The three most valuable hockey cards of the postwar era

What is considered the postwar era in hockey card collecting began with the Parkhurst series of 1951-52. With that game, the annual production of hockey cards has not been interrupted to this day. Before that series was produced, hockey cards were produced on an irregular basis, with the last major game coming out over a decade earlier.

Despite the attention paid to Wayne Gretzky’s 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee rookie card, there are three cards that have been produced in the postwar era that are fundamentally more valuable. The hockey card trifecta consists of the rookie cards of three of the greatest hockey players in National Hockey League history. All three cards are valued by Beckett Hockey Monthly at up to $3,000.

1951-52 Parkhurst #66, Gordie Howe’s rookie card. Howe’s first hockey card came five years after he began his NHL career. Gordie first played for the Detroit Red Wings in 1946-47 and continued with the team until the end of the 1970-71 season. He returned to professional hockey in 1973-74 with the Houston Eros of the World Hockey Association. Gordie played in the WHA for the duration of its existence, ending up with the New England Whalers. He returned to the NHL for one final season in 1979-80 with the Hartford Whalers.

During his long professional hockey career, Gordie Howe won six Hart Memorial Trophies for NHL MVP and six Art Ross Trophies for league leading scorer. He won four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings and two Avco Cups in the WHA with the Houston Aeros. He remains the only player to have played in an NHL game when he was 50 years old and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

1958-59 Tops #66, Bobby Hull’s rookie card. Hull began his NHL career with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1957-58 and continued with the club until the end of the 1971-72 season. In that time, Bobby won the Art Ross Trophy three times, the Hart Trophy twice and won a Stanley Cup with the Black Hawks in 1960-61. Over two years, he held the NHL record for most goals in a single season with 58 in 1968-69.

In 1972-73, Bobby Hull became the face of the World Hockey Association when he was signed by the Winnipeg Jets for $1 million. In the WHA, Bobby was a two-time MVP and was part of three Avco Cup-winning teams in Winnipeg. When the WHA merged with the NHL for the 1979-80 season, Hull played one more NHL season split between the Jets and the Hartford Whalers. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.

1966-67 Tops #35, Bobby Orr’s rookie card. Orr began his NHL career in 1966-67, so the stats on the back of his rookie card were blank. He played with the Boston Bruins until the end of the 1975-76 season and then finished his NHL career with the Chicago Black Hawks, playing just 26 games in three seasons.

Although his career ended prematurely due to devastating knee injuries, Orr’s list of accomplishments is long. He still holds the NHL records for most assists in a season by a defenseman (102), most points in a season by a defenseman (139), and the highest +/- of any NHL player in a single season (+ 124). All three records were set during the 1970-71 season. Bobby is the only defenseman to have won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s best point-scorer, doing it twice (1969-70 and 1974-75). He has won more Norris Trophies than any other NHL player (8), along with Hart Trophies and two Conn Smythe Trophies.