At no time during his playing career was Bobby Orr celebrated so much on cardboard as he was in 1970-71. The 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee set featured Orr on six different cards. It was well-deserved with Bobby taking the Norris, Conn Smythe, Art Ross and Hart Trophies as well as being named a First Team All-Star defenseman.
The six cards are made up of four trophy cards (246, 248, 249 and 252), an all-star card (236) and a regular card (3). The 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee #3, Orr’s regular card, is the highest valued card in the set at $200, a far cry from the $3000 the 1966-67 Topps Bobby Orr rookie card fetches. Each of the other five cards is valued at $60. The full set featured 264 hockey cards and is worth $1500 complete.
So, what was the big deal? The cards celebrated the 1969-70 National Hockey League season. Bobby became the first, and still only, defenseman to lead the NHL in points. His 33 goals and 87 assists combined for 120 points to earn him the Art Ross Trophy. The Norris Trophy was his third of eight, still more than any other player in league history. The Hart goes with out saying and the Conn Smythe Trophy was awarded to Orr after contributing 20 points in 14 games during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Bruins swept the St. Louis Blues in the finals to be crowned champions.
The Bruins finished the regular season tied for first in points with the Chicago Black Hawks, both with 99. Chicago was awarded first place, having won 45 games, compared to Boston’s 40. The Bruins beat the New York Rangers in the quarter-finals 4-2 before sweeping the Black Hawks in the semis.
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Orr, Phil Esposito and John McKenzie led Boston through the regular season with Espo finishing second to Orr with 99 points and leading the league with 43 goals. It would mark the last time the goal scoring leader had less than 50 goals until the strike shortened 1994-95 season. McKenzie finished tied for tenth with 70 points. All three were selected as All-Stars with Orr and Esposito on the first team and McKenzie on the second.