76-77 OPC Bobby Orr - A huge step closer

I landed one of the best deals of my life when I managed to assemble over 90% of the 76-77 OPC hockey set for less than I ever thought possible. But, there were some big names missing and which included Bryan Trottier, Marcel Dionne, Guy Lafleur and Bobby Orr. Well I have been chipping away at the set and really I am down to less than 10 cards. Recently I pick up the Dionne at my LCS for 5 bucks and then I found this gem on ebay! 

76-77 OPC Bobby Orr #213

First off, I actually don't own ANY Bobby Orr cards that aren't either leader or all-star/award cards from his playing days. So finding an Orr card was a priority. Secondly, my set is actually in very good shape, the worst conditioned card being my Trottier rookie so I really wanted the Orr to reflect the condition of the majority of the cards. When I began looking for the missing Orr I noticed that it books for 20-50 bucks in the beckett and it sells for that amount typically too. I knew if I was to get a deal it would have to be a test of my patience. Well I must have watched 40 of these sell over the last several months and finally with a max bid of 10 bucks I landed the card pictured above. The card was listed an Nr-Mt OC and I was more than pleased to see the only real flaws are the centering. To be perfectly honest, centering has NEVER really bothered me so this card likely looks better to me than other collectors, but the corners are sharp and the back is beautiful. I will share the full card when I finally finish my set and review it. It turns out that the lockout has even impacted some vintage sales because I bought this card for under 10 bucks shipped! I think this makes me 5 cards shy of the set with two Habs and three commons stand in the way of my completing it!

A little love to the Canucks Fans and some other Vintage

After that Messier post, I thought I would send some love the Canucks way with a post about one of their favourite players. I was in my LCS and I was skimming through the 4 for a dollar bin and I saw a card I had never seen before. In fact, I had to double check on the back because I really wasn't sure if it was true. A Harold Snepsts Rookie! What surprised me at first was the lack of a moustache! I figured this card had to be old because that man's 'stache is so bushy you figure he was born with it.

But sure enough on the back there was only one year of hockey listed and I figured it had to be his rookie. For 25 cents it was worth the risk plus the card looked in pretty good shape. Corners are a tiny bit worn but that was it.

After bringing it home, I was given confirmation that it was his rookie and it books for 20 bucks! However, I also discovered a small surface crease by his head/shoulder in the bright light at home too. I was a little sad at the crease, but the card looks really cool and I got it for 2 bits!





These next two cards I bought recently in an auction on eBay. They were a lot deal which I won for less than 4 bucks.

The first card in the lot is a 76/77 OPC Bryan Trottier rookie. It does have some fuzzy corners and a mark on the right side of the card by his stick. There are no creases or other damage so I was really happy to get this card for what I paid. This was another card on my wish list and in this condition I probably see no reason to upgrade. I might actually try and get the rest of the set since I have to most expensive card already.

The other card in the lot purchase was Bryan Trottier's 77/78 OPC card. This card is in better shape than the rookie with a slight off-centre cut and a small mark on the upper right corner. Other than that it is a great looking card too. Like Harold, I have a hard time imagining Bryan without a moustache and clearly that is because he grew one in his second season.

Before Stastny and Selanne beat the NHL rookie point records, the most points by an NHL rookie was held by Bryan Trottier. He had an amazing 95 points in his rookie year which was 23 more than the previous record held by Gilbert Perreault. Trottier would break 100 points 6 times in his career and finish with 1425 points in his career. He would also win 6 Stanley Cups and a Canada Cup and his 1425 career points are currently good enough for 15th in NHL history. Not too bad shabby if you ask me!