Seeing Double - 1953-54 Parkhurst Edition

I am sure when these cards came out 60 years ago, someone noticed this right away. But as I was thumbing through my partially finished 53-54 Parkhurst set I noticed something. Check it out:

53-54 Parkhurst Cal Gardner #99

 Front Side
Its a rough looking card, but I do like it a great deal regardless and probably won't look to upgrade for my set.

 Back side
Some staining, sadly I don't think they are wax stains but rather glue from being pasted into some book after spending time push-pinned to a wall.

53-54 Parkhurst Milt Schmidt #92

 Front side
This card is without a doubt the finest conditioned card I own from the set. Its spectacular and I am still amazed I bought it for under 30 dollars.

Back side
Here is the back side of the card. Stats are very similar between Milt and Cal. Both had 11 goals but Cal had an extra assist in the two extra games he played. Cal also had twice as many PIMs.

Did you notice what I noticed?

Cal and Milt are sharing the exact same body in the exact same picture. The only difference between the two card besides autographs is Cal's head is on Milt's body. Everything is pretty much the exact same. So wondering why Parkhurst would do such a thing, I did some research and during the 52-53 season, Cal scored 11 goals and 24 assists for the Chicago Black Hawks and NOT the Boston Bruins. So, Parkhurst may not have had an action photo of Cal to work with at the time of production so they placed his head on the body of Milt Schmidt. Neat approach to fixing a problem and while I am not sure if it is better than air-brushing, I do know Upper Deck tried the same thing nearly 40 years later with Eric Lindros.

- Image borrowed from shoeboxlegends

So as far as my own 53-54 Parkhurst set goes, I am still stalled at 24/105 but it isn't because I have lost steam, but rather I have been trying to focus on some other sets first and finish them off before I spread myself and funds too thin. 

53-54 Parkhurst Pick-ups

Back in the summer I got a chance to pick up my first 53-54 Parkhurst card. It was a Benny Woit card and it represented the first time I ever actually saw a 53-54 Parkie.

Since then, I have fallen in love with them and picked up a few more.

Lee Fogolin

Lee is another player from my hometown and would raise a son (Lee Jr.) who would also make the NHL. Lee Sr. was good enough to make it to two all-star games in his career. His son would win two Cups with the Oilers in the 80's.

Cal Gardner

Love this card, it looks like a nice piece of artwork. Look at Cal's intent look and the captain's patch on a beautiful Bruins sweater. The scans on this card and the next card seem to show sides that aren't even but that isn't true. Both cards are even cuts, but of course have a little rounding on the edges and the odd crease or two. Both Cal and Lee cost me 1.99 on eBay which are steals in my opinion.

Tim Horton
I am most proud of this card. For a card that is almost 60 years old and books for 300, I felt paying 25 for this was a steal of a deal. There are some round corners on it, and a crease across the middle of the card which certainly lower the value. But, this is another case of you need to see this card in person to truly appreciate it. The glare from the toploader certainly ruin the scan, but you will have to take my word on the impressiveness of this little piece of cardboard.
Here is the back shot. Again you can see a little damage on the corners and the crease is more obvious on the back.

So with these three, it brings my 53-54 total up to 4. Not sure what I will do in the long run if I am just going after singles or the set, but in the meanwhile if I am seeing them at a good price, I am going to grab them.

I should also add, I have an Andy Bathgate RC coming soon....Will share when it arrives...