Dave Keon started his great NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1960-61. The following year, his first hockey card appeared in the 1961-62 Parkhurst series. The Dave Keon rookie card is the number 5 card in the set and is valued at $250 by Beckett, the highest value of a single card in the series.
51 hockey cards were featured in the 1961-62 set with Wayne Connelly being the only other significant rookie. Connelly’s card is valued at $20, just above the $15 common card rate. The full set is valued at $1600. Other cards of significance from this series that are valued in the triple digits include: Gordie Howe ($250), Tim Horton ($200), Jacques Plante ($175), Terry Sawchuk ($125) and Eddie Shack ($100).
Keon started his NHL career off with a bang, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie. The 1960’s were a great decade for Keon, winning the Lady Byng twice, being part of four Stanley Cup winning teams in Toronto and winning the Conn Smythe as Stanley Cup playoffs MVP in 1966-67. Dave won the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player in consecutive years, 1961-62 and 1962-63.
As a member of the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association, he won the Paul Deneau Trophy in consecutive years, 1976-77 and 1977-78. The Deneau was awarded to the WHA’s most gentlemanly player. Keon is the only player in the history of hockey to win both the Byng and Deneau.
From 1960-61 to 1974-75, Keon played for the Maple Leafs. In 1963-64, his 60 point production was good enough for tenth in the league. From 1975-76 to 1978-79, he played in the WHA for the Minnesota Fighting Saints, Indianapolis Racers and New England Whalers. When the WHA and NHL merged for the 1979-80 season, Dave got the chance to play three more seasons in the National Hockey League, all with the Hartford Whalers.
Dave Keon entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986. He is the last Toronto Maple Leaf to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. Along with Alexander Mogilny, he is one of only two Maple Leafs to win the Lady Byng Trophy in the past fifty years.