hckycdn93
Verified Trader,
Hello,
First and foremost I hope everyone had a happy holidays with friends and family as we said good bye to 2021 and set our sights on 2022. I'm a little late to the party with these "year-in-review" posts but better late than never. I tried to narrow it down to the top 21 acquisitions of the year, but even then I had to include a few honorable mentions. So without further adieu, here are my top 21 cards of 2021!
Honorable Mentions:
2005-06 Upper Deck Young Gun Ovechkin BGS 9.5
I purchased this card early in 2021 as the price was relatively low, even back then, and I kept it as a secondary Ovie YG to my BGS 10. Given where the prices are now, I'm happy a picked this copy up when I did. I chuckle to myself at times that back in 2015 or 2016, I couldn't sell a near identical copy for $100. I knew Ovechkin cards would take off one day, I just couldn't have predicted how early and quickly they have sky-rocketed!
2005-06 UD The Cup Noble Numbers (Giguere/Turco) and (Lundqvist/Miller)
Next is a pair of goaltending duals from the Noble Numbers inaugural release. The first are two western conference main-stays during the 2000's, both displaying 4-colour pieces. The Giguere can be traced back to a word mark jersey worn pre-lockout, while the Turco is from the mid-2000's era Stars, a design I would like to see used again in the modern NHL. An added bonus is the player images feature the correct jersey that was used in the patch window, something I wish card companies did more often, especially with alternate or third jerseys. The dual Lundqvist/Miller is fitting to show this year in particular, as both have officially retired this offseason and a new era of goaltending can take the reigns. The 2021-22 season has been the first without Miller and Lundqvist since the 2001-02 season.
2005-06 The Cup Base set (1-100; missing #43)
Another pickup I couldn't keep off is a 99% complete inaugural 2005-06 The Cup Bases set! The only card left to complete it is #43 Zetterberg so please reach out to me if you have one available!
Complete sets from this cup run are becoming increasingly rare and more expensive by the year it seems, so I was quite happy to add it to the growing 05-06 collection. Key cards are the Gretzky, Howe and Lemieux cards pictured below, however if you wish to see the rest of the cards included just click the Flickr album link here
[
2005-06 Ultimate National Heroes Patches
For those unfamiliar with the set, these Ultimate Patches were numbered out of 25 and featured the player's home country flag as a backdrop. However, there were a few star players which were short printed to just 10 copies, and this makes up the majority of the lot that I purchased. Among my favorite pieces include an eye catching patch on the Rob Blake /25, Nice 3 and 4-colour pieces on the Richards and Thornton short prints, and a great 3-colour Joe Sakic SP.
2005-06 Fleer En Fuego base and Shields (1/1)
The last group of cards on the honorable mentions list are four cards from the En Fuego Hot Prospects series, each numbered to only one copy. The base card is of Dany Heatley, the rookies include Hoggan, Alberts and Dallman. If there were any bigger names in the rookie crop it would have for sure made it into the top 21, but luckily for me, the cards ahead of it were too strong in my opinion.
Now to the top 21 of 2021..
#21. 2005-06 ITG Ultimate 6th Memorabilia Emblem Attic Gold Doug Harvey (1/1)
Among my favorite cards from the 2005-06 season, vintage emblem patch pieces never get old. This card features a 3-colour Canadiens piece from their glory days, and numbered to only one copy, there aren't many acquisitions that beat that in my books.
#20. 2005-06 UD SP Game Used By The Letter Kovalchuk (9/9)
One of the most eye-popping patches in my collection, this Kovalchuk piece features a large 3-colour nameplate from the "K" in his name. The Thrasher's jersey produced some great swatches and patches over the years, and this is no exception. Being limited to only nine copies also helps with making this card extra special.
#19. 2005-06 UD SP Authentic Rareified Rookies Andy Wozniewski and Giblert Brule (1/1)
Its not every day that you find cards from the Rareified Rookies set, each one is numbered 1 of 1. The Wozniewski came via a facebook transaction, while the Brule was a successful Ebay bid. The help I have received from various members on facebook is always appreciated and a big reason I am able to add to my collection consistently.
#18. 2005-06 ITG Crosby Series Emerald Base #2, #12, #20 and #24 BGS 9.5 (1/1)
I was lucky enough to grab four Crosby rookie year 1/1 emerald parallel base cards from ITG's release documenting Sidney Crosby's career milestones to that point, all graded BGS 9.5 no less!. Being from Nova Scotia, its pretty special to have a Crosby card from his days on the Dartmouth Subways! For those wondering how he faired during his 2001-02 season on the team, he recorded a staggering 106 goals and 217 points... in 81 games. Just craziness, really happy to add these cards to my collection.
#17. 2005-06 ITG Heroes and Prospects Autograph Herb Carneige
At 17 we have my first Herb Carneige autograph. A don't blame anyone for having never heard of this player, I too was not very familiar with his story until only a few years ago. Essentially, he is regarded as the best Afro-Canadian hockey player never to play in the NHL. He played with Jean Beliveau during his time with the Quebec Aces and was a great help to the young center showing him the ropes. A truly remarkable story and could very well have been the "Jackie Robinson of hockey" had circumstances been different.
I am not aware how many licensed products are out there that feature his autograph, I do know that his autograph from this set regularly sells north of $100 all day long. That is what made my purchase so surprising, I was able to hit the BIN on my PSA/DNA card for only $30! A card I have been after for years, I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass me by.
If you wish to read more about Herb's career, just click the link here
#16. 1957 Topps Johnny Bucyk RC #10 PSA 7
This is the first card from my PSA submission to appear on the list, a great vintage rookie card from 1957. I did attempt to put together the 1957 topps set in PSA 7-8 grades a few years back, but sold most of them to fund a purchase of a lifetime, which I do not regret by any means. However, I did hang onto an ungraded Bucyk rookie, speculating it would grade about a 7. Fast forward a few years and I decided to finally submit it and I was right on the money with my analysis. I would love to upgrade this to a PSA 8 if anyone has one and is interested. I am also open to acquiring any PSA 8s from this set if you have any, just let me know what you've got!
#15. 2005-06 UD Game Patch Series 2 Wayne Gretzky 3-colour patch (11/15)
This is a true white whale pick up, I have searched every possible facebook group, forum and ebay tag for this card. Up until a year or so ago, I had never even seen a picture of this card. This was by far the biggest series 2 patch left for me to find so I was ecstatic to add this one to the collection. A 3-colour Kings patch of the Great One, it doesn't get much better than that! Now if only I could find his series 1 brother, to this day, I have never seen a listing for one.
#14. 2005-06 HG Glossy Set Progress
I will be brief for my next collection of acquisitions, all of which are from the 05-06 high gloss set that I am building. The big milestone hit this past year was surpassing the 50% completion mark with my 22 finds from 2021. Some of the featured superstars include Kovalchuk, Sakic, Yzerman, Niedermayer, and Hasek. Rookie finds include Hoggan, Foy and Alexander Steen in PSA 9! I plan on displaying the best of the 50 percent mark so stay tuned for that post!
Series 1:
Series 2:
#13. 2005-06 UD Victory Gold Crosby RC #285 (30/100) PSA 8.5
Number 13 features the second card from my PSA submission, a gold parallel victory of Sidney Crosby, graded PSA 8.5. The victory release from 05-06 had issues with chipping, particularly the gold and black parallels, so an 8.5 was pretty great in my opinion. Its currently the highest graded by PSA, though I know there are some higher grade BGS copies around.
#12. 2005-06 ITG Heroes and Prospects Hero Memorabilia George Hainsworth SP (3-clr)
Up next is a 3-colour George Hainsworth jersey card from the H&P series. This card is actually a SP from the Heroes Memorabilia set, with only 30 copies produced. The aesthetics of this card are second to none, with the 1920s-1930s sweater piece popping out of the card. It is among my favorite cards in my collection.
#11. 2005-06 UD Powerplay Specialty Patches Dominik Hasek #SP-DO (5/5)
I cannot understate how incredibly excited I was to complete the deal for this card. For any hardcore Hasek collectors out there, or any Player collector out there, you can appreciate how rare of a find these patches are. The powerplay release wasn't a high end product and were widely available, directed at the casual or young collector. This indicates a high print run with the low numbered chase cards few and far in between, similar to the victory release with black parallels.
What makes this card extra special is that the 3-coloured "goat head" patch comes from the 1998 All-Star jersey he wore, meaning it can be photo matched to an extent.
#10. 2005-06 The Cup Dual NHL Autographed Shields Staal/Gerber (1/1)
The greatest find from my summer Alberta trip, I found this card in Edmonton at Wayne's Sports Card & Collectibles. I wasn't really expecting to find anything this rare on display but to my surprise there it was. We struck a deal and I had a great experience talking to the owners there, I would recommend visiting if you have time and are in Edmonton. This was my first dual auto shield card from this set, and from the Stanley Cup winners from 2006 no less!
#9. 2005-06 UD Parkhurst Facsimile Autograph Set (1-700), only missing #587 Crosby Season Highlights
I had the opportunity to purchase a complete set (minus one card) of 2005-06 Parkhurst facsimile autographed parallel cards. A total of 700 cards, each numbered out of 100.
For those unfamiliar with the set, Parkhurst released a parallel set numbered to 100 for every single card featured in the 700 card set. This serial number was found on the reverse of the card, while the front featured a facsimile autograph on the front. Oddly enough, there were a few cards produced that didn't feature an autograph print, but rather the player's name written in cursive writing. The base parallels included active superstars such as Lemieux, Sakic, Yzerman and Brodeur and only one retired player, #500 Gordie Howe. The latter 200 cards featured smaller subsets including captains, team logos, season highlights and of course the 70 rookie cards. Key rookies include Getzlaf, Perry, Lundqvist, Ovechkin and Crosby. To differentiate between the regular base subsets, the parallels used a red border vs. the base beige border. Many of these cards could be easily mistaken for the regular base cards, and likely have been in the past, making purchasing a 99.9% complete set a truly rare find.
The only card that was not included in this purchase was the #587 Crosby Season Highlights card /100, so if anyone has it I would be interested in purchasing it! Picture is below for reference.
I've included a side by side comparison of the Ovechkin RC, base and parallel so you can see the differences.
Base BGS 10 RC I no longer own:
Parallel RC 11/100:
Below are all the Crosby and Ovechkins featured in the set, minus the missing #587. The spaces in the proceeding page scans are for these cards which have been moved to toploaders or one-touch holders. I own 10 of the Ovechkin and Crosby cards from the set, my favorite of which commemorates "the goal" Ovechkin scored against Phoenix on January 16, 2006. An iconic pose for one of, if not greatest, goal scorer of all-time.
If you wish to view the full post I made regarding this set, you can view it here.
#8. 2005-06 ITG Ultimate 6th Memorabilia Builders Cut Autograph James D. Norris (1/1)
Its always a special pickup to add vintage cut autographs, true one-of-one items. The son of James E. Norris, whom the Norris Trophy is named after, was part owner of the Blackhawks during their cup win in 1961. Prior to that, he served as president to the Red Wings organization through 1952. He accumulated an astonishing 6 Stanley Cups in the two organizations. Also of note, he served as a lieutenant in the US Navy through World War 2, which adds to the card for me as a history enthusiast. He sadly passed away in 1966, so his signature would be quite a challenge to find as he has been gone for over 50 years. This is truly a unique piece of hockey history, a true one-of-one in my opinion!
#7. 2005-06 The Cup Legendary Cuts King Clancy (2/5)
Speaking of vintage cut autographs, up next from the inaugural 2005-06 Cup release, King Clancy! Not often do we see vintage featured in The Cup releases, but the first release did feature some little known cut autographs from some early hockey legends, including Clancy. A Toronto Maple Leafs legend, and one of the first hockey superstars, his career spanned the 1921-22 season with the original Ottawa Senators, until his retirement with Toronto in 1936-37. Although his hockey career as a defenseman was exceptional, his humanitarian efforts off of the ice are what left a lasting legacy. To this day, the NHL awards the King Clancy Memorial Trophy to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.
A few extra special notes about the man, he was a member of the first Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup in 1932, coached the Montreal Maroons in 1937-38 and was purchased by the Conn Smyth and the Leafs off of a horse racing gamble which overcame an incredible 107-1 winnings odds. For the sake of time, if you wish to read more about that story just click the link here.
#6. 2005-06 Fleer Ultra Alexander Ovechkin Fresh Ink Blue Parallel (15/25)
As part of a Fresh Ink blue lot I picked up early in the year, at number 6 we have the Ovechkin from the set. With the dramatic increase in price for his rookie year cards, Its becoming increasing difficult to find reasonably priced cards for my Ovechkin rookie PC. This card looks great alongside my Crosby Fresh Ink blue and my regular Fresh Ink Ovechkin. Now all I need is to find a regular Fresh Ink Crosby to complete the foursome.
#5. 2005-06 UD The Cup Black Parallels #1 Giguere, #151 Balastik RC and #174 Steen RC (1/1).
The first, Giguere, is particularly unique as it is card #1 in the set. Its also my first base black parallel, I owned two other cards from the set previous to this but both are rookies. The second acquisition is the Balastik RC, a largely forgotten NHL player but special to me nonetheless. I missed out on the initial listing a few years back but I wasn't going to let it get away a second time. The last is the Steen, a Stanley Cup champion and recently retired after a long and successful career. This past year's acquisitions catapult my cup black parallels from 1 to 4!
#4. 2005-06 ITG Heroes & Prospects Complete Jersey Gold Sidney Crosby CJ-25 (1/1)
A true one-of-a-kind item, this original release card features pre-NHL Crosby memorabilia including a two-color jersey, two-color patch, tie-down and a 4-colour emblem. The memorabilia was taken from a jersey worn in the 2003 CHL Canada-Russia series, where the QMJHL team took on Russia's best in Halifax on November 20,2003. Crosby recorded a second period goal in a 3-2 loss.
I feel very fortunate that I was not outbid on this card given the numerous Crosby collectors with much deeper pockets out there so it will be a card I will cherish for a long time.
#3. 2005-06 ITG Ultimate 6th Memorabilia Triple Autographs Gold Svatos/Phaneuf/Ovechkin PSA 8 (1/1)
Its not very often, especially these days, that I come across an Ovechkin rookie year card and win an auction. This card comes the ITG release, featuring rookie year autographs of Marek Svatos, Dion Phaneuf and Alexander Ovechkin. It was at some point, cracked out of its original holder and graded a PSA 8. The original label was kept on the reverse of the label, which I thought was a nice touch. The gold versions were each limited to one copy, making this among the rarest Ovechkin pieces I own.
#2. 2005-06 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia Lumbergraphs Turk Broda (1/1)
Among the most incredible cards in all of my collection, this card features Turk Broda's autograph on a stick piece from his time with the Maple Leafs. Growing up a Leaf's fan and also a goaltender in my spare time, this card is definitely not one I ever dreamed of owning. Broda, a 5-time Cup Champion and 2-time Vezina winner, passed away in 1972 so its safe to assume his autograph is not easy to find. I will surely treasure this piece as one of the cornerstones of my 2005-06 collection.
And #1....
#1. 2005-06 UD Phenomenal Beginnings Sidney Crosby Autograph (16/25) PSA 9 and (19/25) PSA 10
A quick synopsis of the history of this issue for those unfamiliar with this card, this Crosby autograph was randomly inserted into boxes which Upper Deck created to commemorate Crosby's rookie campaign. Hundred's of thousands of boxes, normally containing the standard 20-card set + 1 oversized card, were readily abundant everywhere until only about 5 or so years ago, when the supply dried up and they disappeared from retail stores. A huge production run and very remote odds of finding the randomly inserted autograph.
I submitted these two cards with my PSA submission and I was pretty ecstatic with the result. There have been three graded, with my two copies being the highest ever graded in PSA 9 and 10 respectively. I feel incredibly fortunate to have these in my collection and consider them cornerstone pieces in my 2005-06 collection.
Well if you have made it this far, thank you for the time and please do not hesitate to contact me with information on cards I need or those you are looking to sell. Looking forward to what 2022 will bring, comments/feedback are welcome and have a great weekend everyone!
First and foremost I hope everyone had a happy holidays with friends and family as we said good bye to 2021 and set our sights on 2022. I'm a little late to the party with these "year-in-review" posts but better late than never. I tried to narrow it down to the top 21 acquisitions of the year, but even then I had to include a few honorable mentions. So without further adieu, here are my top 21 cards of 2021!
Honorable Mentions:
2005-06 Upper Deck Young Gun Ovechkin BGS 9.5
I purchased this card early in 2021 as the price was relatively low, even back then, and I kept it as a secondary Ovie YG to my BGS 10. Given where the prices are now, I'm happy a picked this copy up when I did. I chuckle to myself at times that back in 2015 or 2016, I couldn't sell a near identical copy for $100. I knew Ovechkin cards would take off one day, I just couldn't have predicted how early and quickly they have sky-rocketed!
2005-06 UD The Cup Noble Numbers (Giguere/Turco) and (Lundqvist/Miller)
Next is a pair of goaltending duals from the Noble Numbers inaugural release. The first are two western conference main-stays during the 2000's, both displaying 4-colour pieces. The Giguere can be traced back to a word mark jersey worn pre-lockout, while the Turco is from the mid-2000's era Stars, a design I would like to see used again in the modern NHL. An added bonus is the player images feature the correct jersey that was used in the patch window, something I wish card companies did more often, especially with alternate or third jerseys. The dual Lundqvist/Miller is fitting to show this year in particular, as both have officially retired this offseason and a new era of goaltending can take the reigns. The 2021-22 season has been the first without Miller and Lundqvist since the 2001-02 season.
2005-06 The Cup Base set (1-100; missing #43)
Another pickup I couldn't keep off is a 99% complete inaugural 2005-06 The Cup Bases set! The only card left to complete it is #43 Zetterberg so please reach out to me if you have one available!
Complete sets from this cup run are becoming increasingly rare and more expensive by the year it seems, so I was quite happy to add it to the growing 05-06 collection. Key cards are the Gretzky, Howe and Lemieux cards pictured below, however if you wish to see the rest of the cards included just click the Flickr album link here
[
2005-06 Ultimate National Heroes Patches
For those unfamiliar with the set, these Ultimate Patches were numbered out of 25 and featured the player's home country flag as a backdrop. However, there were a few star players which were short printed to just 10 copies, and this makes up the majority of the lot that I purchased. Among my favorite pieces include an eye catching patch on the Rob Blake /25, Nice 3 and 4-colour pieces on the Richards and Thornton short prints, and a great 3-colour Joe Sakic SP.
2005-06 Fleer En Fuego base and Shields (1/1)
The last group of cards on the honorable mentions list are four cards from the En Fuego Hot Prospects series, each numbered to only one copy. The base card is of Dany Heatley, the rookies include Hoggan, Alberts and Dallman. If there were any bigger names in the rookie crop it would have for sure made it into the top 21, but luckily for me, the cards ahead of it were too strong in my opinion.
Now to the top 21 of 2021..
#21. 2005-06 ITG Ultimate 6th Memorabilia Emblem Attic Gold Doug Harvey (1/1)
Among my favorite cards from the 2005-06 season, vintage emblem patch pieces never get old. This card features a 3-colour Canadiens piece from their glory days, and numbered to only one copy, there aren't many acquisitions that beat that in my books.
#20. 2005-06 UD SP Game Used By The Letter Kovalchuk (9/9)
One of the most eye-popping patches in my collection, this Kovalchuk piece features a large 3-colour nameplate from the "K" in his name. The Thrasher's jersey produced some great swatches and patches over the years, and this is no exception. Being limited to only nine copies also helps with making this card extra special.
#19. 2005-06 UD SP Authentic Rareified Rookies Andy Wozniewski and Giblert Brule (1/1)
Its not every day that you find cards from the Rareified Rookies set, each one is numbered 1 of 1. The Wozniewski came via a facebook transaction, while the Brule was a successful Ebay bid. The help I have received from various members on facebook is always appreciated and a big reason I am able to add to my collection consistently.
#18. 2005-06 ITG Crosby Series Emerald Base #2, #12, #20 and #24 BGS 9.5 (1/1)
I was lucky enough to grab four Crosby rookie year 1/1 emerald parallel base cards from ITG's release documenting Sidney Crosby's career milestones to that point, all graded BGS 9.5 no less!. Being from Nova Scotia, its pretty special to have a Crosby card from his days on the Dartmouth Subways! For those wondering how he faired during his 2001-02 season on the team, he recorded a staggering 106 goals and 217 points... in 81 games. Just craziness, really happy to add these cards to my collection.
#17. 2005-06 ITG Heroes and Prospects Autograph Herb Carneige
At 17 we have my first Herb Carneige autograph. A don't blame anyone for having never heard of this player, I too was not very familiar with his story until only a few years ago. Essentially, he is regarded as the best Afro-Canadian hockey player never to play in the NHL. He played with Jean Beliveau during his time with the Quebec Aces and was a great help to the young center showing him the ropes. A truly remarkable story and could very well have been the "Jackie Robinson of hockey" had circumstances been different.
I am not aware how many licensed products are out there that feature his autograph, I do know that his autograph from this set regularly sells north of $100 all day long. That is what made my purchase so surprising, I was able to hit the BIN on my PSA/DNA card for only $30! A card I have been after for years, I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass me by.
If you wish to read more about Herb's career, just click the link here
#16. 1957 Topps Johnny Bucyk RC #10 PSA 7
This is the first card from my PSA submission to appear on the list, a great vintage rookie card from 1957. I did attempt to put together the 1957 topps set in PSA 7-8 grades a few years back, but sold most of them to fund a purchase of a lifetime, which I do not regret by any means. However, I did hang onto an ungraded Bucyk rookie, speculating it would grade about a 7. Fast forward a few years and I decided to finally submit it and I was right on the money with my analysis. I would love to upgrade this to a PSA 8 if anyone has one and is interested. I am also open to acquiring any PSA 8s from this set if you have any, just let me know what you've got!
#15. 2005-06 UD Game Patch Series 2 Wayne Gretzky 3-colour patch (11/15)
This is a true white whale pick up, I have searched every possible facebook group, forum and ebay tag for this card. Up until a year or so ago, I had never even seen a picture of this card. This was by far the biggest series 2 patch left for me to find so I was ecstatic to add this one to the collection. A 3-colour Kings patch of the Great One, it doesn't get much better than that! Now if only I could find his series 1 brother, to this day, I have never seen a listing for one.
#14. 2005-06 HG Glossy Set Progress
I will be brief for my next collection of acquisitions, all of which are from the 05-06 high gloss set that I am building. The big milestone hit this past year was surpassing the 50% completion mark with my 22 finds from 2021. Some of the featured superstars include Kovalchuk, Sakic, Yzerman, Niedermayer, and Hasek. Rookie finds include Hoggan, Foy and Alexander Steen in PSA 9! I plan on displaying the best of the 50 percent mark so stay tuned for that post!
Series 1:
Series 2:
#13. 2005-06 UD Victory Gold Crosby RC #285 (30/100) PSA 8.5
Number 13 features the second card from my PSA submission, a gold parallel victory of Sidney Crosby, graded PSA 8.5. The victory release from 05-06 had issues with chipping, particularly the gold and black parallels, so an 8.5 was pretty great in my opinion. Its currently the highest graded by PSA, though I know there are some higher grade BGS copies around.
#12. 2005-06 ITG Heroes and Prospects Hero Memorabilia George Hainsworth SP (3-clr)
Up next is a 3-colour George Hainsworth jersey card from the H&P series. This card is actually a SP from the Heroes Memorabilia set, with only 30 copies produced. The aesthetics of this card are second to none, with the 1920s-1930s sweater piece popping out of the card. It is among my favorite cards in my collection.
#11. 2005-06 UD Powerplay Specialty Patches Dominik Hasek #SP-DO (5/5)
I cannot understate how incredibly excited I was to complete the deal for this card. For any hardcore Hasek collectors out there, or any Player collector out there, you can appreciate how rare of a find these patches are. The powerplay release wasn't a high end product and were widely available, directed at the casual or young collector. This indicates a high print run with the low numbered chase cards few and far in between, similar to the victory release with black parallels.
What makes this card extra special is that the 3-coloured "goat head" patch comes from the 1998 All-Star jersey he wore, meaning it can be photo matched to an extent.
#10. 2005-06 The Cup Dual NHL Autographed Shields Staal/Gerber (1/1)
The greatest find from my summer Alberta trip, I found this card in Edmonton at Wayne's Sports Card & Collectibles. I wasn't really expecting to find anything this rare on display but to my surprise there it was. We struck a deal and I had a great experience talking to the owners there, I would recommend visiting if you have time and are in Edmonton. This was my first dual auto shield card from this set, and from the Stanley Cup winners from 2006 no less!
#9. 2005-06 UD Parkhurst Facsimile Autograph Set (1-700), only missing #587 Crosby Season Highlights
I had the opportunity to purchase a complete set (minus one card) of 2005-06 Parkhurst facsimile autographed parallel cards. A total of 700 cards, each numbered out of 100.
For those unfamiliar with the set, Parkhurst released a parallel set numbered to 100 for every single card featured in the 700 card set. This serial number was found on the reverse of the card, while the front featured a facsimile autograph on the front. Oddly enough, there were a few cards produced that didn't feature an autograph print, but rather the player's name written in cursive writing. The base parallels included active superstars such as Lemieux, Sakic, Yzerman and Brodeur and only one retired player, #500 Gordie Howe. The latter 200 cards featured smaller subsets including captains, team logos, season highlights and of course the 70 rookie cards. Key rookies include Getzlaf, Perry, Lundqvist, Ovechkin and Crosby. To differentiate between the regular base subsets, the parallels used a red border vs. the base beige border. Many of these cards could be easily mistaken for the regular base cards, and likely have been in the past, making purchasing a 99.9% complete set a truly rare find.
The only card that was not included in this purchase was the #587 Crosby Season Highlights card /100, so if anyone has it I would be interested in purchasing it! Picture is below for reference.
I've included a side by side comparison of the Ovechkin RC, base and parallel so you can see the differences.
Base BGS 10 RC I no longer own:
Parallel RC 11/100:
Below are all the Crosby and Ovechkins featured in the set, minus the missing #587. The spaces in the proceeding page scans are for these cards which have been moved to toploaders or one-touch holders. I own 10 of the Ovechkin and Crosby cards from the set, my favorite of which commemorates "the goal" Ovechkin scored against Phoenix on January 16, 2006. An iconic pose for one of, if not greatest, goal scorer of all-time.
If you wish to view the full post I made regarding this set, you can view it here.
#8. 2005-06 ITG Ultimate 6th Memorabilia Builders Cut Autograph James D. Norris (1/1)
Its always a special pickup to add vintage cut autographs, true one-of-one items. The son of James E. Norris, whom the Norris Trophy is named after, was part owner of the Blackhawks during their cup win in 1961. Prior to that, he served as president to the Red Wings organization through 1952. He accumulated an astonishing 6 Stanley Cups in the two organizations. Also of note, he served as a lieutenant in the US Navy through World War 2, which adds to the card for me as a history enthusiast. He sadly passed away in 1966, so his signature would be quite a challenge to find as he has been gone for over 50 years. This is truly a unique piece of hockey history, a true one-of-one in my opinion!
#7. 2005-06 The Cup Legendary Cuts King Clancy (2/5)
Speaking of vintage cut autographs, up next from the inaugural 2005-06 Cup release, King Clancy! Not often do we see vintage featured in The Cup releases, but the first release did feature some little known cut autographs from some early hockey legends, including Clancy. A Toronto Maple Leafs legend, and one of the first hockey superstars, his career spanned the 1921-22 season with the original Ottawa Senators, until his retirement with Toronto in 1936-37. Although his hockey career as a defenseman was exceptional, his humanitarian efforts off of the ice are what left a lasting legacy. To this day, the NHL awards the King Clancy Memorial Trophy to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.
A few extra special notes about the man, he was a member of the first Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup in 1932, coached the Montreal Maroons in 1937-38 and was purchased by the Conn Smyth and the Leafs off of a horse racing gamble which overcame an incredible 107-1 winnings odds. For the sake of time, if you wish to read more about that story just click the link here.
#6. 2005-06 Fleer Ultra Alexander Ovechkin Fresh Ink Blue Parallel (15/25)
As part of a Fresh Ink blue lot I picked up early in the year, at number 6 we have the Ovechkin from the set. With the dramatic increase in price for his rookie year cards, Its becoming increasing difficult to find reasonably priced cards for my Ovechkin rookie PC. This card looks great alongside my Crosby Fresh Ink blue and my regular Fresh Ink Ovechkin. Now all I need is to find a regular Fresh Ink Crosby to complete the foursome.
#5. 2005-06 UD The Cup Black Parallels #1 Giguere, #151 Balastik RC and #174 Steen RC (1/1).
The first, Giguere, is particularly unique as it is card #1 in the set. Its also my first base black parallel, I owned two other cards from the set previous to this but both are rookies. The second acquisition is the Balastik RC, a largely forgotten NHL player but special to me nonetheless. I missed out on the initial listing a few years back but I wasn't going to let it get away a second time. The last is the Steen, a Stanley Cup champion and recently retired after a long and successful career. This past year's acquisitions catapult my cup black parallels from 1 to 4!
#4. 2005-06 ITG Heroes & Prospects Complete Jersey Gold Sidney Crosby CJ-25 (1/1)
A true one-of-a-kind item, this original release card features pre-NHL Crosby memorabilia including a two-color jersey, two-color patch, tie-down and a 4-colour emblem. The memorabilia was taken from a jersey worn in the 2003 CHL Canada-Russia series, where the QMJHL team took on Russia's best in Halifax on November 20,2003. Crosby recorded a second period goal in a 3-2 loss.
I feel very fortunate that I was not outbid on this card given the numerous Crosby collectors with much deeper pockets out there so it will be a card I will cherish for a long time.
#3. 2005-06 ITG Ultimate 6th Memorabilia Triple Autographs Gold Svatos/Phaneuf/Ovechkin PSA 8 (1/1)
Its not very often, especially these days, that I come across an Ovechkin rookie year card and win an auction. This card comes the ITG release, featuring rookie year autographs of Marek Svatos, Dion Phaneuf and Alexander Ovechkin. It was at some point, cracked out of its original holder and graded a PSA 8. The original label was kept on the reverse of the label, which I thought was a nice touch. The gold versions were each limited to one copy, making this among the rarest Ovechkin pieces I own.
#2. 2005-06 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia Lumbergraphs Turk Broda (1/1)
Among the most incredible cards in all of my collection, this card features Turk Broda's autograph on a stick piece from his time with the Maple Leafs. Growing up a Leaf's fan and also a goaltender in my spare time, this card is definitely not one I ever dreamed of owning. Broda, a 5-time Cup Champion and 2-time Vezina winner, passed away in 1972 so its safe to assume his autograph is not easy to find. I will surely treasure this piece as one of the cornerstones of my 2005-06 collection.
And #1....
#1. 2005-06 UD Phenomenal Beginnings Sidney Crosby Autograph (16/25) PSA 9 and (19/25) PSA 10
A quick synopsis of the history of this issue for those unfamiliar with this card, this Crosby autograph was randomly inserted into boxes which Upper Deck created to commemorate Crosby's rookie campaign. Hundred's of thousands of boxes, normally containing the standard 20-card set + 1 oversized card, were readily abundant everywhere until only about 5 or so years ago, when the supply dried up and they disappeared from retail stores. A huge production run and very remote odds of finding the randomly inserted autograph.
I submitted these two cards with my PSA submission and I was pretty ecstatic with the result. There have been three graded, with my two copies being the highest ever graded in PSA 9 and 10 respectively. I feel incredibly fortunate to have these in my collection and consider them cornerstone pieces in my 2005-06 collection.
Well if you have made it this far, thank you for the time and please do not hesitate to contact me with information on cards I need or those you are looking to sell. Looking forward to what 2022 will bring, comments/feedback are welcome and have a great weekend everyone!
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