One of the unique aspects of this set is the inclusion of Coach's cards. Emile is the first one to be featured here. Emile 'The Cat' Francis was a former player, a goalie, in the NHL. And I have to admit, up until now, I thought he was a lot better than he was. He lasted 6 seasons going 31-52-11 with a 3.76 GAA. That's horrible. But he was the first goalie to ever not use a regular hockey glove, but modify a first baseman's mitt with a cuff to catch pucks. So that's something.
Where Emile found his niche was in coaching. In 13 years as head coach, he guided his team's to the playoffs 11 consecutive times, missing only his first and last years.
He never won the Stanley Cup.
No cartoon on the manager's cards...
This concludes the first page in my '74/75 Topps binder. I kinda forgot about this one for awhile... whoops. Not sure if anyone but me cares for this old set anyways...
Hall of Fame - 1982 Builder catagory.
I care! Looking forward to seeing more of these.
ReplyDeleteI second that. Great set OPC or Topps, I secretly wish they would bring Coach cards back!
ReplyDeleteThe stats don't look great, but given who he played for and when he played for them, getting out with all body parts intact was a pretty significant accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteI think the lat coach cards were in '90-91 Pro Set, weren't they?