Sunday, October 4, 2020

Completed Set: 1988-89 Topps Hockey

Back in 1988, the grade school version of me was busy playing Little League baseball, collecting baseball cards, and loving it. However, I'd also made a new friend at school who played hockey. (As did all of his brothers. I think there were six of them.) Soon I'd start learning more about this new sport, playing it, and by association, opening packs of hockey cards for the first time. 

Because of all this, the 1988-89 Topps hockey set brings back a lot of fun memories for me. I'd open those first packs and immediately get hit by the players, the uniforms and logos, and the kid-friendly design. 


 
Just look at the cards. Everything is fun, colorful, and fitting for the decade. The slanted color bar with the pushpin holding it in place will remind any '80s kid of bulletin boards. The dotted pattern underneath is reminiscent of halftone comic book printing. Even the colors themselves are fun, with greens, magentas, yellows, and blues that I wouldn't hesitate to describe as neon. (Or is it Day-Glo?)

Beyond the design, though, this set of cards also helped teach me about the game. Here's how.



I'd already learned that playing hockey took a lot of physical effort. But the 1988-89 set showed me what to do if I got tired: Wait for the whistle to stop play, lean your stick across your shin pads, and catch your breath before the next face-off. 



After a few seconds went by, the referee would skate into that face-off circle and prepare to drop the puck. Then I learned how important it was to get into your solid, stable, ready for action face-off stance.  

Why?  

Because once that puck dropped, you had to move like these next six guys. 




Watch John MacLean hustle to avoid a hook from an Edmonton player. Dan Quinn is swooping in, looking for a potential rebound. And Dave Archibald might have just dished off a backhand pass while weaving through some Boston defenders. (Good job keeping your head up, Dave!)



Ron Sutter carries the puck across the red line with speed, alert and looking to make a play. Mats Naslund scoots down the wing, ready to receive a pass. And Wayne Presley sets up at the side of the net, preparing to deflect a shot or jam home a rebound.

Truth be told, though, this set of cards contains too many images of players leaning their sticks across their shin pads or lining up for a face-off. The six action cards you've just seen are few and far between. 




Even the goalies did their share of standing around, look.



Regardless, it was all good information for a kid who'd just become enamored with the sport. And besides, along with giving me those hockey tips, the set also introduced me to some talented rookies like the three guys above (and the first guy below).



It also showed me just how momentous of an occasion it was when Wayne Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles. (And just how pink a checklist card could be.)

Here's an example of a card back.




Note that every card features the game-winning goals box underneath the player stats. (Stephane Richer had the most, with 11). Goalies also had a box on their cards, which listed their shots against totals instead. Grant Fuhr had the most, with 2,066 shots against in a whopping 75 games played. 



And finally, just as exciting as the cards were the stickers. They came one per pack, and featured a player who was named to either the first or second all-star team or, even more awesome, a team sticker that included block numbers and sometimes three little hockey puck decals.

Here's the reverse:




Back then, if you actually followed the instructions on the card and put one of those hockey puck stickers on your helmet each time you scored a goal or an assist, you'd probably get beat up and have your helmet thrown over the fence.  

Ah, the memories.

Thanks for flipping through some 1988-89 Topps hockey cards with me. The set really is a fun one, and despite the shortage of action shots you'll still find some nice-looking cards and a huge number of Hall of Famers. At a manageable 198 total cards, it's not a daunting task to complete it—even less daunting if you've already got some of the key players like Gretzky, Hull, Shanahan, and Turgeon.

Now who wants to play Blades of Steel on the NES?

18 comments:

  1. I've never seen these. "Kid-friendly" is a perfect description. It's definitely not a design that appeals to me. I think it's the push pin but the dots don't offer an assist. You give these cards life though!!

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    1. Thanks Julie! And you know what? It's not my favorite hockey card design of the '80s, but the nostalgia factor outweighs that for me.

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  2. Super good read!
    Blades of steel rocked until i got a 4-way plug for the genesis and 2 on 2 hockey was nuts amongst friends.
    At just 198 cards it shouldn't be too difficult to assemble and is a must have!

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    1. Yep. I'm definitely in the same boat regarding the Sega Genesis experience. That first hockey game they released was a sensation. Thanks very much for reading! Going to have a look at your website now.

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  3. I bought a pack or two of this as a kid and got the Hull which was a huge deal at the time. I don't think I still have it though.

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    1. That card was a huge deal back then. It's still a great card to have in the collection. If you no longer have it, I say pick one up!

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  4. As a teacher, I like the push pins... but I can see where this design might not be everyone's cup of tea. Agree with baseballcardstore.ca. I loved Blades of Steel until I played NHL on the Genesis. That video game changed hockey video gaming for me.

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    1. Same here, Fuji. I think my younger brother might still have the cartridge and system somewhere. Might be fun to play it for old times' sake.

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  5. 88-89 Topps/OPC is one of my favorite designs. The push pin takes you back to when kids used to pin cards to the walls in their bedroom, or maybe on a cork board. The set size (198 Topps, 264 OPC), is also very friendly.

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    1. It's nice to start out knowing you've got less than 200 cards to complete a set, isn't it? And it's funny -- I'm not sure I've ever compared the Topps checklist to O-Pee-Chee's. Might have to do that soon.

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  6. I always loved this set as well and completed it years back with the stickers too. For me, the 1989-90 release was the first I ever collected as a kid, but these were the most attainable of the "older" hockey cards I could get my hands on. You touched on all three of them but to me this set will always be about he Hull and Shanahan RCs, and that epic Gretzky LA sweater card. Also always liked the Mario Lemieux card in the lead-off spot.

    Great post, and congrats on completing this one!

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    1. Thanks very much, Shoebox! Hull, Shanahan, and Gretzky do make a "big three" for this set. Impressive that you've got all the stickers, too. I have the 12 all-stars, but only a handful of the team versions.

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  7. Like this design a lot. It has an early '80s Donruss vibe.

    Those standing around photos, though, ugh.

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    1. Early '80s Donruss did have a similar kid-friendly feel, didn't it?

      As for the standing around photos, I wonder if the Topps photographers just found it easier to capture players during warmups than during actual game action. (Sounds like an excuse to me, though...)

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  8. I enjoyed this breakdown of the set, and congrats on completing it! I'm working on completing it myself, so let me know if you have any dupes to trade :)

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    1. Thanks very much, Chris! I do have some duplicates. Hopefully you can use some of them. Going to send you a message through TCDB now.

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  9. The 88-89 OPC set was my first complete set. It will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first design I recreated in photoshop. I posted a 132 card retro set in the blog way back in 2011. Those were fun days.
    OPC/Topps was atrocious for action shots during the 1980s and earlier. I remember 1990 and every new set released seemed to up the photography standards. First pro Set, then Score and then Upper Deck. Yes, even the 1990 Pro Set had shockingly good photos compared to 80s OPC/Topps.

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    1. Agreed. 1990-91 was without a doubt a watershed season for hockey card photography. Thanks for sharing that story about '88-89 OPC, too. I'll have to check out the custom set on your blog!

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