unraveling the mystery of 1966 Topps USA hockey
goodriddance189
Posts: 2,388 ✭✭
the 1966-67 Topps USA "Test" hockey set has long been a hobby mystery. it's a tough and pricey set, as the Orr in mint condition would cost you a fortune. it's been accepted in the hobby that it was issued during the 1966-67 season.
or was it?
i've been doing some research on the set, and have discovered a few inconsistencies. the set size was cut from 132 cards in the original issue to 66 in the USA version. some were obvious decisions- the checklist and the two trophy cards were dropped. but the mystery surrounds the 23 players that were cut in favor of lesser names. here is my theory- 14 of the 23 players dumped from the original set were chosen in the famous June 1967 expansion draft, when the league doubled from 6 teams to 12. Esposito and a few others (who were dropped) were involved in a huge trade that same month. a few other guys who were cut were either released or sent to the minors. in fact, 31 of the 32 replacements were players who stayed with their teams throughout the upheaval of '67. i would assume Topps didnt want to hassle with updating.
what the hobby presumed to to be simultaneously issued was probably issued at least a year later. still, a few contradictions eist. 5 of the 6 coaches issued in the original set were dropped, with the eception of one- Punch Imlach. understandable, since Imlach coached the Leafs to the Stanley Cup the previous year. but the key to the entire mystery might lie with card #42, Red Kelly. he was card #79, but replaced Sid Abel in the USA set. but why? he was no longer a Maple Leaf, so why leave a card that was so outdated in the set?
here is my theory. i've read reports of ice cream vendors selling packs of these cards in California. but why California? why would they distribute a set in 1966 when California didn't have a hockey team? for the same reason that they left ole Red Kelly in the set. they were testing the waters , and using Kelly as a selling point because.....drum roll please......Kelly had retired a year earlier to coach the Expansion Los Angeles Kings.
the cards were probably distributed around the start of the 1967-68 season, a full year after the regular set.
take that, Sherlock Holmes
or was it?
i've been doing some research on the set, and have discovered a few inconsistencies. the set size was cut from 132 cards in the original issue to 66 in the USA version. some were obvious decisions- the checklist and the two trophy cards were dropped. but the mystery surrounds the 23 players that were cut in favor of lesser names. here is my theory- 14 of the 23 players dumped from the original set were chosen in the famous June 1967 expansion draft, when the league doubled from 6 teams to 12. Esposito and a few others (who were dropped) were involved in a huge trade that same month. a few other guys who were cut were either released or sent to the minors. in fact, 31 of the 32 replacements were players who stayed with their teams throughout the upheaval of '67. i would assume Topps didnt want to hassle with updating.
what the hobby presumed to to be simultaneously issued was probably issued at least a year later. still, a few contradictions eist. 5 of the 6 coaches issued in the original set were dropped, with the eception of one- Punch Imlach. understandable, since Imlach coached the Leafs to the Stanley Cup the previous year. but the key to the entire mystery might lie with card #42, Red Kelly. he was card #79, but replaced Sid Abel in the USA set. but why? he was no longer a Maple Leaf, so why leave a card that was so outdated in the set?
here is my theory. i've read reports of ice cream vendors selling packs of these cards in California. but why California? why would they distribute a set in 1966 when California didn't have a hockey team? for the same reason that they left ole Red Kelly in the set. they were testing the waters , and using Kelly as a selling point because.....drum roll please......Kelly had retired a year earlier to coach the Expansion Los Angeles Kings.
the cards were probably distributed around the start of the 1967-68 season, a full year after the regular set.
take that, Sherlock Holmes
0
Comments
Keith Oberman did write an accurate article on that fact
that 1966-67 topps USA test issue was released in 1967.
The players that changed teams and were added to the set was the decisive blow
to any other theory.
marc
have a white vertical right edge. are these considered a miscut by psa?
i was going to get some graded at the fort but decided against in for
this reason. i ended up just getting my plante rc graded.
any input would be appreciated.
but I've never been wrong
it seldom turns out the way
it does in the song
once in a while
you get shown the light
in the strangest of places
if you look at it right
do you happen to have a copy of the article that Olbermann wrote? i haven't gotten a new Beckett in years. some of the ideas/info actually came from an Olbermann article in a 1995 issue of Sportslook. it wasn't as detailed as mine, but reading the article got me thinking and researching.
coachvinny,
i've seen PSA assign grades of 7 (and maybe 8) to cards with the white edge. i frankly have no idea why they aren't considered miscut. i really wish i could see an uncut sheet of these, because some of the white edged cards were placed in the middle of the original Topps sheets