A cardboard tribute to Jaromir Jagr in honour of 700 goals and a rookie auto.

Growing up in the 90's, I have had a chance to really seem Jagr perform through out his career. I was always in awe of his skills and abilities. But since joining the Devils, I have really had a chance to see him as a person and man is he funny! Check out this video for a classic example. Jagr's favourite target is Dainus Zubrus who he has played with a few times. If you don't have the time to watch it, essentially Jagr says Zubrus should have won the Selke Trophy in 01-02.  The reason why is because when he joined the Caps and started playing WITH Zubrus, his own scoring went from 121 points down to 79 points and Zubrus was the one shutting him down. They are hillarious together and Jagr is often the instigator.

But, that isn't what the post is about, its about 700 career goals. That is pretty amazing, and it has only happened 6 other times by guys all in the Hall of Fame. Here is a look at all Jagr's "rookie cards" and a recent pick up, my first and only Jagr auto.

90-91 OPC Premier

 This one is my favourite of all his rookies and it is also the most "valuable". With a book price of 12 bucks, it is head and shoulders above the value of all his other rookies. It is also one of only two rookies with an action shot of him playing.

Here is the back side of the card, very simplistic and no previous season stats. I guess OPC wasn't interested in what he did in Kladno but they did give a good side profile of his mullet.

90-91 Pro Set

The other rookie with an action shot is one what I would consider to be his most underrated rookie. Not sure why I like the one as much as I do, but a good action shot on the front and loads of info on the back make it a pretty decent rookie. Book value is a mere $1.25 the lowest of his rookies. 

Here is the back side of the Pro Set rookie. Very young photo of Jaromir and his two previous seasons with Kladno are also listed.

90-91 Score American

My least favourite rookie of the crop are the the Score ones. Very dull and staged studio shot on the front. The blue writing on the front is one way to tell Score American and Score Canadian apart. Book value on this and the Canadian version are the same and it is about 2 dollars.

On the back, the text is all English in the US version and it actually has more info and different info than the Canadian version. Apparently Jagr isn't real flashy.. I hope that isn't the scout that placed Nedved higher than Jagr because he may have lost his job.

90-91 Score Canadian

Here in Canada we like red eh? Same front just Red text on the Score logo.

Here is the back, much less info but there are some in French too. The additional french is a quote which says that "In addition to handling the puck well, he is patient in heavy traffic." I always like reading the French text because sometimes you do actually get more or different info than the English text tells.

90-91 Score Traded

This isn't considered a rookie but I still like it included because it is what I wished his rookie looked like. Great action shot and the back is very well done as well. The book value on this card is about 2 dollars, a little more rare but lacking the rookie status hurts its attractiveness with some collectors.

Here is the back and there is a short story on Jagr here. Look, first goal against the Devils, 700th goal was for the Devils.

90-91 Upper Deck

This was the first Jagr rookie I ever scored and the one I have the most copies of too. Book value is about 4 dollars which is about what it would cost you given shipping costs online anyway but at cards shows and LCSs you can probably land it for under a dollar.

Here is the back of the card. One of my favourite backs of all time. Well laid out, useful info and good stats. 

90-91 Score Jaromir Jagr Auto Rookie

Bought this online from a dealer who specializes in autos. Got the background story on it, felt it was worth a chance and when it arrived and I checked it out with a magnifying glass I felt very confident it is legit. Very interesting marker was used on this one. It isn't a sharpie but rather a chisel like purple marker. The front looks scuffed but the card is still in the screwdown the dealer sent it in and I haven't changed it yet. Really happen I got this one for  my collection and I was able to pay for it with some money I made from a private sale of a 1/1 card I had pulled a while back. I will share that story and the rest of my loot in my next post. 

Btw I was technically missing two Jagr rookies. There is one extra with Pro Set when you consider he has an Error and a Corrected one and I am missing the 90-91 UD French Rookie. Hope to land the French one some day but I would prefer to do it via trade instead of buying. 

90-91 Score Fern Flaman Auto

Sorry for the little break in posts, I spent the last couple days dealing with our house move which is set to take place this Saturday! Super happy because our little house is just too little and my new home will feature a hockey card room (instead of my tiny closet) and a good sized media room for hockey games and air hockey. Anyway, this post is another in my series of HOF posts and like the Lemieux one, it is a base card signed and JSA certified.

Fern Flaman is far from a household name in today's day. However,  back in the day, he was a very very tough stay-at-home defenseman who could fight, hit and occasionally chip in a point here or there. If you want someone to compare him to, my best guess is think of Adam Foote with the toughness of Chelios. In terms of Devils, think about Scott Stevens being crossed with Ken Daneyko.

Fern didn't tear up the NHL as offensively as he did in the minors, but he did establish himself as a very dependable rear-guard and a player you didn't mess with. Fern was a three-time second team all-star and he appeared in 6 NHL all-star games. Gordie Howe even once said that Fern was the toughest defenseman he ever played against. 910 career games, 34 goals and 210 points are what he did offensively, but it is impossible to measure what Fern did off the scoresheet, but in 1990 he did get the recognition he deserved and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

1990-91 Score American Fern Flaman Auto

Here is this front side featuring a great autograph in my opinion. Nice and clear, on-card auto with a blue sharpie. The card features a great spot where Fern was able to sign an unobstructed auto next to his picture.

Here is the backside and again a 9 out of 10. What does a 10 signature look like BGS? Anyway, it might not be Super Mario or Steve Yzerman, but it is a HOF'er and I can thank Shane from Shoebox Legends for putting him on my radar. I actually scored this back in the summer for the price of a hobby pack of Artifacts!