Similar t0 Parkhurst and their hockey card issue with the spelling of the great Johnny Bower’s name, Topps had problems with Hall of Fame goaltender Terry Sawchuk. However, it did not occur in 1966-67 when the two teamed up to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to their last Stanley Cup championship.
Just the facts:
- Topps twice mis-spelled Terry Sawchuk’s last name on a hockey card.
- Sawchuk was posthumously inducted into the HHOF in 1971.
- Number 1 hangs from the rafters at Joe Louis Arena in honour of Terry.
- Sawchuk’s goaltending partner with the 1967 Maple Leafs, Johnny Bower, had his name mis-spelled by Parkhurst twice.
On the front of the 1957-58 Topps #35 hockey card of Terry Sawchuk, his last name was mis-spelled on the front. His name was spelled Sawchuck, with an extra ‘c’. The name on the back of the card was spelled correctly. In 1964-65, as number 6 in the infamous ‘tall boys’ series, Topps got it right on the front of the card but made the same spelling mistake on the back.
The 1957-58 Topps card shows Terry with the Detroit Red Wings, having just returned to the club after a two year stint with the Boston Bruins. The card is valued by Beckett Hockey Monthly at $250. The 1964-65 card has Terry in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, his first three years with the team. The Sawchuk Tall Boy is valued at $100.
Sawchuk played in the National Hockey League from 1949-50 to 1969-70. He began his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings and also played with the Bruins, Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers along the way. Terry was the recipient of the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1950-51, playing all 70 regular season games for the Red Wings and posting a 1.99 GAA. Two years previous, Sawchuk was honoured with the Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett Award as the American Hockey League’s rookie of the year while playing for the Indianapolis Capitals.
Terry won the Vezina Trophy four times, was a First Team All-Star on three occasions and a Second Team All-Star four times. He finished his NHL career with 103 regular season shutouts, a record that stood until Martin Brodeur broke it in 2009-10.
In 1971, after his tragic death during the 1969-70 season, the normal three year waiting period was waived and Sawchuk was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1994, the Detroit Red Wings retired Terry’s number 1. It is one of six Detroit Red Wings retired numbers.