Here are two examples:
But this set of stamps wasn't just a stand-alone set, like the baseball stamps they'd produced in the '60s. No, these stamps were directly connected to that year's hockey cards.
How directly?
Well, here are two cards from the 1969-70 Topps hockey set that I recently picked up. They're the first two cards from the set in my collection.
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| 1969-70 Topps #8 Jacques Lemaire and #10 Jean Beliveau |
Classy cards featuring even classier players, eh?
Here are the card backs. Pay close attention to Beliveau's.
PLACE JEAN BELIVEAU STAMP HERE!
I had no idea Topps brought two collecting worlds together like this.
You'll note, however, that Jacques Lemaire's card does not have a space for the stamp. That's because out of the 132 cards in the set, only 26 were given the treatment. Stars like Phil Esposito, Rod Gilbert, Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, Stan Mikita, and Bobby Orr received a corresponding stamp, as well as a few lesser-known players. But that's it. (This can help explain why a collector like me might not have been aware of such a thing.)
The stamps were issued in pairs, one pair in each pack of cards.
Now, sticking stamps on the back of hockey cards isn't exactly the smartest thing to do, condition-wise. And even back then, before trading cards were assigned much monetary value, Topps must have thought better about repeating the design. 1969-70 appears to be the only season they did it.
Regardless, think about kids back then who collected stamps and hockey cards. Imagine combining two of your hobbies like that. Must have been pretty cool.
Just how popular was stamp collecting? Well, it was the biggest hobby worldwide for almost a century, so I'd venture a guess and say that it was pretty popular there for a bit :)
ReplyDeleteHeheh. Good answer there, Jon. Thanks for reading!
DeleteI may or may not have collected stamps before I collected cards, it's difficult to remember when I was stamp-collecting. It was around the same time though, so I can see the two hobbies meshing. But by the time the '80s hit I don't remember any kids collecting stamps.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if stamp collecting will somehow come back into style one day, Night Owl.
DeleteI've bought a few stamps here and there that I though were interesting... as well as some sheets that were within my collecting realm (like Star Wars and baseball legends sheets). I also remember busting discounted boxes of 1997-98 Donruss Priority which had stamps. But in general, I'm not a big stamp guy. My dad was though. He had a pretty large collection that he just pass along to my nephew.
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding that personal experience, Fuji!
DeleteYou know what? I hadn't thought about it much, but with all the stamps produced all over the world across so many years, I'd guess you'd be able to find a stamp or two that depicts something you enjoy. Could be anything. Automobiles, sports, animals, musical instruments, you name it.
That is a really neat idea, stamps on cards. And awesome Beliveau!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sean! There are so many legendary Canadiens players from that era. Beliveau is right up there.
DeleteVery cool! I suppose it's better than the awful scratch-off concept they went with for the '80-81 hockey release!
ReplyDeleteNot a very popular design element among hockey collectors, is it? Thanks for reading, shoebox!
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