Busher Jackson: Outstanding Member of the Toronto Maple Leafs Kid Line

Harvey ‘Busher’ Jackson was a member of the famous Kid Line in the early days of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Along with Joe Primeau and Charlie Conacher, the Kid Line terrorized opposing NHL teams for several years in the 1930’s.

A Busher Jackson rookie card can be had, but for a price. There are actually two cards that qualify as rookie cards for Jackson, the first is the 1933-34 O-Pee-Chee V304a number 33. The O-Pee-Chee card is valued at $500. The full 48 card set is valued at $15,000 by Beckett Hockey Monthly, with a common card coming in at $100.

Jackson also appears on hockey card number 6 of the V129 series in 1933-34. That card is of equal value as the O-Pee-Chee card. The V129 set has 49 cards and is valued by Beckett at the same price as the O-Pee-Chee set.

Busher Jackson played in the National Hockey League from 1929-30 to 1943-44. He was a member of the Maple Leafs from the beginning until the end of the 1938-39 season. Jackson spent two years with the New York Americans before finishing off his NHL career with three years in a Boston Bruins uniform.

Perhaps a bit of a Stanley Cup jinx, over his 15 years in the NHL, Jackson played in seven Stanley Cup finals with only one victory to show for it. In just his third season with Toronto, 1931-32, the Maple Leafs won the Cup. Toronto lost in the finals in 1932-33, 1934-35, 1935-36, 1937-38 and 1938-39. After moving to the Bruins, Jackson visited the finals one more time, on the losing end with Boston in 1942-43.

Often in the top 10 in the NHL for goals and points, Jackson led the league in 1931-32 with 53 points in 48 games. His 28 goals that year placed him second. Unfortunately, the Art Ross Trophy wouldn’t be awarded for another decade and a half. The following year, Jackson placed second in points with 44 and second again in goals with 27. The numbers began to slowly dwindle each year after that. Busher finished his NHL career with 241 goals and 475 points in 636 regular season games.

Busher Jackson died in 1966 at the age of 55. Due to a personal issue with Conn Smythe, Jackson was denied entry in the Hockey Hall of Fame until five years after his death. In 1971, Busher was postumously inducted, along with Gordon Roberts, Terry Sawchuk and Cooney Weiland. Like Jackson, Sawchuk and Roberts entered posthumously.