In The Game Really Had Game

Since 1910 hockey cards have existed in many different configurations and the evolution over the past 110 years has shown collectors many advancements. Are those advancements good ones? Since 2000 when In The Game made history but cutting up history for their 2000-01 Be A Player Memorabilia Set collectors and fans have had mixed feelings. As a whole, I'd say it has been positive as many more sets would feature "memorabilia" pieces embedded in cards and there is a whole culture of collectors who live and breathe "APRs".

There has also been cards on CD, virtual cards and many other different iterations. Autographs on card, on sticker and even pieces of table clothes and banners from special NHL events. Personally, I like some of the changes but there are many I can live without. However, for ever fan out there who dislikes much of this stuff, there are others who use products like e-Pack all the time and strive to complete rainbows and chase "Bounties".

I have become disillusioned a bit by the many products that are out there today which really are just repeats of other ideas that were lukewarm received at best the first time. Is it laziness in companies like Upper Deck or is it just a case where collectors really only care about the top 5% players in the league and the rest are nothing more than just filler cards? Once upon a time the jersey card was a chase card which was the result of truly beating some incredible odds. Today even low production numbered jersey cards from high end products leave you with a card that may be worth no more than a couple bucks on the secondary market. Collecting isn't necessarily about the money but for a fan of someone like Duncan Keith, what motivation is there to drop 200 bucks on a box when you could just by that card for 5 bucks on eBay? The answer is simple, gambling. The hope you could land the $1000 autograph or rookie that box is potentially hiding.

As a person who has always loved vintage, this has just confirmed for me that vintage cards are one way to keep my passion going when it comes to the hobby and there really is no shortage of very cool and very fun vintage sets out there. However, not all modern cards are junk. I also have found myself appreciating the many cards that In The Game has put out over the years (specifically from 2000-2015). So today I am going to share one such card.

2009-2010 ITG Superlative Vol 2 Milt Schmidt Patch SP /15

The front of this card is what truly makes this a winner and for what the back is lacking in my opinion the front is making up for it. You get a good photo of Milt on the front and you are coupling it with an amazing patch which you can completely picture where it came from on his jersey. What you don't see is loads of foiling and modern embellishments which you get on many cards today. 

 Here is the back side of the card. Very plain and while I'd love to see something about Milt or at least some vitals, you are treated to a write up explaining what you are seeing on the front of the card. Try and find that on most modern cards today. I have both bought and pulled cards which did leave me puzzled wondering what article of clothing or gear was my "player worn" piece originated as when it was on the player.

As I finish up this post I want to make something very clear, I am not shitting on any one company or any one collector. If there is something out there you like/love, chase it, collect it and don't let the opinions of others diminish your enjoyment of that pursuit. For myself, I have changed over the past couple years and while I still appreciate the memorabilia card, the need to own 30-40 pieces of a single player definitely isn't there anymore. With that being said, please keep enjoying your finds and successes and I will continue to do so myself and share them on here.

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. 

Super Amazing Trade with Casey from Drop The Gloves!

A few weeks back Casey from Drop The Gloves! Posted some sweet cards he wanted to trade/sell. Well, I should happen to have been in the market for a Milt Schmidt auto for quiet sometime, and I mostly blame it on Shane from Shoebox Legends, and primarily this particular post. 

Anyway, Milt is still alive and kicking, but I don't really own any cards of his that I would want to mail away and risk losing, and time isn't on my side these days in terms of prep, writing etc. so I really just wanted to buy one. Well, it turns out that Casey was looking to sell or trade just what I wanted so I contacted him and I got more than I bargained for! Casey didn't want to break the set apart and when I realized that the other two fellows in this threesome are deceased I knew I should just chase all three. 

The set itself was 5 cards, featuring three players and the book value on the set is 10 bucks according to the Beckett Bible. What I found interesting is the set, which was printed in '94 and was limited to 3000 copies WAS NOT RELEASED as an autographed set. So chances are, these three guys were there signing these autos in person. Of course, there is no way to know for sure because I didn't live in Waterloo until 1998, but knowing that all these guys were around in the area at that time and all three autos seem very legit and the Beckett lists this set I suspected these were legit.

So I made a trade offer or two and in the end we came up with something that could work! Here is the first half of the trade, these were the cards I was expecting.

Milt Schmidt signed this card in blue ink. Milt was by far the best player in the trio of cards and he was elected to the HOF in 1961. His pro career started in 1936 and he played for several seasons before going to war for his country. That cost him 4 seasons of pro hockey which I am sure was insignificant to him because of what he was fighting for. However, in spite of missing many prime years of his playing career, he put up some great numbers for the time period including 5 seasons where he was in the top 10 in scoring. Milt retired with 2 cups and 575 points which at the time was one of the highest in NHL history (Maurice Richard was the leader with 725 pts).

Woody Dumart signed his card in red ink. Woody is the other HOF'er in the group and like Milt played before and after the war. Like Milt he went away and fought for his country and like Milt he had won 2 cups and a variety of NHL honours. Woody unfortunately has already passed away so I knew this card was a must have because there aren't as many of his autos floating around on the open market.

Wilbert Dutch Hiller signed his card in black ink. Dutch was arguably the least successful of the three despite winning two cups of his own and playing a solid 9 seasons in the NHL. Dutch was never called to the HOF, but that doesn't make this card any less desirable, what I like about these three guys is they are all from a little part of Ontario called Kitchener-Waterloo where I spent many happy years in University there. These are three guys who have tasted NHL success and lived long and healthy lives. Unfortunately Dutch has also passed away, but I really appreciate Casey giving me a change to obtain one auto I have wanted for a while and two other autos that I know I could never get through a TTM.

Also, don't forget this is only the first half, the second half of the trade is equally awesome because these cards came unexpectedly!

Alex Delvecchio Rookie - 01/02 ITG Parkhurst Reprint and others

To complete my other homemade lot purchase, I landed a few cards from the 01-02 Parkhurst release which featured a number of reprints from over the years. All cards are standard size so small ones are blown up and large ones are shrunk. Here are the three I landed all for under 2 dollars a piece shipped:

Alex Delvecchio 51 Parkhurst reprint

An Alex rookie! I will own one some day, but in the meanwhile, this is a fun card and one that counts towards my PC a little bit. Even though I am focusing on playing era cards, this is a fun curiosity that I really wanted. My lone complaint is that they clearly scanned a card which was creased.....with all the money that card companies have, you think they could have rented a good one for a day or two while they were scanning the cards.

Milt Schmidt 52 Parkhurst 2nd year card reprint

I got this card for two reasons, one it is a pretty cool looking card with the clock and flags in the background and secondly, I think it would make a great TTM card.

Terry Sawchuk 51 Parkhurst Rookie reprint

Just a really cool card and the price was right too. If I am ever going to finish the 51 Parkies set I am going to need the original of this card too and the cost will certainly make my wife cringe, but of course it will be a deal compared to the Howe!

It was fun landing some of these cards especially because until recently I didn't even know about the 01-02 ITG Parkhurst Reprints. The set is 150 cards and all of them book for 5 bucks a piece. I would be curious to see if I could buy the whole set some day, but then again, going after the real things instead of reprints might be more fun.

1953-54 Parkhurst - Milt Schmidt

The 12th card I have added to my 53-54 Parkhurst set might be the nicest card I will ever land for the set in terms of condition. I have cropped the card to show what the corners look like and really they are the only flaw on an otherwise flawless card. Even the price I paid was excellent and I would do it again in a heart-beat. I am trying to make sure that most of my cards for this set are around VG or higher, but sometimes when you get the lot deals it is hard to pass up nailing several off the list while sacrificing some condition. Either way, this card will certainly improve my overall set average thus far and I have a few more to share in the coming weeks.

53-54 Parkhurst #92 Milt Schmidt

 As you can see from the front, nice colouring, an awesome card and the second card I have featuring a Bruins captain from that season. The corners have a tiny bit of wear when you look at them up close, but they are pretty sharp!

Back side

The back side is also clean, a little aging on the back, but that is pretty typical of a card from 60 years ago. This card is from Milt's third last season and if you look at his numbers from that year, he was still playing some good hockey at the age of 35.

I love this card and I really am getting into this set more and more! I am sure a few are getting sick and tired of hearing it, but I might even finish this set before the 51 set. Time will tell, but I am catching up with the other set 24 from the 51 set (1 new one to share) and 18 from the 53 set (6 more to share).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this card as much as I did, it has also inspired me to try and track down a Milt Schmidt auto! Guys like him are true treasures and won't be around for much longer!