A Journey 35 Years In the Making.

A long time ago in a frozen land far, far away, a boy undertook a mission that, unbeknownst to him, would take 35 years to complete.

But complete it he did.

 

The 1979/80 OPC hockey set was the very first set I bought packs for. I remember them vividly. I remember when my dad would come home and plunk down 8-10 packs that he brought home for me. Man, those were the days.

Tearing open the wax. The gum was horrible, even then. Looking at all of the cards. Letting out a whoop for joy every time I found a card I hadn't seen before. Or one from my favourite team. (No one cared about rookie cards then. No one. They weren't even a thing then.)

 

I completed the set a couple of times. Yes, it's Gretzky's rookie year. Yes, I have several of them. But it was the set that I was after. Even then. The completism. (yes, that is a word. For us set collectors, anyways.)

And part of that, remember there was no internet, no smart phones, no tablets, was keeping track of your progress.

But the card companies knew that. They even included cards within the set to help you along your way.

We called them checklists.

And not the checklists you see today. those mamby pamby things barely deserve the name. These checklists had little boxes beside each name for you to..... well, check off. Thus the name. (Yes. Check them off. You heard me. We wrote on our cards. WROTE! WITH PENS! Heresy!)

 

The 79/80 OPC hockey set went all out with checklists. There were three set checklists in the set. In a 396 card set, that meant 132 cards listed on each card, 66 on each side.

AND.

They included a team checklist card for every team in the league. Normally that would be a team photo on the front, with the corresponding checklist on the back.

But 79/80 was a special year. The NHL was absorbing four new teams from the now defunct WHA.

Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec, and Winterpeg, I mean, Winnipeg were all now part of the NHL.

 

I took pretty good care of my cards, and when I looked through my sets, only a scant handful needed upgrading to become NrMT/MT sets.

That part was easy.

 

It was the checklists that weren't so easy. The reason?

 

Here you see the front of the card that eluded me for 35 years.

 

 

And here is what the back looked like on the average card that I've looked at over that time. Including all of mine. Yeah, not only did I mark off the ones in my sets, but my duplicate ones too....

And apparently I wasn't the only one. Card after card I knocked off my list, save this one. Card #81.
Every time I found an unmarked one, it was either graded, or had a ridiculous price tag. Or both. $15 for a checklist??? Pack sand.

But I found one. The front scan is above, this is the clean unmarked back. Although my scanner cut off a bit of the border. It is nicely centered.

All for $3. Done. Thank you for being fair Mr Card Show Seller Sir.


Now there are those of you who are turning up your collective noses right now. Marked checklists are beautiful! You cry...
Well I agree. But most of the public doesn't. So I needed to do this.

However.

While I now have minty fresh unmarked checklists in my set, I still have all of my hand marked checklists from back then in those same pages. That way everyone is happy. Especially me.

Killing them slowly...

or is that softly? Whatever.

This past weekend saw Calgary host their version of a huge card show. It's not really that big. But everything's relative. And around here, we'll take what we can get.

It's always good to see new sellers. After seeing the same group lug around the same stuff for a year, anything different is extremely appreciated.

I managed to spend a little bit of cash with almost all the sellers. I try to support them for coming out, some of them a long way.

One of the nice surprises was being able to jump on some cards that have been on my want list for quite some time. In the age of the latest and greatest 17 colour autographed game used patch mojo sickz L@@K! cards that are all the rage with the kids nowadays,  I was really pleased to knock off some older set needs.

My NRMT 1979-80 OPC set is almost complete.

 

 I have a couple of EX condition sets, but now after adding this Flames TC, I only need the Winnipeg Jets TC and my nice one is done. Finished. So close and yet.....

Speaking of upgrading.... I found a stack of NRMT-MT 1977-78 OPC glossy inserts (rounded corners). I've been needing to upgrade two of them and now I have.

Mr Dionne

 and Mr MacLeish.

 These are pack fresh. Really sweet. You can get complete sets of these online cheap, but I enjoy the chase, and was happy to finally cross these off my list.

And talk about the chase... after what seems like years, I found someone selling 2010-11 OPC black bordered retro inserts /100.
He had about 40 of them in a binder on his table. I didn't need any of those, but I asked if he had any more. He said he had a bunch more, but not with him. He'd bring them in on Sunday. So back on Sunday I went, and snagged five more cards towards completion.

 Not exactly big names....

 but to a set collector, one is as important as another.

I was thrilled with finding these.

All cards seen here cost a total of $15. A very cheap high to be able to cross off so many cards off of my old, worn out list.

I don't believe in coincidence.

I never have. Chance favours the prepared mind and all that. But sometimes... sometimes odd little things happen that appear to be a coincidence.

 

I'm not sure what to call these oddities... so maybe I'll just show you an example.

 

As most of you know, I build the OPC set every year. This year I was actually serious about it, unlike last year.

This year, I went all in, actively trading and seeking out others to trade with rather than waiting passively.

Card shops, card shows, online, whatever... I wanted to finish this set, short prints and all.

 

And I did. Quite quickly and cost efficiently I might add. Not only did I finish the base set with SP's (1-600) I finished the sticker insert set (1-100) and.... AND... the retro parallel set with SP's (1-600).

 

I actually finished all of this quite awhile ago. But a little thing called laziness stopped me from bragging posting about it until now.

 

What does all this have to do with coincidence?

 

Well here is the card, the last card, I needed to complete the regular OPC base set, including the high number SP's.

 

Card #498.  A base checklist. Not even a short print. You'd think I would at least need a short print.

and here is the card I needed, the last card I needed, to finish off the retro parallel set with short prints.

Card #498  A base checklist. Not even a short print. And yes, the same damn checklist I needed for the regular set.

After getting 599 of the 600 cards for BOTH sets, I'd say it took me around two months to finally track down and acquire these last two pieces of the puzzle.

But I guess hard work pays off in the end.

Chance favours the prepared mind and all that.

Joy of a Complete Set - Trade Night Style

It was trade night last night at the local card shop. All in all a really good time with a really good turnout.

One of the first timers brought a 3200ct box with him. In it, were over 3000 base cards from various sets.

Base cards!!!!!

Naturally he was one of the most popular trade partners that night. I was in there with both fists... unfortunately, he only had one set that I am currently chasing.

2009-10 Upper Deck Ice. A very colourful set. I always liked Ice. That's probably why UD scrapped it and yet still insists on putting out SPx, SP Authentic and SP Game Used. Absolutely horrible sets.

And they wonder why they`re in fianancial trouble.

Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, both fists. But I wasn't the only one! It was like throwing rice in a Koi pond.... going in, I needed 7 cards to finish my set. And I found 6!!! Oh so close.

But wait.... another blogger whose name sounds like lambinden had a stack of these set aside already! He may have the one lone card I need!

After a brief skirmish consisting of indian leg wrestling and rochambeau, my good friend Brett handed over the last card I needed.

Now all I had to do was complete the trade with the owner. It took a little longer than I anticipated... but in the end I have another complete set to scratch off the old wantlist.

I wish more people brought base cards to trade night.....

Joy of a completed page... insert set... set.

Think back to last October. I know most of you can do it. Those of you in college, it's okay. I was there once myself. Don't strain yourself.

 

Anyways, last October I did a box break review here on the brand new 2011-12 Parkhurst Champions. If you missed it, click on that link to take you there.

Since then there have been a few posts as I add to my set, slowly knocking cards off of my wantlist. First the base set, the colour renditions, then the wire photos, followed by the mini's. Last to fall was the black and white renditions.

 

Behold.

 

The last card has fallen.

 

As I promised, the set has been tamed. It has been acquired, scanned, paged and binderized. Yes, those are all words. Remember? I was in college once. 

 

I've been after this one card for about three months. turns out, a good friend had it the whole time. Apparently I must constantly remind (read:inundate) my good friends to peruse my wantlist pages more often.

 

Also, it was requested that once I finish this magnificant set, to post it for all to see.

 

I am a man of my word.

 

Bask now, in all it's gloriousness. (that's a word too... quit doubting me.)

 

 

Card #1 is Gretzky. He is also card #99. Why two cards? Who knows? Maybe Upper Deck didn't sign enough players? 

I never liked Mikita as a kid because of that bucket he wore. Seriously. That's a toilet bowl if I ever saw one.
Great player though.

They call this "Champions". Although I'm not sure what some of these players are Champions of....

Sittler and Borje. Hard to believe Sittler was the first Leaf to break 100 points.

Old school. Jets, Whalers and North Stars...

a couple of great fibreglass masks.... Rogie and Plante in the background.

What in the hell did Richard Brodeur win? And the only thing Terry O'Reilly was a Champion of was an ugly contest.

Tony Twist? Really? Nice to see Thomas Steen though... he doesn't get enough hobby love.

just what we need, a few more Sutters....

Courtnall... man could he skate. Sorry Toronto...... heh....

Willi Plett ... rookie of the year.

Card #100, You may call him Sir. Followed by the start of the Wire Photo inserts.

I love these cards.... great idea.

These cards alone made me want to chase the set.

Most of the ones with multiple players were not just short prints, but super short prints.

Now we're into the colour Renditions. The art on most of these is pretty good.

After that we get into the black and white Renditions. Even more rare. Or is that rarer?

There's Bobby nestled in where he belongs......

Finally, the mini insert set. 57 of them. Why 57? I have no idea.

Not everyone in the mini set had a base card. If they did, they are featured in a different uniform.

Check out the lid on Eddie Shore....

All of the ones on this page were uber short prints.

and there you have it. Those of you still awake, I thank you. And if you think you have anything to trade me, check out my wantlist link on the right hand side........... unlike certain friends who don't bother.

Joy of a Completed Set, thanks to a card show

at the old card show a couple of Saturdays ago, I found some goodies that I thought I'd share. This is the same show that I found all of those Parkhurst Campions inserts you may have read about a couple of posts ago.

It was a really good show. All of the sellers were in really good moods for a change. Everyone was in the mood to sell, so prices were fair. All in all it was a good time.

But enough chit chat. You want to see the goods. Unfortunately, for this find, I can't scan all of the cards. Blogger would implode.

So you get a single page.

From In the Game, 2009's 1972 The Year In Hockey.

I bought a box of these when it first came out. I got around 120 of the 200 card set in my box. And have been trying to complete it ever since. Through trades and stuff I was down to around 60 cards needed for completion.
Then the card show happened.
A seller had a brick of these for sale for $5. My cat like reflexes reached out and grabbed it up off of the table. Upon examination, I see a post it note stuck to the side of the brick. "Needs #7, 47, 77, 144, 184"
The seller tells me, those are the cards it needs to be a full set. 195/200 for only a fiver.

There are times at card shows when you need to walk away, to mull things over, maybe coming back to the table later on to haggle.... and there are times to put a death grip on something with one hand while feverishly searching your pockets for cash with the other. This time it was the latter.
Sold!
Now my set is complete and my binder is happy. Binders are like stomachs. They're happier when full.

All I need to do now is finish that second set, or maybe decide to use them as ttm autographers....