Guyle Fielder: Superstar of the WHL

I bought a hockey card on eBay that most wouldn’t be excited about. The 1957-58 Topps rookie card of Guyle Fielder is never going to compete with Howe or Gretzky. Most hockey fans probably have no clue who Fielder is. I didn’t either until recently. It turns out, Guyle is the minor league version of a Howe or Gretzky.

The Card

The Guyle Fielder rookie card was number 36 in the 1957-58 Topps set. It was the only NHL hockey card produced featuring Fielder and it is valued as a common card ($20). The 1957-58 set consists of 66 cards with a complete collection valued at $3000. The set is highlighted by the rookie card of goaltending great Glenn Hall. I bought this card for $9.26 plus shipping on eBay.

The Player

A player of small stature in the age of a six team NHL left Guyle Fielder in the minors, along with many others that would have been NHL regulars in the post-expansion era. Fielder played in the Western Hockey League from 1951-52 to 1972-73, pretty much the lifetime of the pro league that existed from 1952-53 to 1973-74.

Fielder did make it to the National Hockey League. He played nine regular season games, three with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1950-51 and six with the Detroit Red Wings in 1957-58. He also appeared in six Stanley Cup playoff games, four with the Red Wings in 1952-53 and two with the Boston Bruins in 1953-54. Over the fifteen games, Guyle had no points and two minor penalties.

His WHL career was mostly played with the Seattle Totems (previously Seattle Bombers and Seattle Americans). He also appeared with the Edmonton Flyers, New Westminster Royals, Salt Lake City Golden Eagles and Portland Buckaroos.

In 1,368 regular season WHL games, Fielder scored a respectable but somewhat modest 391 goals. It was the 1,380 assists that made him great. Producing helpers at more than an assist per game over two decades worth of hockey is amazing. His 1,771 career points ranks him with the best in the game. In all his minor pro days, he totalled 1,491 assists and 1,929 points, both minor pro hockey career records.

Guyle was the WHL’s leading scoring nine times. He was awarded the George Leader Cup as WHL most valuable player six times. He was PCHL rookie of the year in 1951-52 with the New Westminster Royals. The PCHL would transition into the WHL the following year. In 1952-53, along with playing three games with the Edmonton Flyers of the WHL, Fielder played 62 for the St. Louis Flyers of the American Hockey League. He was once again rookie of the year, winning the Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett Memorial Trophy.

Fielder helped the Totems to three Lester Patrick Cup championships in the WHL, 1958-59, 1966-67 and 1967-68.