Lorne ‘Gump’ Worsley began play in the National Hockey League in 1952-53 with the New York Rangers. His rookie hockey card appeared in the 1953-54 Parkhurst series as the number 53 card.
Gump’s rookie card is worth $400, according to Beckett. The entire 1953-54 Parkhurst set is worth up to $4500 with the Gordie Howe hockey card worth the most at $800. Only two other cards are worth more than Worsley’s, the Jean Beliveau rookie card at $600 and the hockey card of Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard at $500. Worsley’s last hockey card came in the 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee series as number 230 and is worth $5.
Worsely played goal in the NHL from 1952-53 to 1973-74. He began his career with the New York Rangers with a bang, winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1952-53. He played with the Rangers until the end of the 1962-63 season.
It was after moving to Montreal in 1963-64 when Gump was able to put some hardware in his trophy case. In what was really just five full seasons with the Canadiens, Worsley had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup four times and the Vezina Trophy twice.
After playing five games with Montreal in 1969-70, Worsley was off to the Minnesota North Stars. Gump played with Minnesota unti the end of the 1973-74 season. His best season with the North Stars came in 1971-72 when his 2.12 GAA was third best in the league. The team finished second to the Chicago Black Hawks in the West Division but lost in seven games to the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Gump Worsley is still ranked seventh all-time in the NHL for the most games played by a goaltender with 861. His 43 career regular season shutouts rank him 24th. In 1980, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, a year that saw just Harry Lumley and Lynn Patrick enter the Hall.
