deepbluejacket
Verified Trader,
This is one of my favorite cards of all time because of its bio:
"Here's a quick trivia question for you. Who had the worst BA of the 80s? That's right, Steve Jeltz."
When I'm looking at a card, I enjoy being informed that I'm looking at the least effective hitter in the league. This card is barely worth a nickel, but I remember it and will always remember it.
Hockey card collectors of the 1980s didn't get much in terms of bio, especially after Topps returned from its hiatus. More often than not, you'd get an inconsequential highlight from an inconsequential game that seemed to have been referenced at random.
1990-91 marked the return of biographies as both Pro Set and Score included lengthy write-ups in their design. Score went all out with extensive detail; Pro Set...well, they tried.
Below are some of my favorite bits of commentary from Series 1.
Mike McPhee has never scored against Washington. This is the kind of information I demand, especially when it is presented without any context at all. Would McPhee ever score against Washington? Yes. He finished his career with 6 goals against the Capitals, spurred on by Pro Set calling him out, no doubt.
Career ambitions
An artifact of the time is that many hockey players not only had to plan for their post-career, but many had to work jobs in the summer! Ron Francis did not envision running an NHL franchise, but he was working toward his real estate license. Dave Tippett had the jump on him, already running a home renovation business. Bob Errey also had his eye on housing while Zarley Zalapski looked forward to becoming a teacher. Jim Sandlak wanted to be a fireman when he grew up, much like his teammate Petri Skriko. But my favorite sidejob was for Garth Butcher. Known as "Strangler", Butcher sells cars while enjoying the music of James Taylor. Note to self: do not buy a car from a salesman called "Strangler."
Someone's found an almanac
Pro Set was really, really into almanac oddities involving players' names. Did you know Rick Zombo is listed last in the directory? Or that John Vanbiesbrouck has the longest surname among goaltenders? Or that Dave McLlwain has 5 consecutive consonants in his name? How about that Keith Brown is one of 7 Browns and Jim Johnson is one of 7 Johnsons? Now you do. Pro Set is also very obsessed over how many Americans play for the North Stars, bringing up in multiple bios.
Spare Time
Paul Cavallini and Peter Zezel both starred in Youngblood. Kirk McLean listens to Phil Collins, while Tony Hrkac is more of a Led Zeppelin guy, which he listens to while he eats perogies. (Pro Set spelled "Zeppelin" wrong.) Ed Olczyk likes thoroughbreds, a love that has continued to this day. But the player with the craziest off season habit is Vincent Damphousse, who works on strength training. Strength training? In the summer?! He's a madman!
Typos
A set that is legendary for its errors naturally made a legion of errors in the bio, almost all of them uncorrected. Here are a few good ones:
Dale Hunter: They wanted to call him roguish, but he ended up rougish, which paints a disturbing picture.
Brain Curran: Curran returns to Portland, OR each summer to play junior hockey, which must be terrifying for those kids. (He 'played' junior hockey in OR.)
Al Iafrate: Won the 'hottest' shot competition at the All-Star game.
Mike Richter: His bio mentions that Ron Hextall lays in Philadelphia. Who hypnotized Hextall into thinking he was a chicken?
Kings players: There are many plural possessives blown which lead to players being "The King's" best defenseman and such, which makes me smile.
Ron Tugnutt: Led all Nordiques goaltenders with 5 wins. Wait, I'm being told that's NOT a typo. Tough season!
Missed Opportunity
Joe Cirella has the shortest bio, which can be summed up as "He's okay, but he probably should be better." But Joe Cirella can lay claim to something highly unusual. He was the first modern era player to play an entire season in the NHL and follow up it by spending the next season in Canadian juniors. That might have been worth telling us. They clearly had the space.
Genuine interest
Dean Evason's older brother is named "Heavy". I thought that might be a typo, but I spent some time on the internet and learned that he was indeed called Heavy, he is no longer with us, and he was loved by all.
Sean Burke leads all New Jersey goaltenders with 4 career shutouts, although they then undercut that achievement by informing us that no other Devils' goalie has more than 1. Don't worry, Devils fans. Martin Brodeur is on his way.
Marc Fortier scored 66 goals and racked up 201 points in his final year of juniors. Then I'm told he was undrafted. That's kind of crazy! It's not like he's 5'4". I am genuinely interested in what NHL scouts saw in him that said "Stay away."
Finally, Pat Elynuik's card taught me that the 1987 Canadian Junior Team was kicked out of the tournament for brawling. I spent some time reading through that unusual outcome.
That's all for Series 1. In Series II, we'll learn that Gerald Diduck has his own fan club on Long Island...again.
Mike
"Here's a quick trivia question for you. Who had the worst BA of the 80s? That's right, Steve Jeltz."
When I'm looking at a card, I enjoy being informed that I'm looking at the least effective hitter in the league. This card is barely worth a nickel, but I remember it and will always remember it.
Hockey card collectors of the 1980s didn't get much in terms of bio, especially after Topps returned from its hiatus. More often than not, you'd get an inconsequential highlight from an inconsequential game that seemed to have been referenced at random.
1990-91 marked the return of biographies as both Pro Set and Score included lengthy write-ups in their design. Score went all out with extensive detail; Pro Set...well, they tried.
Below are some of my favorite bits of commentary from Series 1.
Mike McPhee has never scored against Washington. This is the kind of information I demand, especially when it is presented without any context at all. Would McPhee ever score against Washington? Yes. He finished his career with 6 goals against the Capitals, spurred on by Pro Set calling him out, no doubt.
Career ambitions
An artifact of the time is that many hockey players not only had to plan for their post-career, but many had to work jobs in the summer! Ron Francis did not envision running an NHL franchise, but he was working toward his real estate license. Dave Tippett had the jump on him, already running a home renovation business. Bob Errey also had his eye on housing while Zarley Zalapski looked forward to becoming a teacher. Jim Sandlak wanted to be a fireman when he grew up, much like his teammate Petri Skriko. But my favorite sidejob was for Garth Butcher. Known as "Strangler", Butcher sells cars while enjoying the music of James Taylor. Note to self: do not buy a car from a salesman called "Strangler."
Someone's found an almanac
Pro Set was really, really into almanac oddities involving players' names. Did you know Rick Zombo is listed last in the directory? Or that John Vanbiesbrouck has the longest surname among goaltenders? Or that Dave McLlwain has 5 consecutive consonants in his name? How about that Keith Brown is one of 7 Browns and Jim Johnson is one of 7 Johnsons? Now you do. Pro Set is also very obsessed over how many Americans play for the North Stars, bringing up in multiple bios.
Spare Time
Paul Cavallini and Peter Zezel both starred in Youngblood. Kirk McLean listens to Phil Collins, while Tony Hrkac is more of a Led Zeppelin guy, which he listens to while he eats perogies. (Pro Set spelled "Zeppelin" wrong.) Ed Olczyk likes thoroughbreds, a love that has continued to this day. But the player with the craziest off season habit is Vincent Damphousse, who works on strength training. Strength training? In the summer?! He's a madman!
Typos
A set that is legendary for its errors naturally made a legion of errors in the bio, almost all of them uncorrected. Here are a few good ones:
Dale Hunter: They wanted to call him roguish, but he ended up rougish, which paints a disturbing picture.
Brain Curran: Curran returns to Portland, OR each summer to play junior hockey, which must be terrifying for those kids. (He 'played' junior hockey in OR.)
Al Iafrate: Won the 'hottest' shot competition at the All-Star game.
Mike Richter: His bio mentions that Ron Hextall lays in Philadelphia. Who hypnotized Hextall into thinking he was a chicken?
Kings players: There are many plural possessives blown which lead to players being "The King's" best defenseman and such, which makes me smile.
Ron Tugnutt: Led all Nordiques goaltenders with 5 wins. Wait, I'm being told that's NOT a typo. Tough season!
Missed Opportunity
Joe Cirella has the shortest bio, which can be summed up as "He's okay, but he probably should be better." But Joe Cirella can lay claim to something highly unusual. He was the first modern era player to play an entire season in the NHL and follow up it by spending the next season in Canadian juniors. That might have been worth telling us. They clearly had the space.
Genuine interest
Dean Evason's older brother is named "Heavy". I thought that might be a typo, but I spent some time on the internet and learned that he was indeed called Heavy, he is no longer with us, and he was loved by all.
Sean Burke leads all New Jersey goaltenders with 4 career shutouts, although they then undercut that achievement by informing us that no other Devils' goalie has more than 1. Don't worry, Devils fans. Martin Brodeur is on his way.
Marc Fortier scored 66 goals and racked up 201 points in his final year of juniors. Then I'm told he was undrafted. That's kind of crazy! It's not like he's 5'4". I am genuinely interested in what NHL scouts saw in him that said "Stay away."
Finally, Pat Elynuik's card taught me that the 1987 Canadian Junior Team was kicked out of the tournament for brawling. I spent some time reading through that unusual outcome.
That's all for Series 1. In Series II, we'll learn that Gerald Diduck has his own fan club on Long Island...again.
Mike
That Cirella really made my day.
