All to often, we rate hockey cards and other memorabilia solely by their monetary value. Sometimes, an item that is valued low and may even be considered worthless by some, can be an invaluable treasure to others.
Recently, a friend passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack (for this article, he will be known as John). He was healthy and relatively young – in his early 50’s. At his memorial, his brother (who will be known as Bill), who was seven years older, gave a touching talk filled with anecdotes of John’s life.
Normally, at any memorial service or funeral, I tend to tune out and find a focal point to stare at until it’s time to leave. It’s not that I’m insensitive, it’s just that I never feel comfortable in these situations (who really does, I guess). This time, however, Bill’s talk was so heartfelt and, quite frankly, entertaining, that I actually listened.
One of his stories featured John as a toddler. Bill had taken great pride in his complete collection of 1961-62 Shirriff Hockey Coins. He had painstakingly collected all 120, found in Shirriff Pudding and Jello packages. The set featured 20 coins from each of the six teams at the time and there were even mounting ‘shields’ available via mail order.
It seems that one day, Bill came home from school and John, maybe two or three years old, had taken one of the coins from Bill’s collection and completely destroyed it the way only a toddler can. Bill was a little outraged because of the pride he took in the set and the fact that their season had passed and they simply weren’t available anymore.
After one of his frequent pauses to contain him emotions, Bill continued, telling us that it had been a long standing joke throughout the years that he was going to replace the missing coin, buying it off a professional collector for what he perceived would be a large amount of money and sending the bill to John. He then laughed at the absurdity that some fifty years later, he still remembered that it was the Jerry Toppazzini coin that was ‘mishandled’ by his younger brother.
After the service, I couldn’t wait to get home and check just how available these coins still were on eBay. Sure enough, I was able to get the replacement Jerry Toppazzini Shirriff hockey coin for a whole $.99 (which was paid for with excess eBay bucks) and could have it within the week.
I mailed the coin to Bill on behalf of my two sons. You see, John was the step-grandfather to my two boys. He never had kids of his own but certainly treated his new found grand children as if they were. With the coin, was a short note stated that John’s debt had been paid in full and Bill would forever have something to remember his brother by.
In the past, I’ve wondered why some cards I placed for auction on eBay would fetch far more than their Beckett book value. I dubbed this the ‘Jerry Korab effect’ after watching a common Korab card be the subject of a bidding war that would see the final sale price reach many times its book value. Now I know. I only paid $.99 for the Toppazzini coin but would have paid a lot more. Sometimes, book value doesn’t mean a damn thing.
And now you’re thinking – who the hell is Jerry Toppazzini?!
Jerry played junior hockey in the OHA from 1948-49 to 1950-51. His first year was spent with the St. Catherines TeePees and his final two were with the Barrie Flyers. Barrie would later move to Niagara Falls and even later to Sudbury where they are currently the Wolves. The TeePees are the ancestors of the current Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League.
With Barrie in 1950-51, Toppazzini scored 40 and assisted on 50 for 90 points in 54 regular season games as Barrie finished in first place. The Flyers moved on to beat the Toronto Marlboros to capture the Robertson Cup then beat the Winnipeg Monarchs to become Memorial Cup champions. Throughout the playoff run, Jerry contributed another 34 points in 23 games.
Toppazzini played 783 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1952-53 and 1963-64. Although he spent most of his career with the Boston Bruins, he did have stints with the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings, as well.
Jerry’s rookie card came in the form of the 1952-53 Parkhurst #73. The card is rated as a common by Beckett Hockey Monthly and would be valued at $30.
The eBay seller that I purchased the Toppazzini coin off of, also sells from his own website. Check out his stuff here.