Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Spring 2021
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/30/2021
Massive – gigantic – huge, they’re all appropriate words to describe the crazy accumulation of Wayne Gretzky cards offered here, with the hoard surely going from one Gretzky fanatic to another, not to mention a very entrepreneurial and likely astute hobbyist. Let’s get to the details, shall we, with Wayne’s famous 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee rookie card the obvious place to start and an acceptable low grade example of card #18 with pleasing centering not marred by heavy creases but exhibiting color loss and corner/edge wear, with a light crease and some small wrinkles observed. An EX-MT Oilers team logo/checklist and a nice NM Oilers team-issued postcard are also from ’79-80, while material from the 1980s is led by Wayne’s “regular” issues, with both O-Pee-Chee and Topps representatives to note and like with much of the collection throughout, duplication present. The OPC segment includes an EX-MT second-year ('80-81) card, a low grade example and an EX 87-All-Star card. Then it’s six from ’82-83 (1 NM, 5 with a crease), six ’83-84s (1 NM, 5 lower), five crease-free from ’84-85 (EX-MT average), two each from ’85-86, ’86-87 and ’87-88 and five ’88-89s picturing 99 in his new L.A. Kings uniform. The totals for the Topps cards, (with the vast majority sharp and issue-free), are as follows: ’81-82 (5), ’84-85 (10)(1 miscut), ’85-86 (3), ’86-87 (2), ’87-88 (2) and ’88-89 (sweater)(6). Seven ’80-81 Topps All-Star (#87) cards include five unscratched EX-MT-or-better contributors and two scratched. As for all the other “specials” from when Gretzky and the Oilers were priming as hockey’s most exciting team, we count a grand total of just over 200! League Leader, Team Leader, Record Breaker, Trophy Winner, In Action cards – you know what we’re talking about – all but 27 of them OPC examples and led by (50) ’82-83s, (42) ’83-84s (3 of 5 #23-Messier/Gretzky appear NM-MT or better) and (63) ’84-85s, with a strong majority of problem-free cards to report. Topps specials are limited to six (scratched) ’80-81s, (12) ’81-82 #52-Oilers Team Leaders and (9) ’84-85 154-All-Star cards. Other notable 1980s collectibles are some 40 Topps All-Star sticker inserts, while 100 OPC (small) stickers (with duplication) are joined by 100+ Panini stickers from the ‘80s and (mostly)’90s. There’s a complete ’82-83 Neilson’s 50-card Gretzky set, six Red Rooster cards and Kraft food issues which segue/make it into the next decade...and what a decade it was!
Cards from the 1990s dominate the collection, with sometimes hundreds of the same base cards present. We’ve grouped the (100+ of each) ’89-90 OPC Gretzky regular and two specials in with the ‘90s, with cards from the first couple of years of Upper Deck, Score and Pro Set also in the hundreds. Many/most of them however have followed the Gretzky RC in quadrupling (or more) in value in price guides; many that were always 50-cent or 75-cent cards now book for $2-3-4 apiece. Other memorable brands accompany Upper Deck in the insert portion, with “Dream Team” and “Team Pinnacle” examples appearing, along with base cards and inserts from Pinnacle, Leaf, Donruss, Stadium Club, Fleer Ultra, Flair, SP, SP Authentic, SPx and still more. There are Gretzky parallels spotted (Electric Ice, Emerald, Gold, etc.), along with dozens and dozens of Upper Deck and McDonald’s holograms. The image of Wayne’s rookie card is featured on two dozen ’92-93 OPC 25th Anniversary cards, with other not-already-mentioned food issues, team issues and magazine issues also in the mix, the same as some “Broder” card action. There is plenty of representation from special sets from around the turn of the century (year of the great one, Living Legend, Gretzky Exclusive, etc.), with The Great One featured several times in Upper Deck’s Century Legends set.
Serial-numbered cards include some two dozen, with not much to report in the way of jersey cards and the like. Notable are 2000-01 Upper Deck Legends Legendary Game Jerseys, 2007-08 SP Game Used Legendary Fabrics (057/100), 2010-11 Artifacts Tundra Tandems Silver (with Joe Thornton)(60/75) and 2010-11 Ultimate Collection Ultimate Jerseys (033/100), while a game-used “stick” card is cool and from 1999-2000 Upper Deck MVP. Impressive in a big thick screwdown holder is an Upper Deck “gold” card featuring Gretzky’s facsimile autograph and “802” on the front, while the back includes “Limited Edition” along with “983” etched into a hockey puck that has “3,500” on the edge. A die-cut 2008-09 SPx Memorable Moments card hailing Wayne’s “2,857 Career Points” on the front is also noteworthy.
It’s difficult to convey the scope of the collection and the opportunities and possibilities that it offers, not to mention the incalculable book/market value, with even the amount spent on supplies to protect the cards impressive. There are well over 200 in sturdy one-touch holders and well over 13,000 placed in toploaders, while some 17,000 are housed in two-piece 100-count Ultra Pro plastic boxes. The collection fills seven big bins/tubs and additional photos are available upon request. To also note is our consignor’s scrutiny in acquiring cards in tiptop shape and storing them with care; other than some of the '80s material, condition is outstanding. Miscellaneous items are fine complements to the cards and include but are not limited to some snazzy lapel pins, full newspapers, 5” by 7” and other oversized cards, pogs, an early-'80s Remex Wayne Gretzky Alarm Clock still in its original packaging, an October 19, 1979 (folded) issue of The Hockey News with Wayne on the cover and even a complete ticket from an Indy Racers at Edmonton WHA game, not long after Gretzky was traded to Edmonton! Good luck with this great, great stash starring The Great One.
*Our opening bid represents an average of about five cents per card and as always, we’ll let the auction community determine the final number.
By clicking this button, you will IMMEDIATELY bid the amount selected.
By clicking this button, you will submit this amount as your MAXIMUM (absentee) bid. The auction software will place bids on your behalf up to this amount only as it is bid against competitively by other bidder(s).