Back to the OPC Well

A few weeks ago I posted a "pick any 10" lot of 1979-80 OPC hockey that I grabbed for a reasonable price off of eBay, after finding out about the auction from my Dad.  As I mentioned in that post, I was so pleased with the results and the condition of the cards that I decided to go back and pick out another 10.  Here, in numerical order, is what I came up with this time around...

Starting things off is a Boston fan favorite, Rick Middleton.  While maybe not an absolute star, he seems to have been in that second tier of players just below that, and racked up just shy of 1,000 career points at the NHL level.

Once again I'm showing the backs of all 10 cards.  It should be illegal to post a '79-80 hockey card on a blog and not show the back.

Mike Rogers here is the only card in this lot that I already had a copy of.  I had a feeling it would be a condition upgrade, and it certainly was.  Here was my former copy:

I was sort of surprised that Mike Milbury was still available to select.  Coach Milbury charging into the stands to beat a fan with a shoe still ranks as one of my all-time favorite hockey moments.

I had no idea that Mike was a football player in his youth, and apparently a very good one.

I figured this Don Maloney record breaker would be more interesting than just a standard common.  This card represents Don setting the record for points by a rookie in a playoff season.  I'm too lazy to look up whether he's been topped since, but I'm willing to bet he has been.

This one sort of fell into the "so bad I have to have it" category.  This has to be one of the worst photograph selections in the entire set.

Yes, I even managed to sneak a HOFer into this lot!  I always forget that after his days with the Rangers Jean would wind down his amazing career in a B's sweater.  I like this card quite a bit.

Possibly my favorite from this lot of 10.  I selected this one solely for the awesome Cleveland Barons jersey, and I'm glad I did.  Also, this card is just about flat out mint, which isn't easy to find when it comes to this set.

Possibly the best cartoon from this lot as well...

Last, but certainly not least, I was able to add three more Whalers cards that I needed to my collection.  Terry Richardson is sporting some equipment here that wouldn't have even cut the mustard for my childhood hockey team in the late '80s.  This is my very first card of Terry, who played just 20 career NHL games.

Again, my first card of Jim Warner who has just 32 career NHL games to his credit, all of them with the Whalers.

In closing, Bob Stephenson.  18 total NHL games, and just 4 of those with the Hartford Whalers.  Pretty amazing that he even got a card!

Well, that does it for this group.  I think I've picked this seller clean, to the point where I won't go back a third time.  Very pleased with my grouping of 20 though!