1968-69 was the first time O-Pee-Chee had their name on a set of hockey cards in three decades. It was the first set of hockey cards featuring the six 1967-68 NHL expansion teams. The set, despite a great design on both the front and back, is a nothing less than a complete mess.
Physically, a majority of the cards are cut at some pretty bizarre angles. It’s what can be found on the fronts and backs that leaves a card collector scratching his head. There are many issues with the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set. We’ve pulled seven things that’ll either make you laugh, cry or bang your head against a wall.
Frank Mahovlich – What’s Going On With My Head?
Mahovlich came to the Detroit Red Wings midseason in 1967-68 from the Toronto Maple Leafs. There should be no issue with his 1968-69 cards right? Wrong. Topps shows him as a member of the Red Wings but dressed as a Toronto Maple Leaf.
O-Pee-Chee chopped Frank’s head off of the Topps picture and pasted it onto the body of a Detroit player. That player was Dean Prentice and they did a real poor job of colouring over Prentice’s number 20.
But wait, that’s not all. Dig a little deeper and you’ll notice that the awkwardly positioned head of Frank Mahovlich has been flipped around.
Bill White – Where’s My Right Leg?
In his second year with the Los Angeles Kings, White’s rookie card is part of both the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee and Topps set. Unfortunately, his right leg has been cut off not far below the hip. Ouch.
Bill Sutherland – Another Frankenstein Situation!
Like Frank Mahovlich, Sutherland’s head has been attached to another player’s body. Bill played for the Philadelphia Flyers in 1967-68 before starting 1968-69 with the Maple Leafs. Before the end of the season, he was back with Philly and his Toronto days were over.
On the front of his 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee card, Sutherland’s head is attached to the body of legendary George Armstrong. Armstrong’s number 10 and the ‘C’ on the front of the jersey are crudely coloured in but still quite visible.
This was actually as close to a George Armstrong card for collectors in 1968-69. He was excluded from the set and would not reappear until 1970-71, his final hockey card.
To add insult to injury for Sutherland, O-Pee-Chee did it again in 1971-72. Bill’s head is shown on the body of a Detroit Red Wings player with the number 12 coloured in.
Bob Plager and Bob Plager
The Plager brothers both had their rookie cards appear in the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set. Unfortunately for Barclay Plager, the identical picture of Bob appeared on the front of both cards. Besides the picture error, the paint job on Plager’s jersey is terrible. It looks as if someone did his collar with a black marker.
Larry Cahan – A Record But The Wrong League
On the back of Cahan’s 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee card, it states ‘Larry holds the NHL playoff scoring record for defenseman..16 points in 1966.’
In fact, that’s obviously an error. The record was indeed set but not in the National Hockey League. In 1965-66, Cahan set that record in the WHL with the Vancouver Canucks. And, he did it in just seven games.
The Bert Olmstead coached Canucks fell in the opening round to the Portland Buckaroos in seven. Vancouver outscored their opponents 28-27 on the series. Cahan scored four and assisted on 12 for his 16 points.
Larry Cahan’s career is quietly impressive and we’ll take a more detailed look in the coming future.
Toronto Exodus
Nothing more than aesthetics here. Typical differences between Topps and O-Pee-Chee with their speed of updating a player’s team changes. It seemed everyone was getting out of Toronto for the 1968-69 NHL season and Topps and OPC couldn’t keep up.
Shown are three examples. Jim Pappin went to the Blackhawks in the off-season. His Topps card shows him wearing a Leafs jersey while his O-Pee-Chee card has a Hawks sweater painted on.
Pete Stemkowski went to Detroit during the 1967-68 season but Topps still only had a pic of him with Toronto. O-Pee-Chee painted his Leafs jersey red.
Allan Stanley had no 1968-69 Topps card. His final season in the NHL was 1968-69 and it was his only year with the Philadelphia Flyers. O-Pee-Chee took his picture from 1967-68 and painted him as a Flyer.
The Awrey / Krake Switcheroo And A Hidden Uncorrected Error
It’s well documented that Don Awrey and Skip Krake had their pictures swapped on both their 1967-68 and 1968-69 hockey cards. According to the back of the 1968-69 Awrey card, Don was a very tall man. They have him listed at towering 6’10”.
George Armstrong’s body made it to two cards that season. Larry Mickey’s head is pasted on George’s body, as well.
I would love to go back in time to hear the folks at OPC coming up with this great idea!
Enjoyed the article.
If I had to pick two cards for one player, it would not have been Howie Young.
There were a lot of shifts painted, but some, like Danny Grant’s and Claude Larose’s North Stars uniform (with gloves marked in) and Carol Vadnais’ Seals uniform were painted on.
First time I noticed OPC’s antics was Rogie Vachon’s 71/72 card (#156). Just didn’t look quite right. It’s a combination with Ross Lonsberry’s card (#121).
Dave.
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