1961-62: The Year Topps Jumped the Gun on 2 Rookies

When O-Pee-Chee was back fresh on the hockey card scene in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Topps was known to exclude even high end rookies that were included in the O-Pee-Chee sets. Perhaps, this was a lesson learned from their 1961-62 set when they jumped the gun on two rookies that combined for a total of six career games in the National Hockey League.

Rino Robazza

The Rino Robazza rookie card is number 39 in the 1961-62 Topps set. The native of Kirkland Lake, Ontario was shown as a Chicago Black Hawks rookie with the special front design designated for rookies and coaches that year. It was the only hockey card of Robazza and he never played a single game in the NHL. That’s not to say his professional career wasn’t at least somewhat eventful.

Rino played two years of junior hockey in the OHA with the St. Catherines Teepees, 1956-57 and 1957-58. He went on to play pro hockey from 1958-59 to 1965-66 in the WHL, EPHL and AHL.

As a rookie in the WHL in 1958-59, Robazza played for the Calgary Stampeders in the WHL. The team finished first overall in the nine team league and reached the finals before being swept by the Seattle Totems. Rino finished second in the league with 157 penalty minutes over 62 regular season games.

Robazza played in the EPHL finals two year later in 1960-61 with the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds. The Billy Reay coached team faced off against the Glen Skov coached Hull-Ottawa Canadiens. The Thunderbirds pushed the series the full seven games but lost to the Canadiens in the end.

Rino was back with Sault Ste. Marie the following year. The team finished last in the league and did not qualify for the post season. Robazza led the league with 207 PIM in 67 games. He did get to play with two future members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Phil Esposito appeared in six games for the Thunderbirds while Gerry Cheevers played 29 games in net.

In 1962-63, Robazza followed Esposito to the Syracuse Blazers of the EPHL, a team that relocated to St. Louis, Missouri midseason. However, he was no longer the toughest kid on the block. Nick Polano led the Blazers in penalty minutes and finished second in the league. Rino fell to sixth with just 111 PIM.

Robazza ended his career with three years in the American Hockey League with the Quebec Aces.

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1956-57	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA	52	2	4	6	0
1957-58	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA	52	10	19	29	0
1958-59	Calgary Stampeders	WHL	62	5	17	22	157
1959-60	Calgary Stampeders	WHL	30	2	12	14	80
1959-60	SSM Thunderbirds	EPHL	6	0	0	0	27
1959-60	Buffalo Bisons	AHL	25	0	4	4	12
1960-61	Buffalo Bisons	AHL	32	1	4	5	24
1960-61	SSM Thunderbirds	EPHL	32	2	7	9	35
1961-62	SSM Thunderbirds	EPHL	67	8	18	26	207
1962-63	Syracuse/St. Louis Braves	EPHL	66	3	26	29	111
1963-64	Quebec Aces	AHL	47	1	2	3	52
1964-65	Quebec Aces	AHL	39	3	6	9	57
1965-66	Quebec Aces	AHL	64	0	12	12	58

Al LeBrun

The Al LeBrun rookie card appears as number 61 in the 1961-62 Topps set. Another Northern Ontario boy, LeBrun was born in Timmins. Al’s NHL career was much longer than Robazza’s. He appeared in six games, four with the Rangers in 1960-61 while still a junior with the Guelph Royals and two in 1965-66, also with the Rangers.

LeBrun played four years of junior in the OHA from 1957-58 to 1960-61, three with the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters and one with the same franchise renamed the Guelph Royals. The Royals are the present day Kitchener Rangers.

Al played pro hockey until 1973-74 in the EPHL, WHL, CPHL, NHL and AHL but mostly in the WHL. He sat out the 1963-64 season.

The pinnacle of his career came in 1964-65, playing for the St. Paul Rangers in the CPHL. He was named the league’s most valuable defenseman. LeBrun led the Rangers to a first overall finish during the regular season in the six team league. St. Paul then met the Tulsa Oilers in the finals and won the championship in six games.

LeBrun’s final six years were spent with the San Diego Gulls of the WHL. His final year, 1973-74, was also the end of the line for the Gulls. The team folded with the San Diego Mariners of the World Hockey Association moving into town.

Despite only playing four games in the NHL while still in junior in 1960-61 and his other two games still years in the future, the 1961-62 Topps card was surprisingly not LeBrun’s only mainstream appearance on cardboard. Al actually was included in the 1962-63 Topps set as well on card number 50.

 

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1957-58	Guelph Biltmores	OHA	34	0	1	1	0
1958-59	Guelph Biltmores	OHA	54	3	12	15	55
1959-60	Guelph Biltmores	OHA	48	5	13	18	0
1960-61	Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers	EPHL	1	0	0	0	0
1960-61	Guelph Royals	OHA	47	4	12	16	0
1960-61	New York Rangers	NHL	4	0	2	2	4
1961-62	Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers	EPHL	70	0	16	16	36
1962-63	Vancouver Canucks	WHL	55	5	8	13	31
1964-65	St. Paul Rangers	CPHL	66	11	15	26	52
1965-66	New York Rangers	NHL	2	0	0	0	0
1965-66	Minnesota Rangers	CPHL	69	4	13	17	38
1966-67	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL	26	1	8	9	24
1966-67	Los Angeles Blades	WHL	42	1	8	9	33
1967-68	Dallas Black Hawks	CPHL	61	6	17	23	53
1968-69	Memphis South Stars	CHL	34	1	4	5	20
1968-69	San Diego Gulls	WHL	29	1	4	5	8
1969-70	San Diego Gulls	WHL	72	7	18	25	37
1970-71	San Diego Gulls	WHL	66	3	13	16	50
1971-72	San Diego Gulls	WHL	72	2	17	19	67
1972-73	San Diego Gulls	WHL	72	2	16	18	101
1973-74	San Diego Gulls	WHL	37	0	4	4	10
	NHL Totals		6	0	2	2	4