It only makes sense, coming off a Calder Memorial Trophy victory in 1960-61, that the Dave Keon rookie card would be the gem of the 1961-62 Parkhurst hockey card set. At a $250 value, Keon’s RC equals Gordie Howe’s card as the highest valued in the set. In 1961-62, Parkhurst put out 51 hockey cards. The complete set is valued at $1600 by Beckett Hockey Monthly and a common card is around $15.
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Dave Keon played four years of junior hockey with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors of the OHA between 1956-57 and 1959-60. In his final season with the Majors, Keon finished with 71 points in 47 games, the team leader in that category and good for seventh in the league.
Keon played with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1960-61 until the end of the 1974-75 National Hockey League season. He was part of four Stanley Cup winning teams over that time, including the Toronto three-peat from 1961-62 to 1963-64 and the 1966-67 victory, the last in the history of the Maple Leafs. After the retirement of George Armstrong, Keon was the team captain for the remainer of his days in Toronto.
Finishing his NHL career with 986 points in 1,296 regular sesaon games, Keon at times showed a true offensive flair. In 1961-62 and 1962-63, he finished eighth in goal-scoring in the NHL. He finished 10th in points the following season. In 1970-71, the highest offensive output of his hockey career, Keon finished sixth in goals and sixth in points.
Along with the Calder Trophy, Keon was a two-time winner of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in consecutive seasons, 1961-62 and 1962-63. In that 1966-67 Stanley Cup run, Dave was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoffs MVP. After he skipped to the World Hockey Association in 1975-76, Keon continued to be a gentleman. He won the Paul Deneau Trophy as the league’s most gentlemanly player in 1976-77 and 1977-78. Keon is the only player to win the Deneau twice and the only player in history to win both the Lady Byng and the Paul Deneau.
After Harold Ballard essentially made it impossible for any NHL team to pick Keon up after the 1974-75 season and wouldn’t retain him on the active Toronto roster, Dave was forced to make the jump to the WHA in 1975-76. He stayed in the Rebel League until its demise after the 1978-79 season. Keon played for the Minnesota Fighting Saints, Indianapolis Racers and New England Whalers.
Keon returned to the NHL for three more seasons after the WHA had run its course. He played for the Hartford Whalers from 1979-80 to 1981-82, putting up decent numbers for a man in his 40’s. The first year in Hartford was a real Hockey Hall of Fame spectacle with Keon playing with Gordie Howe, Mark Howe and Bobby Hull. Keon was inducted into the HHOF in 1986.