Saturday, September 2, 2017

Tall Hall

This blog seems to naturally drift towards baseball cards during the summer months, which I guess isn't that surprising.  As I mentioned the other day though, I have picked up a few very nice hockey cards over the past few months that deserve to see the light of day here on the blog.  Today I've got the first of them:

1964-65 Topps #12 - Glenn Hall

I just adore these '64-65 Topps tallboy hockey cards.  It's easily my favorite hockey set of the '60s.  At just 110 cards you'd think it might be one to go for, but some of the prices are just brutal.  Still, it's a set that I'm always passively keeping an eye out for, and I was watching this Glenn Hall here on eBay for a good couple of months before the seller lowered the price to well below a blaster and I bit.

For those who aren't hockey fans or may not recognize the name, Hall is one of the most successful goaltenders in the history of the game.  His accolades include a Calder Memorial Trophy (1956 Rookie of the Year), a record 7 First Team All-Star selections, multiple Vezina Trophy and Stanley Cup wins, and a Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP).  He also holds the record for most consecutive games played by a goalie at 502, which I would argue will absolutely never be broken.  Glenn was a lock for the Hall of Fame, and was inducted in 1975.

Here's the back, with a nice plus-sized cartoon referencing Hall's Rookie of the Year season.  It's hard to display this one any larger due to my current blog format and its extra-long horizontal layout, but you can click the scan for a larger image if you'd care to read the write-up.

What an awesome card, indeed.  The first couple of times I quickly looked it over online before buying it I completely missed the fact that he's holding a kick-ass old-school goalie mask in his glove hand.

I just sorted Glenn away and found that I now have 14 cards from this release in my collection.  Not bad at all.  I'll certainly be on the hunt for some new additions during hockey season here.  Thanks for stopping by and reading, and I hope everyone is enjoying a nice holiday weekend.

9 comments:

Coast To Posts said...

Can't forget, Hall was also the goalie scored on in the iconic Bobby Orr 'Superman' photo. Also, I just wanted to mention how I would really hate being Glenn Hall's backup during his 502 consecutive game run.

tomrobak said...

While I don't own this card I have seen it numerous times, at shows, stores and on line. Never noticed the mask! Thanks for pointing it out.

Chris said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris said...

Tall Hall...haha. I love it. One of the best goalies of all-time, from one of the best hockey sets of all time. I cant wait to see what other classic hockey cards you picked up.

Commishbob said...

Such a neat set. I saw Hall play a few times. Thinking back to when there were six teams and my friends and I knew every player on every roster. A different world now.

Kin said...

Love that card! Maybe I will pick one up some day, but I am not at all a fan on non-standard size cards. I actually briefly talked about Hall at the card show yesterday.

Mark Hoyle said...

I agree with the commish I remember knowing every guy in the league

Billy Kingsley said...

I remember seeing a card from this set in my local vintage dealer's case, but since I wasn't collecting hockey yet, I didn't buy it. Now that I am collecting hockey, I am kicking myself because somebody else bought it before I could. Don't remember which player it was.

Hackenbush said...

I'm just a bit too young to remember him with the Blackhawks. Great write-up and cartoon on the back. You know he was well thought of when his nickname was "Mr. Goalie".

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