Hockey Sticks

A few months ago I shared some baseball cards from the 1980s and 1990s that clearly showed various bat brands of the era, along with some players who were known to use those brands.

 
Well, the other sport I followed (and played) back then was ice hockey. And hockey players can be just as picky about their sticks as baseball players are with their bats. In fact, hockey players might even have more to consider. Along with the length and weight, there's the shaft flex, the blade curve, the blade height, the blade angle, and the lie angle. And after all that is settled, you've got to decide how to tape the blade. And what sort of tape to use. Some players even apply a little wax on the blade after they've taped it.

 

On top of that, NHL hockey has been an international sport for quite some time now. You can go back as far as the late-1980s and find NHL players from Canada, the USA, Sweden, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, and more. Because of this, players toted sticks from all over the place. And as card collectors, we can see all of those stick brands if we look closely enough.

 

So let's flip through some cardboard, and see what we can find. Similar to the baseball bat post, I'm going to stay with the era of hockey I'm most familiar with. Let's call it 1975 through 1995. That matches up well to the hockey cards I have in my collection, too.

 

(Note: Because hockey sticks usually don't show up at close range on trading cards, you might have to zoom in on some of the images a little bit to see the brand names.)

 

Here we go. 

1982-83 Neilson #11 Wayne Gretzky, 19998 Kenner Starting Lineup Timeless Legends #555040 Mike Bossy,
1986-87 Topps Box Bottoms #I Mario Lemieux 

The Finnish brand Titan had eye-catching graphics, often red and white, and also came in a "Turbo" model. The sticks were made outrageously popular by two of the most prolific goal scorers of the 1980s: Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy. It's pretty remarkable that Titan also had a young Mario Lemieux in their stable for a little while.

1981-82 O-Pee-Chee #111 Paul Coffey, 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee #200 Guy Lafleur, 1990-91 Topps #5 Jari Kurri

Koho, another Finnish brand, manufactured sticks that were pretty popular back then as well. The thin red stripes and blocky "KOHO" wordmark made these sticks easy to notice. Other big scorers of the '80s to use Koho sticks include Mario Lemieux, who switched from the Titan brand, and Pat LaFontaine early in his career.

 

 

1988-89 Topps #13 Marcel Dionne, 1994-95 Stadium Club #77 Ray Bourque, 1993-94 Ultra #246 Tomas Sandstrom

 

Sherwood was a solid hockey stick manufacturer out of Canada for many years, and the "P.M.P." models were used by many NHL players throughout the '80s and '90s. I used Sherwoods quite a bit during my high school hockey days. Although the sticks were mostly available in the black, white, or natural wood color, I think Tomas Sandstrom used that red-colored version (see right-hand card) throughout his NHL career, no matter what team he played for.

 

 

 

 

1992-93 Pinnacle #209 Neal Broten, 1992-93 Stadium Club #216 Dave Christian, 1991-92 Upper Deck #20 Jaromir Jagr

 

The Christian Brothers Hockey Company was founded by American hockey royalty. Bill Christian and his brother Roger were members of the 1960 US Olympic hockey team that took home the gold medal. Bill's son Dave (pictured above, middle) was a member of the 1980 US Miracle on Ice hockey team, which also of course took home the gold. On top of that, Bill and Roger had another brother, Gordon, who helped the 1956 US Olympic team take home a silver medal. And to bring it back to the present, Brock Nelson, currently a center for the New York Islanders, is Dave Christian's nephew!

 

All that being said, it's no surprise that the family knew a thing or two about hockey sticks when they started manufacturing them in the early 1960s. It's also no surprise that Dave Christian and his Olympic teammate Neal Broten used these sticks, along with some other notable pros like Jaromir Jagr. That diamond-pattern wrap on the blade is how you know it's a Christian.

 

 

 

 

1974-75 Topps Billy Harris #228, 1975-76 O-Pee-Chee #246 Bobby Lalonde, 1976-77 O-Pee-Chee #91 Marcel Dionne

CCM sticks were popular in the 1970s, but by the time the 1980s rolled around, I feel like the company was much better known for its helmets, pads, and hockey jerseys. The sticks did experience a resurgence in the late-1990s, however, and they've made another comeback here in modern times. Superstar players like Autson Matthews, Sidney Crosby, and Connor McDavid use CCM sticks.

 

 

 

1982-83 O-Pee-Chee #77 Doug Wilson, 1986-87 O-Pee-Chee #173 Al MacInnis, 1988-89 Topps #58 Cam Neely

You can easily notice Canadien sticks on hockey cards by that super-cool 1980s font. I don't remember them being that prevalent, though—among the pros or in local hockey shops.

  

 

1990-91 Kraft #23 Pt LaFontaine, 1992-93 Parkhurst #218 Alexander Mogilny, 1990-91 Pro Set #257 Joe Sakic

Louisville hockey sticks—a brand owned by the very same Louisville Slugger/Hillerich & Bradsby company—were around as far back as the 1970s. However, it wasn't until the 1990s that the "TPS" model (Tournament Players Series) brought the brand into the spotlight. Many big stars of the day used the TPS, as you can see from the three cards above. You'll also see from the photos that Louisville's hockey gloves were quite popular. I wore Louisville gloves for most of my high school and college hockey days.

 

 

 

 

1975-76 O-Pee-Chee #170 Greg Joly, 1987-88 Islanders Police NNO Bryan Trottier, 1990-91 Bowman Hat Tricks #20 Bernie Nicholls

Although the Victoriaville company wasn't really one of the major brands of the time, I remember their sticks being in hockey shops all around Long Island when I was a kid. I feel like quite a few Islanders players used Vic hockey sticks back then, so there must have been something to them.

 

 

 

 

 

1991-92 Parkhurst #207 Wayne Gretzky, 1991-92 Bowman #125 Mike Modano, 1991-92 Parkurst #219 Brett Hull

Yep, this is the same Easton that made those ultra-popular aluminum baseball bats in the 1990s. The superstars you see on the hockey cards above really sold the company's new, fancy aluminum shafts. (Wooden blade not included.) Brett Hull scored a million goals a year with Eastons back then. And the company made an especially shiny silver model for Wayne Gretzky during his days with the Kings. I remember those "Easton Air" hockey gloves you see on the cards above being wildly popular at the time, too.

 

 

 

1992-93 Pinnacle #8 Nicklans Lidstrom, 1983-84 O-Pee-Chee Mats Naslund, 1990-91 Score #224 Sergio Momesso

Montreal, Torspo, and Chimo were three other stick brands I remember back then. However, I just don't think they were used by a whole lot of NHL players. Torspo was a Scandinavian brand, and funny enough, I think Montreal was, too. Chimo sticks were made by Sherwood.

 

 

And I think that covers the hockey stick brands of the era. I know there aren't as many hockey fans around the trading card blogosphere as there are baseball fans, but I'll still pose the questions:

Do you remember any of these stick brands from back then? What brand did your favorite players use? And if you played hockey, what brands did you use?

Thanks for reading!

Stevie Ray Vaughan Custom Card

A few years back, I created a custom card featuring Jimi Hendrix wearing a Toronto Blue Jays uniform. In that post, I pondered the idea of Mr. Hendrix walking out onto the Exhibition Stadium field with his trademark Fender Stratocaster and jamming out a brilliant rendition of O Canada! Afterward, as the crowd cheered and the umpire yelled, Play ball!, Hendrix would swap his guitar for a baseball glove and trot out to center field. What a sight.

After all, the man did pour out one of the most amazing renditions of The Star-Spangled Banner of all time, right? It inspired me to a second card of Jimi, "In Action" at Woodstock. And a couple of years later, that card inspired me to create a similar In Action card featuring Eddie Van Halen.

Well, recently I was thinking of other guitarists I could add to the set. And as it turns out, another legend did play the US national anthem at a baseball game.

 

 

 

 

That was Stevie Ray Vaughan, playing the anthem on opening day at the Astrodome in 1985. It was the stadium's 20th anniversary.

 

For those of you who were expecting to be wowed by Mr. Vaughan's performance, well, you might feel a bit underwhelmed. But there's a reason why the rendition seems lacking.

 

He didn't know the melody until his wife Lenora hummed it to him on the way to the game that day.

 

That's right. He hadn't heard it from beginning to end until right before game time.

 

Now, I don't know how a guy from Texas never heard The Star Spangled Banner, but there you go. Considering the situation, Mr. Vaughan didn't do so badly. It makes you wonder how he would have done with a few weeks to study the tune. It sure would have been bluesy and cool. 

 

Exhibit A:

 

But wait. That's not all of the story from the Astrodome. 

 

As Lenora stood and watched her husband twang through the anthem, she turned to the man standing next to her and admitted that Stevie had only heard the song the whole way through for the first time that day.

The man's reply—that it was a hard song, and that nobody could play it well—must have helped ease Lenora's mind.

She asked the man if he knew her husband. He admitted that he'd never heard of Stevie Ray Vaughan. And then he figured he'd formally introduce himself. . .

 

My name is Mickey Mantle.

 

 

That's right. Mickey Mantle was at the Astrodome for opening day. Turns out he was there to throw out the first pitch.

Well, Stevie had finished playing the anthem, and as he saluted the crowd and walked over to the stands, Lenora looked around for something that Mr. Mantle could autograph. Stevie came over, and heard Mantle inform Lenora that many folks brought a bat for him to sign. Vaughan took off his guitar.

 

I’ve got this bat right here. . . Why don’t you sign this?

 

He held out the guitar. And Mantle signed it. Right on the back.

The whole magical story inspired me enough to create a custom card.

 

 

 

The sound of Vaughan's guitar and voice are so distinct, I can hear them just by looking at this card. It's such a shame that the world lost him at the young age of 35 in a helicopter crash. 

 

Vaughan was self-taught, and from what I've read and heard over the years, he seemed like a very kind and humble guy. He'd also managed to overcome a drug and alcohol addiction, and had been sober for a few years leading up to the tragic day. To show how well-respected he was in the music industry, attendees of his funeral included Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Buddy Guy, ZZ Top, Eddie Van Halen, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and Ringo Starr.

 

I'm happy to have this guitar icon in the custom card stable. 

 

And how about this trio?

 

 

Any Stevie Ray fans out there? Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

1989 Pro Set Football Pack Rip

I hardly ever post a pack rip on this blog. And I hardly collect football cards. So why in the world am I posting a pack rip of football cards today? 

 

I'll tell you why.

 

A couple of months ago I saw some 1989 Pro Set football cards on a social media page, and was hit by a strong memory of collecting these cards with my stepbrother back in '89. That memory took me right to where we were living, what grade I was in, and the cabinet in my stepbrother's room where he kept his cards (along with a few of those new, fancy music playback devices called "compact discs"). I also remember actually watching and enjoying the sport of football back then.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have those '89 Pro Set cards anymore. And maybe that's why the nostalgia hit so surprisingly hard. I soon found myself searching for some sealed packs on eBay. It didn't take long before I found a few at a reasonable price—Series I and Series II—and went for it.

 

When the packs arrived, it was standard procedure: 

 

(1) Set a few aside, to remain sealed.

(2) Open one of each series for that big hit of nostalgia.

Here are the results.

 

Series I 

 

 

Aside from the Super Bowl X card, which was an insert, there was nothing very memorable in that pack. So I'll mention that the big cards to pull in Series I included rookie cards of Thurman Thomas, Ickey Woods, Michael Irvin, Tim Brown, and Cris Carter. I also remember Christian Okoye, Brian Bosworth, Joe Montana, and Jerry Rice being hot cards to pull.

Series II

 

 

 

Oof. Another stinker. The big cards in Series II that I was hoping to find include rookie cards of Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, and Andre Rison.

 

Here's an image of a card back.

 

 

 

Full marks to Pro Set here for the detailed write-up and color headshot. They even managed to get the team helmet in there, as well as the Pro Set and NFLPA logos. And note the text across the top in that orange banner: THE OFFICIAL NFL CARD. This wasn't just a bold statement created by the Pro Set marketing team. The company actually had a licensing agreement with NFL Properties, which allowed them to state their official association with the league. Pretty cool for a fledgling company like Pro Set, don't you think?

Now here's an example of the "playbook" that was inserted one per pack.

 

Open the little booklet, and you'll find two scratch-off game pieces. Because my packs were such duds, I actually scratched off the foil in one of the playbooks to see what was underneath.

 

 

 

Man, even my game results were duds. I earned just one point on the left, and received the "Incomplete pass. Try again!" message on the right.

 

Regardless, a scratch-off game in the 1980s meant extra fun for the kid collector. Full credit to Pro Set there, too!

 

 

And there you have it. Did the two uneventful packs sap some of my mojo and nostalgia?  A little bit, I have to admit. Am I tempted to open one or two of the other packs I purchased, to try to find at least some kind of star player or rookie card? 

 

Yes. 

 

So perhaps I'll do that later on in the football season.

 

How about you readers? Do you remember the popularity of the inaugural Pro Set football release? Who was your favorite team or favorite player back then?

 

Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading.

A Smorgasbord! 1989 Topps Cap'n Crunch

From the 1970s through the 1990s, it seemed like you could find your favorite baseball stars on food product packaging everywhere you looked: supermarkets, corner stores, restaurants, and beyond. This past year, in an effort to capture a little more nostalgia, I set a goal to expand my own collection of these "food-issue" cards. In this series I'll show the specific examples I've acquired, and share a little bit of history about the food or beverage sponsor as well. 

Previous entries can be found here.

 

 

A few times a year, mom would treat me and my sister to a "junky" cereal. Many times, this was our go-to:

 

 

Man, after so many weeks of Cheerios, Wheaties, and Shredded Wheat (not the frosted kind), we would scarf down those little golden, sugary squares with gusto.

 

And as you can see on the front of that box, in 1989 the Cap'n brought even more to the table.

 

 

 

Baseball cards! (Note how there's even a one-card trade at the end of the commercial.)

 

In each specially marked box of Cap'n Crunch cereal you'd find a cellophane wrapper containing two cards from the 22-card set, plus a piece of gum. If I'm counting the checklist correctly, 12 of the cards feature National League players, while 10 feature those from the American League. I'm not exactly sure what rhyme or reason went into that split, or how the specific players were selected. But you will see that some of the top teams of the era were represented well. For example, the Dodgers have three cards in the set, including Kirk Gibson, who had recently hit that legendary home run in the 1988 World Series.

 

Since our mom didn't buy us junky cereals very often, I only have two of the 22 cards in my current collection. Here they are. 

 

 

The design catches the eye, for sure. I like the strong red and blue colors, and the big baseball at the top, which contains the player's uniform number. On the negative side, all of the images in this set are headshots, and the team logos have been airbrushed from the players' caps.

 

Now here are the card backs.

 

It's a fairly standard Topps layout, with the Cap'n Crunch logo at top left and the Topps logo at top right mirroring the positioning from the front of the card. Eric Davis was only a few years into his career, so you've got room on the bottom of the card for some of his personal highlights. He sure belted a lot of home runs.

As for the cereal itself, it was developed way back in 1963 by the Quaker Oats Company. The Captain, known fully as Horatio Magellan Crunch, has quite a history and storyline. Did you know that the ship he commands is called the Guppy? Or that he and his crew of fun kids (and first mate dog) often do battle with a pirate named Jean LaFoote, whose goal is to steal the ship's cargo of delicious cereal? The crew also needs to frequently fend off a group of little monster-like things called "The Soggies", who are always trying to make Cap'n Crunch cereal—you guessed it—soggy.

Perhaps even more impressive is that the Captain was created by a man named Alan Burns. You might be familiar with some of the other works he's helped create, such as The Munsters and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

You might also be impressed to know that at the time of this writing, the Cap'n Crunch line consists of 11 products: 7 cereal varieties, 2 instant oatmeal flavors, and 2 kinds of snack pouches.

I don't know how the Captain gets any sailing done with all those products to endorse.

But let's get back to the cards. Although the set is only 22 cards deep, I'm not sure that I'm going to seek out the rest of it. The player images are just a little plain, and I think two cards is enough to bring back the nostalgia for me. If I can find a sealed cellophane wrapper with another two cards and the stick of gum, maybe I'll pick one of those up.

How about you? Any childhood memories of Cap'n Crunch, or that one year they teamed up with Topps? Did you pull any cards from boxes back then? Let me know if the comment section.

Thanks for reading!