Saturday, September 19, 2015

The Newest Member of My Whalers Collection - Gonzo?!?!

I can't believe I had no idea these cards existed until only recently.  Check out the two newest additions to my Hartford Whalers collection...

Both are from the 1993-94 "Muppets Take the Ice" set.  This was obviously an educational themed set, targeted at young fans who wanted to learn more about the game of hockey. 

On the first Whalers card in the set we get Gonzo wearing what appears to be some kind of strange helmet shooting electric rays at a puck with an antenna.  I like that the artist went with the creative touch of shaping the end of Gonzo's blade like his nose.

Not much to the back, just a couple of facts that just about any fan would know.  Again, I'm assuming the target audience for these was children under the age of 8.

Here's the other Whalers card from the checklist, from the team history subset.  Here Gonzo has caught the Whalers logo with a fishing pole made from his modified hockey stick.  I have to say that for what they are, the artist(s) actually did a decent job with these.

The team history card just lists a couple of random facts on the back.  It almost makes the Whalers sound good too, by highlighting the fact that they'd appeared in 7 of the last 9 Stanley Cup playoffs (and conveniently ignoring that they only ever won a single post-season series).

I'm sure there's not a lot of demand for these (and probably never was), but for the team collector like myself, or anyone that enjoys the obscure side of the hobby, they're kind of cool.  I have quite a few extras of each since buying a lot was the only way I could find them, so if anyone wants one (or a pair) let me know...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not only is Gonzo's stick shaped like his nose, but his nose is taped up like his stick. :-)

I have - or *had* - a couple of cards from this set... I think I bought a pack at some point. There was also a Flintstones NFL set around the same time. I'll have to write a post about them if they bubble to the surface...

Billy Kingsley said...

That's very cool. Who doesn't like Muppets? I just completed the 1993 Cardz Muppets set two weeks ago.

Hackenbush said...

Very timely since the new Muppets tv show premiers this coming Tuesday.

Angus said...

Love the Muppets! Nice cards for the team collector.

I have the Browns cards for the Flintstones NFL set. I think, however, I would have preferred the Muppets to the Flintstones.

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