from the seller and he was kind enough to save me money on shipping (yes I know I am cheap). When the card arrived, what I thought might be too good to be true, turned out to be the real McCoy in my opinion. I was so glad I took a chance. This card is easily worth 5 times what I paid for it to me, and if it came graded I am sure I would have paid it no questions asked.

I think the only question left is would I break all my rules again, and for now I am going to say no. I think that if it is too good to be true on eBay it most certainly is! But the seller (his name is Ralph) was more than fair with his prices and was just pricing his IP autos (both he and his father accumulated over the years) to move fast and I am glad I found it before someone else did!

Two Years and Benny Woit PC

Two years ago today, I decided to start my own blog. Really didn't care if anyone ever read it and did it more for the fun of it. After a year of writing extremely sporadically, I got the itch to do more posts and try and attract a few readers. I changed from doing a blog purely for me to a blog where I could interact with other collectors and maybe even make a couple trades.

Sure enough my second year of writing attracted over 16000 more hits than the previous year and I have you other bloggers to thank for it. Many of you linked my blog to your own and I think being apart of a network is much more rewarding that doing it for one's self.

I haven't been breaking packs much over the last couple months and the reason is I am trying to get more vintage. I have picked up more 51's and I hope to get them up soon and I have been working on a couple PC's. First is Benny Woit. I have two of his cards so far, they are here and here. With only a half dozen or so cards to his name, Benny Woit shouldn't be too hard to accomplish and I am now two cards closer!

52-53 Parkhurst

Here is the front side of the card. The picture is very similar to the 51-52 Parkhurst card and this isn't uncommon for the 52-53 Parkhurst set either. The card is a little larger than the 51-52 and features the autograph of the player on the front as well.

The backsides of the card feature stats, a small write-up an offer for a storage album for the 52-53 set. If anyone has a picture of this album I would love to see it sometime! Heck, maybe even try and own one. As you can see from his stats he put up a decent season for a defenseman.

54-55 Parkhurst Premium Back

LOVE THIS CARD. Everything from the black and white/colour mix to the expression of the player's faces. You can see Terry Sawchuck really well in this shot and I even wonder if it is this glove that I own a small piece of! Just a cool card in my books and my favourite of the collection thus far.

Here is what the premium back looks like on this card.

So there you have it, I am two cards closer and two years in. I look forward to another year of blogging and sharing stories with my fellow bloggers and casual readers! All the best to everyone in 2012 and I hope everyone has a great New Year!