Boston Bruins All-Time Greats Registry Set

aro13 · February 7, 2004 8:38AM

I have been thinking about putting together a rookie set of all-time great Boston Bruins and I was looking for some feedback on who people felt should or should not be on the list.
Here is my current list:
Lionel Hitchman 1923-24 V145-1 #8
Dit Clapper 1933-34 OPC 304A #8, V129 #36, V357 Ice Kings #1, V252 Canadian Gum #11
Eddie Shore 1933-34 V129 #37 OPC V304A
Tiny Thompson 1933-34 OPC 304B #68, OPC V357 Ice Kings #57
Cooney Weiland 1933-34 OPC 304A #27, OPC V357 Ice Kings #65, V129 Ice Kings #65
Frank Brimsek 1939-40 OPC #97
Bill Cowley 1939-40 OPC #98
Woody Dumart 1939-40 OPC #94
Milt Schmidt 1940-41 OPC #132
John Bucyk 1957-58 Topps #10
Gerry Cheevers 1965-66 Topps #31
Phil Esposito 1965-66 Topps #116
Bobby Orr 1966-67 Topps #35
Harry Sinden 1966-67 Topps #31
Wayne Cashman 1970-71 OPC #7
Brad Park 1970-71 OPC #67
Terry O'Reilly 1973-74 OPC #254
Rick Middleton 1974-75 OPC #304
Ray Bourque 1980-81 OPC #140
Cam Neely 1984-85 OPC #327
Joe Thornton 1996-97 Upper Deck #370

20 players and one GM/Coach.

jackstraw · February 7, 2004 8:41AM

aro13

i would add andy moog to that list.

murph · February 7, 2004 8:46AM

hi
even though he's not a hall of famer, derek sanderson was a huge member of the big bad bruins of the 60's and 70's...his rc is also highly desirable and fairly difficult to find....it's 1967 but i don't know the number.....
murph

grilloj39 · February 7, 2004 12:03PM

Great job aro....I would add Don Cherry 74 OPC/Topps Card. Everything looks great from a Bruins fan point of view.

aro13 · February 8, 2004 4:38AM

I thought about all of the players mentioned.
Andy Moog was definately the best goalie they have had since Cheevers but he was only there for 4 seasons. Definately debatable on whether or not he should be on the list.
Derek Sanderson was a key component of the Stanley Cup teams but his career in Boston was not that long and if Sanderson why not Ken Hodge or John Mckenzie? Again a debatable player.
I originally had Don Cherry on the list because he was the coach during a significant time period but he was not there that long either. Another touch call.
Thanks for the input. Maybe, I will have to revise my list before I submit it.

GoSoxBoSox · February 8, 2004 4:48AM

Aro,

I agree with you comments. I liked you original list with two exceptions.

#1 - Why Lionel Hitchman? He's not a Hall of Famer and scored just 61 points over 12 years and 416 games. Granted he played defense but was he an all-time Bruin great? Eddie Shore played defense during the same period and scored 284 points in 553 games. That's a whole other league!!!

#2 - I question whether Joe Thornton deserve it just yet? Ask yourself this question, if he were traded today would he have earnd a place in Bruins history amongst these Hall of Famers?

Just my 2 cents.

Tom

aro13 · February 8, 2004 4:59AM

Tom - The only reason I put Hitchman on the list is because his jersey number is retired. Clapper and Shore both have a ton of awards and great numbers so it is easy to understand their place in Bruin history but Hitchman I cannot fully understand.
Also, good point about Thornton.
At the Boston Garden Auction a while back I bought a seat and have been trying to get "significant Bruins" to autograph the seat ever since. Assuming the Garden was still around today and Thornton had played his entire career in the Garden I would probably not have him sign the seat so I will agree with your point about Thornton and remove him for now.

Edited to add:
Tom - Have you tried to get Red Sox tickets? I was looking to fly down in July for a few games but the only seats left for any of the games are the highest level of the centerfield bleachers.

GoSoxBoSox · February 8, 2004 5:59AM

<< <i>Tom - Have you tried to get Red Sox tickets? I was looking to fly down in July for a few games but the only seats left for any of the games are the highest level of the centerfield bleachers. >>

Since I haven't been to Boston lately the answer is no. If I get there on business I certainly will pay the price to get in but nothing happening on that front for the forseeable future.

Mike Schmidt's the guy to ask this question since he lives in the area.

raym8 · February 8, 2004 10:32PM

Being a diehard Bruins fan starting in the late 60's, I wouldn't mind seeing any of these players on the list :

Johnny 'Pie' McKenzie (1960 Parkhurst #37)
Ted Green (1961 Topps #2)
Ed Johnston (1963 Topps #2)
Ken Hodge (1965 Topps #65)
Fred Stanfield (1965 Topps )
Don Awrey (1965 Topps)
Derek Sanderson (1967 Topps #33)

I guess it depends on what criteria you want to use for 'great' Bruins. My soft spot is obviously on the 'Big Bad Bruins' years.

You can also count me in as having no problems with Don Cherry being on the list.

GoSoxBoSox · February 9, 2004 12:07AM

Ray,

I know Ken Hodge because he was pretty good in the 70's .....but who the hell are those other guys?

You must be real old

raym8 · February 9, 2004 1:53AM

Ouch!...

Those guys were all part of the big bad bruins teams of the early 70's when they won their last 2 stanley cups.....

guess I should quit while I'm behind....I wanted to add other players like Dallas Smith, Wayne Carlton, and Garnet Bailey too....
maybe I need to request a 'not so great, but old guys remember them Bruins teams set'...

TurbosHockey · February 9, 2004 2:01AM

I was thinking about Stan Jonathon too. No body was a better big bad Bruin than Stan.

goodriddance189 · February 9, 2004 2:02AM

i would definitely add Derek Sanderson.

i would include Bourque's Topps rookie over his OPC, since a PSA 9 OPC hasn't come up for sale on ebay in over a year (and when it does i'm ready to spend $600+ on it)

raym8 · February 9, 2004 2:06AM

Turbos,

I like your way of thinking....of course, if you add Stan Jonathan, then you have to add John Wensink and Al Secord as well

This thread is like a stroll down amnesia lane for me of old Bruins from the past......

aro13 · February 9, 2004 1:23PM

Ray,
My criteria was small and probably not the best. First, I picked anyone who had a retired number (Lionel Hitchman being the only question mark). Second, I picked any player in the Hall of Fame with significant ties to the Bruins (Jean Ratelle is probably the best player I left out). Third, I picked players that had significant roles with the Bruins for a long period of time (Wayne Cashman, Rick Middleton).
Of all of the players you mentioned I guess I would give the most credence to McKenzie although the selection of Ted Green is a good one. I suppose it would become like the Baseball Hall of Fame - if McKenzie, why not Sanderson? if Sanderson why not Hodge? if Hodge why not McNab? if McNab why not anyway you see that line of thinking. You could do the same with the D - if Awrey why not Vadnais, Smith, Milbury etc.
Plus, I did want to limit the set to around 20 players.

raym8 · February 9, 2004 7:40PM

Abie,

I think that if you wanted to limit the set to 20 players, then your original list is a very good one. Though I would put Ratellle on the
list before Thornton, if only because Thornton doesn't yet have the longevity.

Best,
Ray

GoSoxBoSox · February 9, 2004 8:50PM

Ratelle? How did we miss him?

raym8 · February 9, 2004 8:52PM

The memory is the first thing that goes with us 'old' guys.....

GoSoxBoSox · February 9, 2004 9:16PM

touche

jackstraw · February 9, 2004 9:51PM

tom ,
do you have a picture of mr zero's rookie card that you could share with us? i know i have his autograph somewhere but i don't think i have ever seen a card of him?

GoSoxBoSox · February 9, 2004 9:58PM

<< <i>tom ,
do you have a picture of mr zero's rookie card that you could share with us? i know i have his autograph somewhere but i don't think i have ever seen a card of him? >>

I'm sorry. Mr. Zero?

jackstraw · February 9, 2004 10:03PM

tom,
that would frank brimsak.
john

GoSoxBoSox · February 9, 2004 10:07PM

When I get home from work I'll post his Beehive card. It's a nice picture. PSA won't grade this card because of it's size.

His rookie card is the 1939-40 OPC which I have never seen for sale. When I do...IT'S MINE!!! These two cards are the only cards I know of from his playing days outside of Quaker Oats or Crown type photos.

GoSoxBoSox · February 10, 2004 7:33AM

jackstraw,

as promised......

dstudeba · February 10, 2004 8:09AM

Another thing to consider about Derek Sanderson is his long involvement with the Bruins. I don't know if he is still on TV38, but when I was there, it was always fun to listen to him. Also Mike Milbury coached all those early 90s teams that us young guys loved.

Sorry I got back to New England a little late, so I am not much up on my Bruins history, but I got there early enough to spend many an enjoyable evening wedged into a Garden seat.

jackstraw · February 10, 2004 4:08PM

fred and derek don't do the play by play and color for the bruins and haven't for probably 6 years now> as much as i hate the bruins i used to love listening to sanderson dog the foreign players especially jagr! he did dog hartford more times than not though

thanks for the pic tom. i love old time hockey.

yawie99 · February 11, 2004 2:51AM

Tom, do the Beehives not fit in the new, or at least relatively new, Turkey Red holders?

GoSoxBoSox · February 11, 2004 4:47AM

It's funny you ask me that question. I have been battling with customer service about Beehives and 1939-40 OPC cards. They told be to submit them and I did. They sent them back telling me they now have to be submitted under the Super Express service a $35 a pop. That's ugly since nobody pays much for these cards.

They also said they cannot holder anything bigger than 5" x 7". The OPC cards are 5" x 7" and Beehives are a little bigger. So I submitted 14 OPC cards and I'm sitting on my Beehives because I now think they're too big for the new holders.

Last week I got a call from PSA saying my 5" x 7" OPC are too small for the new holder and too big for the next smaller size. So I guess they can take Beehives afterall!!!

Also, they said there's a problem with the OPC cards because since they're to small for the T3 holder they need the poly bags. Of course, they don't make them that big. So I asked if they can encapsulate the cards in the 5" x 7" top loaders. Finally they said yes. However, they had to buy new one's because mine were scratched.

Now I'm waiting to get the grades on these because they have to be verified before they'll tell me. That won't happen until the top loaders are in.

yawie99 · February 11, 2004 6:22AM

Geez. I thought one would be able to submit the OPC oversized cards and Beehives quite easily with the new T3 holder. Guess not. Once you get yours back, can you post some pics? I'd like to see how they look. Those are issues where third-party grading seems to make the most sense from a protection/preservation standpoint.

GoSoxBoSox · February 11, 2004 7:01AM

<< <i>Geez. I thought one would be able to submit the OPC oversized cards and Beehives quite easily with the new T3 holder. Guess not. Once you get yours back, can you post some pics? I'd like to see how they look. Those are issues where third-party grading seems to make the most sense from a protection/preservation standpoint. >>

I sure will. They will be the only 14 cards of that issue in holders. At $35 a pop they might be the only ones EVER!!! I'm not sure I'll ike the look of top loaders inside T3 holders. We'll see.

Boston Bruins All-Time Greats Registry Set

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