TOP TEN HOCKEY CARDS FROM THE 1950s

[samosa4u]

Baseball and football cards from the 1950s are hot and it's no different with hockey. If you collect vintage hockey or you are an investor looking to diversify, then you've come to the right place. In this thread, I am going to discuss what I think are the top ten hockey cards from this period. Of course, like any list out there, this one can also be debated. I'm not saying it's perfect, but let me say that I've been in this game for a long time and I have a pretty good idea as to what is hot and what isn't. Let's get started, shall we?

1) 1951 Parkhurst #66 Gordie Howe



This is the famous rookie card of Mr. Hockey. Howe dominated the game until a man by the name of Wayne Gretzky came along. Gretzky idolized Howe during his youth and still considers him to be the greatest of all-time.

2) 1958 Topps #66 Bobby Hull



Although Bobby only has one ring, he still dominated the league in the 1960s. His rookie is very sought-after and finding high-end examples can be very challenging. Majority are found with very poor centering, so when a nice one does pop up for sale, collectors will jump all over it.

3) 1951 Parkhurst #4 Maurice 'Rocket' Richard



One of the most feared goal-scorers in the NHL. He was the first to get fifty goals during the regular season and the first to get five-hundred career goals. He also helped the Canadiens win eight Stanley Cups.

4) 1953 Parkhurst #27 Jean Beliveau



A great man on and off the ice. Beliveau won a total of seventeen Stanley Cups! Ten were as a player and the other seven as an executive. He spent his whole career with the Canadiens.

5) 1955 Parkhurst #50 Jacques Plante



Plante was a member of the Canadiens for ten seasons and won six cups. This is one of the most popular goalie cards ever made. The image looks absolutely stunning. The red border has made this one a condition sensitive card and high-grade examples are tough to locate. Majority are also found with horrible centering.

6) 1952 Parkhurst #58 Tim Horton



Horton is known today as the "doughnut guy," but he was a lot more than that! He was a nightmare to play against and helped the Maple Leafs dominate the league during the 1960s. This card is often found with centering issues (as seen in the image) and collectors will pay a premium for nice examples.

7) 1957 Parkhurst #4 Henri Richard



A member of the famous Canadiens and the younger brother of Maurice Richard. The 'Pocket Rocket' was a magican with the puck and helped his team to eleven Stanley Cups. This card is a short print, so it doesn't show up frequently.

8) 1951 Parkhurst #61 Terry Sawchuk



One of the greatest goalies of all-time. By the time of his death, he had set numerous records including an incredible 103 regular season shut-outs. It would take decades for his records to be broken.

9) 1957 Topps #20 Glenn Hall



This is the rookie card of Mr. Goalie. He is well-known for developing the "butterfly style," a very common style of play seen today. The bright yellow background makes this card come out at you. Although high-grade examples are not that difficult to locate, some of them can be found with centering issues.

10) 1957 Parkhurst #17 Frank Mahovlich



One of the greatest power-forwards of his era. The Big M is known for being a member of the Maple Leafs. He played for twenty-two professional seasons in both the NHL and WHA and has six rings.

[daves_resale_shop]

Looking forward to the next installment: The 1960’s

[Peter_Spaeth]

Doug Harvey over Horton or Mahovolich, no?
Ranked 6th all time by 1998 Hockey News. Mahovolich 27 and Horton 43.

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Doug Harvey over Horton or Mahovolich, no?
Ranked 6th all time by 1998 Hockey News. Mahovolich 27 and Horton 43.

First of all, Harvey was a defenceman and Mahovlich a forward, so I don't really think you can compare the two. Horton was a defender, and yes Harvey was better than him, however, his rookie card isn't. Compare the prices and you'll see that there is way more demand for the Horton rookie.

Now putting the Harvey rookie in 10th place (instead of Mahovlich) wouldn't be a bad thing, but keep in mind that there are already three cards from the 1951 Parkhurst set that made this list, so I went with the Big M instead. It is definitely a close one though!

[irv]

Great post, Samosa.

Thanks for the info and picks.

[fisherboy7]

Great post. So many great 50's cards to choose from. That Jacques Plante rookie is one of the best looking cards from any era.

[samosa4u]

I'm glad you guys like this thread. There is hardly any action over here, so I decided to spice things up a little.

Now I want to add something: when coming up with this list, I decided to focus on mainstream rookies. This means that non-rookies, food issues and other oddballs were excluded. The Quaker Oats Jacques Plante card is very popular, but it's a food issue. The 1952 Royal Desserts Gordie Howe is very nice too, but again, a food issue. And finally, Gordie does have a few mainstream issues from this decade that are popular with collectors, especially his 1954 Topps card. None of them are on the list either.

[irv]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

I'm glad you guys like this thread. There is hardly any action over here, so I decided to spice things up a little.

Now I want to add something: when coming up with this list, I decided to focus on mainstream rookies. This means that non-rookies, food issues and other oddballs were excluded. The Quaker Oats Jacques Plante card is very popular, but it's a food issue. The 1952 Royal Desserts Gordie Howe is very nice too, but again, a food issue. And finally, Gordie does have a few mainstream issues from this decade that are popular with collectors, especially his 1954 Topps card. None of them are on the list either.

Samosa, in you first post, you stated baseball, football and hockey from the 50's are hot. Just wondering if you have seen an uptick lately with hockey cards in general or is it just in that era?

I've been dabbling here and there for the last year/couple years but lately I've become more interested in them again.

I've been trying to pick up some Orr cards here and there but I have also dabbled a bit with other older cards (mostly 60's-70's) and modern as well.

Not sure if that's because I am close to completing my low number run of 52 Topps baseball cards or if it's me just reliving my youth again?
Regardless, I am now enjoying the hockey card chase but in doing so, I have also noticed, or at least think I've noticed that hockey cards seem to be getting hot again?

Looking forward to reading and seeing your 60's era selections.

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by irv

Samosa, in you first post, you stated baseball, football and hockey from the 50's are hot. Just wondering if you have seen an uptick lately with hockey cards in general or is it just in that era?

I'm starting to see more Americans take interest in hockey cards and Canadian collectibles and I think the biggest reason is the strong US dollar. There were so many of them at the Expo here in Toronto (International Centre) and they were all looking for key vintage rookies. I was talking to a Canadian-dealer friend of mine at the show and I told him how I noticed a shortage of O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookies, and his response was "the Yankees bought them all."

I personally believe that cards issued from 1951 - 1959 are the best. No other decade comes close.

[irv]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

I'm starting to see more Americans take interest in hockey cards and Canadian collectibles and I think the biggest reason is the strong US dollar. There were so many of them at the Expo here in Toronto (International Centre) and they were all looking for key vintage rookies. I was talking to a Canadian-dealer friend of mine at the show and I told him how I noticed a shortage of O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookies, and his response was "the Yankees bought them all."

I personally believe that cards issued from 1951 - 1959 are the best. No other decade comes close.

Great info, Samosa. Thanks.

I missed the Expo again this fall as there always seems to be something that comes up. Hopefully in the spring it is a different story.

With regards to my recent Orr P/U above, are the TCG cards that read "Printed in Canada" actually OPC cards? I've seen the same cards but because they read "Printed in the U.S." those have been listed as Topps cards. Just making sure I have that right?

Also, I'm curious of your thoughts on the old Beehive hockey cards/photos and if you have seen any uptick in those lately?

Hopefully this thread gets some traction/interest as I'd also like to learn, read and see more great cards.

Thanks again.

Dale

[Exhibitman]

Dale: The copyright is different but easier to see, the 1968 and 1969 bilingual cards are OPC. En Francais = OPC. No need to look beyond that. There are also color differences on the backs of the 69s

1969 Topps



1969 OPC

[irv]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Dale: The copyright is different but easier to see, the 1968 and 1969 bilingual cards are OPC. En Francais = OPC. No need to look beyond that. There are also color differences on the backs of the 69s

Thanks for clearing that up, Adam.

I appreciate it!

EDIT: Meant to also ask, what are the general price differences normally between equally graded OPC and Topps hockey cards? Is it 2 X, 3X, or higher?

[Jim65]

Great list. My personal favorite is the 1954 Topps Gordie Howe.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by irv

EDIT: Meant to also ask, what are the general price differences normally between equally graded OPC and Topps hockey cards? Is it 2 X, 3X, or higher?

Now that's a different animal. From my limited experience there is no simple across the board answer to that. Generally OPC goes for more but given the relative size differences of the sets in the 1960s-1970s (Topps is usually a one series 132 card issue while OPC is usually at least two series), there are people who collect one or the other. There are also condition issues. Early OPC used some lousy cardboard and terrible cutters compared to Topps (see the two 1969s I posted above), so I tend to see more OPC cards with production flaws. 1970s OPC used better cardboard than Topps IMO (I like the light chipboard vs. the dark stuff Topps used) but the same crappy cutters, so rough edges and weak corners are commonplace.



The OPC Ryan has a way nicer stock than the 71 Topps



(see what I mean) but cruddy edges, corners and centering comparatively speaking.

[irv]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Now that's a different animal. From my limited experience there is no simple across the board answer to that. Generally OPC goes for more but given the relative size differences of the sets in the 1960s-1970s (Topps is usually a one series 132 card issue while OPC is usually at least two series), there are people who collect one or the other. There are also condition issues. Early OPC used some lousy cardboard and terrible cutters compared to Topps (see the two 1969s I posted above), so I tend to see more OPC cards with production flaws. 1970s OPC used better cardboard than Topps IMO (I like the light chipboard vs. the dark stuff Topps used) but the same crappy cutters, so rough edges and weak corners are commonplace.



The OPC Ryan has a way nicer stock than the 71 Topps



(see what I mean) but cruddy edges, corners and centering comparatively speaking.

Great info again, Adam.

I'm surprised you didn't hit on the amount of cards that were produced and sold?
Not that everything you read is true, but I remember reading, because of our population up here compared to your's, the OPC numbers are a lot lower compared to Topps so that is also why OPC cards command a premium?

However, I have seen sales of both Topps and OPC where that doesn't seem to be factored in sometimes but I always assume some people aren't aware of that?

[Jim65]

I remember reading that OPC made about 5-10% the amount that Topps did. Thats Baseball, Hockey the amount is much higher.

[Exhibitman]

Yeah that’s one of the wonderful paradoxes of OPC collecting. Chasing my 1971$ has been an endeavor even with the smaller set size. Though being in SoCal I don’t see them much locally.

[irv]

Originally Posted by Jim65

I remember reading that OPC made about 5-10% the amount that Topps did. Thats Baseball, Hockey the amount is much higher.

I wonder what that number is?

Just following some recent listings of both OPC and Topps, it does seem that most are aware, not always, that OPC hockey cards do command a premium over Topps cards.