30ranfordfan
Verified Trader,
It's been 20 years since my favorite player, Bill Ranford, retired. I'm a couple of weeks late (March 29th was the anniversary of his final game) but that's okay.
I thought it would be fun to do a "top 20", but I've limited this to cards that were released while he was playing, so nothing from after the 1999-00 season. Instead of "cards" I've done "rainbows", showing off each variant.
The other goal I had here, was to show off the era. We always see comments about how much people loved "the Shiny 90s". I'm no different. There was some AWESOME stuff made during those days, even if a lot of it isn't worth much today.
These 20 pics are not necessarily my favourites (though many of my favourites of that era are in here). I've also included some that I think are important, just with how the hobby evolved through the 90s, and into today.
Rather than a real "ranking" I've just put these in chronological order, with a quite note as to why I included it.
Hope you all enjoy, and I plan to do a similar top 20 thread, highlighting cards that came out after his retirement.
1986-87 Moncton Golden Flames Pre-RC
This was a card I could not track down in the 90s, and proof that targeted adds work. The entire reason I signed up for eBay was seeing an add for one of these. That add (in the early 2000s) created a monster!
I have a few copies, but I included this one, because of the signature. The autograph is almost as old as the card. The only cards I've ever seen where Bill signed the letters like that (instead of what you'll see later in this thread) were signed before he was traded to Edmonton.
1987-88 Rookie Card "rainbow".
I've included both the Topps & O-Pee-Chee versions. I can remember how excited I was to finally own a copy of this in the mid 90s. His rookie card, it's a classic (at least for me!)
1989-90 OPC. There was no Topps version of this card. Ranford's first as an Oiler
1990-91 UD French
Not really a "rainbow", but he had two cards in this set. This UD Series was a game changer for hockey, bringing "premium" cardboard into the hobby. There's the base, and one commemorating Ranford winning the Conn Smyth. I picked the French versions, because of how insane the French cards were at the time. Very short printed, until they were not
1991-91 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle
Ranford's card from the first premium insert set. These things were a HUGE deal back when they came out, and are still reasonably popular today. When Panini came back in the early 2010s, the did inserts in Score that were a tribute to this set.
1994-5 Be A Player Autograph. Ranford's first pack-inserted Autograph card, from the first set to include autographs.
1992-93 Parkhurst & Emerald Ice.
I'm not sure if Parkhurst or Topps was the first set to do this, but 1992-93 was the first season with parallel cards.
1993-94 Topps Stadium Club
This is the first real "rainbow" for a card, in my collection. Not just a simple parallel, there's five different versions of this card. There's the base, a Member's Only Master Set, and 1st Day Issue. There's also the "OPC" versions of 1st Day Issue, and the base. There is no OPC logo or name, these ones were issued for release in Canada, and you can see the small difference on the back, with 'PTD IN USA' written (and I've highlighted that).
1995-96 Donruss Elite
I picked this one, because this is one of the most "90s" sets out there, in my opinion. There is the base version of these Elite inserts, then the DiCut version. Then there's the uncut version of the DiCut card (my understanding is that these should have been cut, but many were not).
1995-96 Select Certified
Not the only card to use an image like this, but I like the look of this one more than the Topps Finest from the same year. It shows Ranford after his trade back to Boston, but it was obviously a picture taken early, showing him with an all white mask.
This pick includes the base card, and the mirror gold.
1996-97 Be A Player
The Be A Player brand had switched from Upper Deck to Pinnacle. Not only did they still have one-autograph-per-pack, but they also did foil parallels of the autographs.
1996-97 Score
I could not have a thread like this, and not include at least one card called "Artist's Proof". I picked this set because of the crazy nature of it. The five cards you see are the Base, the Artist's Proof, the Dealer's Choice Artist's Proof, a Golden Blades, and a Special Artists' Proof. There's a spot on the back of the Golden Blades that could be decoded. If it was a winner and you sent it in, you would get a Special Artist's Proof (you can only tell the difference in hand. It's on thicker card stock than the regular Artist's Proof). If a Dealer sent it in, they'd get both the Special, and the Dealer's Choice. The idea was to try and build relationships between collectors and their LCS. My understanding is that it bombed. Badly.
1996-97 Leaf Preferred Steel
How cool are cards made of Metal? I've got both versions, the regular and the gold. When doing the pic I realized that my base no longer has the protective film. My OCD got me to load up COMC and buy a new one (with film) for 88 cents!
1996-97 Ice
The first set of acetate cards. They're still beauties to look at today. I've included both the base and gold versions.
1996-97 Flair
A Premium base set, Flair, made by Fleer. I've included both the regular and Ice Blue.
1997-98 Pacific Invincible
By this time, Ranford had been traded again, to the Washington Capitals. This kind of hockey trade you'd never see today, with the Salary Cap. Bruins decided to blow it up and rebuild. They traded away Ranford, Adam Oates, and Rick Tochett in one deal, for Jim Carey, Anson Carter, Jason Allison, and a couple of draft picks.
I simply love the look of these cards, and I've included each of the 6 colours that were made.
1997-98 Totally Certified
One of the best looking sets of the entire decade, and some of the most sought after parallels still till this day.
I have all four versions: Platinum Red (/4299), Platinum Blue (/2599), Platinum Gold (/59), and Mirror Platinum Gold (/25). The golds are INSANE to track down now. I had never seen another copy of either, until just recently when a Mirror Platinum Gold showed up on eBay.
1998-99 Bowman's Best
Bowman's Best was another premium base set. The cards look great. These were, IMO, the best looking cards of Ranford when he was on Tampa Bay. I have the Base, the Refractor, and the Atomic Refractor /100.
1999-00 Pacific
Ranford was a traded dealine pickup by the Detroit Red Wings in 1999. He didn't resign with them, he'd go back to the Oilers as a free agent. 99-00 Pacific was the only set (until ITG Motown Madness, many years later) to show Ranford as a member of the Red Wings.
Like a lot of Pacific sets, there were a lot of parallels. I have them all I've got the Base, the Red, Emerald & Gold (both /199), Copper /99, Ice Blue /75, and Premier Date /46
1999-00 Dynagon Ice
One of few sets in the 99-00 season that showed Ranford back with the Oilers. Here you see my five card rainbow: Base, Gold /199, Copper /99, Ice Blue /67, and Premier Date /63
And that's a wrap! What do you guys think? Was there a set or two I didn't include that I should have? As I mentioned before, I'd like to come back and do another top-20, that will show cards made after his retirement.
Another thing, that just makes me feel old.... There's been more seasons (20) since my favourite player last played, than there were seasons in which he actually played (15).
I thought it would be fun to do a "top 20", but I've limited this to cards that were released while he was playing, so nothing from after the 1999-00 season. Instead of "cards" I've done "rainbows", showing off each variant.
The other goal I had here, was to show off the era. We always see comments about how much people loved "the Shiny 90s". I'm no different. There was some AWESOME stuff made during those days, even if a lot of it isn't worth much today.
These 20 pics are not necessarily my favourites (though many of my favourites of that era are in here). I've also included some that I think are important, just with how the hobby evolved through the 90s, and into today.
Rather than a real "ranking" I've just put these in chronological order, with a quite note as to why I included it.
Hope you all enjoy, and I plan to do a similar top 20 thread, highlighting cards that came out after his retirement.
1986-87 Moncton Golden Flames Pre-RC
This was a card I could not track down in the 90s, and proof that targeted adds work. The entire reason I signed up for eBay was seeing an add for one of these. That add (in the early 2000s) created a monster!
I have a few copies, but I included this one, because of the signature. The autograph is almost as old as the card. The only cards I've ever seen where Bill signed the letters like that (instead of what you'll see later in this thread) were signed before he was traded to Edmonton.
1987-88 Rookie Card "rainbow".
I've included both the Topps & O-Pee-Chee versions. I can remember how excited I was to finally own a copy of this in the mid 90s. His rookie card, it's a classic (at least for me!)
1989-90 OPC. There was no Topps version of this card. Ranford's first as an Oiler
1990-91 UD French
Not really a "rainbow", but he had two cards in this set. This UD Series was a game changer for hockey, bringing "premium" cardboard into the hobby. There's the base, and one commemorating Ranford winning the Conn Smyth. I picked the French versions, because of how insane the French cards were at the time. Very short printed, until they were not
1991-91 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle
Ranford's card from the first premium insert set. These things were a HUGE deal back when they came out, and are still reasonably popular today. When Panini came back in the early 2010s, the did inserts in Score that were a tribute to this set.
1994-5 Be A Player Autograph. Ranford's first pack-inserted Autograph card, from the first set to include autographs.
1992-93 Parkhurst & Emerald Ice.
I'm not sure if Parkhurst or Topps was the first set to do this, but 1992-93 was the first season with parallel cards.
1993-94 Topps Stadium Club
This is the first real "rainbow" for a card, in my collection. Not just a simple parallel, there's five different versions of this card. There's the base, a Member's Only Master Set, and 1st Day Issue. There's also the "OPC" versions of 1st Day Issue, and the base. There is no OPC logo or name, these ones were issued for release in Canada, and you can see the small difference on the back, with 'PTD IN USA' written (and I've highlighted that).
1995-96 Donruss Elite
I picked this one, because this is one of the most "90s" sets out there, in my opinion. There is the base version of these Elite inserts, then the DiCut version. Then there's the uncut version of the DiCut card (my understanding is that these should have been cut, but many were not).
1995-96 Select Certified
Not the only card to use an image like this, but I like the look of this one more than the Topps Finest from the same year. It shows Ranford after his trade back to Boston, but it was obviously a picture taken early, showing him with an all white mask.
This pick includes the base card, and the mirror gold.
1996-97 Be A Player
The Be A Player brand had switched from Upper Deck to Pinnacle. Not only did they still have one-autograph-per-pack, but they also did foil parallels of the autographs.
1996-97 Score
I could not have a thread like this, and not include at least one card called "Artist's Proof". I picked this set because of the crazy nature of it. The five cards you see are the Base, the Artist's Proof, the Dealer's Choice Artist's Proof, a Golden Blades, and a Special Artists' Proof. There's a spot on the back of the Golden Blades that could be decoded. If it was a winner and you sent it in, you would get a Special Artist's Proof (you can only tell the difference in hand. It's on thicker card stock than the regular Artist's Proof). If a Dealer sent it in, they'd get both the Special, and the Dealer's Choice. The idea was to try and build relationships between collectors and their LCS. My understanding is that it bombed. Badly.
1996-97 Leaf Preferred Steel
How cool are cards made of Metal? I've got both versions, the regular and the gold. When doing the pic I realized that my base no longer has the protective film. My OCD got me to load up COMC and buy a new one (with film) for 88 cents!
1996-97 Ice
The first set of acetate cards. They're still beauties to look at today. I've included both the base and gold versions.
1996-97 Flair
A Premium base set, Flair, made by Fleer. I've included both the regular and Ice Blue.
1997-98 Pacific Invincible
By this time, Ranford had been traded again, to the Washington Capitals. This kind of hockey trade you'd never see today, with the Salary Cap. Bruins decided to blow it up and rebuild. They traded away Ranford, Adam Oates, and Rick Tochett in one deal, for Jim Carey, Anson Carter, Jason Allison, and a couple of draft picks.
I simply love the look of these cards, and I've included each of the 6 colours that were made.
1997-98 Totally Certified
One of the best looking sets of the entire decade, and some of the most sought after parallels still till this day.
I have all four versions: Platinum Red (/4299), Platinum Blue (/2599), Platinum Gold (/59), and Mirror Platinum Gold (/25). The golds are INSANE to track down now. I had never seen another copy of either, until just recently when a Mirror Platinum Gold showed up on eBay.
1998-99 Bowman's Best
Bowman's Best was another premium base set. The cards look great. These were, IMO, the best looking cards of Ranford when he was on Tampa Bay. I have the Base, the Refractor, and the Atomic Refractor /100.
1999-00 Pacific
Ranford was a traded dealine pickup by the Detroit Red Wings in 1999. He didn't resign with them, he'd go back to the Oilers as a free agent. 99-00 Pacific was the only set (until ITG Motown Madness, many years later) to show Ranford as a member of the Red Wings.
Like a lot of Pacific sets, there were a lot of parallels. I have them all
I've got the Base, the Red, Emerald & Gold (both /199), Copper /99, Ice Blue /75, and Premier Date /46
1999-00 Dynagon Ice
One of few sets in the 99-00 season that showed Ranford back with the Oilers. Here you see my five card rainbow: Base, Gold /199, Copper /99, Ice Blue /67, and Premier Date /63
And that's a wrap! What do you guys think? Was there a set or two I didn't include that I should have? As I mentioned before, I'd like to come back and do another top-20, that will show cards made after his retirement.
Another thing, that just makes me feel old.... There's been more seasons (20) since my favourite player last played, than there were seasons in which he actually played (15).
