The 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee Don Cherry Rookie Card

For all the hoopla he creates, Don Cherry played just one NHL game and coached for only six seasons in the league with no Stanley Cups. Yet, at 77, Cherry is seen as some sort of hockey god (in Canada, at least). Though he played professionally from 1954-55 to 1971-72, it was as a coach with the Boston Bruins that his only real hockey card was produced.

The Don Cherry rookie card came in the 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee series as number 161. Topps featured the same card with the same number. The O-Pee-Chee hockey card is valued at up to $60 according to Beckett and the Topps card is valued at $25.

Cherry played junior hockey in the OHA from 1951-52 to 1953-54. He started out with the Windsor Spitfires but was traded to the Barrie Flyers during his first season. The Flyers are the predecessor of the modern day Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League. His only National Hockey League game came in 1954-55, his first year in professional hockey. He played the entire season in the AHL with the Hershey Bears then got a chance to play his one game with the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Don played 767 regular season and 57 playoff games in the American Hockey League between 1954-55 and 1971-72. A good portion of his career was spent with the Rochester Americans but he also appeared with the Hershey Bears and Springfield Indians. He totalled 259 career points in the AHL, decent numbers for a defenseman.

Cherry entered the world of hockey coaching in 1971-72 as head coach of the Americans. He coached Rochester for three seasons, winning the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award in 1973-74 as AHL coach of the year. He began coaching in the NHL for the 1974-75 season, three years after the 1972 Boston Bruins won their last Stanley Cup until 2011. He coached Boston for five seasons from 1974-75 to 1978-79. Twice his team made it to the Stanley Cup finals, only to lose to the Montreal Canadiens. He coached the Colorado Rockies for one season in 1979-80 before entering the broadcast booth. He was awarded the Jack Adams Award in 1975-76 as NHL coach of the year.

Don’s brother Dick Cherry, although much lesser known today than his sibling, played much more hockey in the National Hockey League with 145 regular season games under his belt as a member of the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. Dick also made it into four Stanley Cup playoff games during his career. There is only one hockey card of Don’s brother. The Dick Cherry rookie card appears as number 173 in the 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee set and is valued as a common card.