Sunday, January 20, 2019

From the Favorites Box: Mike Modano, 1990-91 Upper Deck #46

A series where I post some thoughts about favorite cards.


A year after the smashing success of their inaugural baseball card release, Upper Deck followed with a hockey set. And similar to their baseball set, the photography in the hockey set did not disappoint. (See also #47 Theo Fleury, #64 Ray Bourque, #91 Mario Gosselin, #176 Viacheslav Fetisov.)

You know who else didn't disappoint in his inaugural season? Mike Modano. In 1989-90, the smooth-skating, fiercely talented American impressed with 29 goals and 46 assists for a total of 75 points. Minnesotans knew they'd done well drafting Modano in the first round in 1988 (first overall), and the image on this Upper Deck card provides an early example of just how much he'd take the state by storm.

Not only is the photo perfectly framed, and not only does it capture Modano coasting along the boards, celebrating a goal with arms raised (and showing that classic North Stars logo), but check out the guy in the background behind the glass.


HUZZAH!

Mike Modano elicited this reaction from the home crowd for 4 seasons in Minnesota, then for another 16 in Dallas (and then one in Detroit). He's still the all-time goals and points leader among American-born players. 

And for all these reasons, 1990-91 Upper Deck #46 has a spot in my box of favorite cards.

6 comments:

  1. Love the idea for this series and love the card! I always liked the stars sewn onto his pants too.

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    1. Thanks very much! Good observation on the stars, too. The uniform is just all-around classic.

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  2. '90-91 Upper Deck hockey is still one of my five favorite sets of all-time. (You may have just inspired me to do a countdown on my blog).. The Modano RC is a great choice for one of your faves.

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    1. Thanks Chris! Countdowns make for good reading. I'll check out your blog.

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  3. Early 90's hockey rules. Love this card's design... and even though Modano did a lot of damage to my beloved Sharks, I still love the guy.

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    1. I'm sure he did a lot of damage to most Western Conference teams ;-)

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