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Hockey Card Stories: True Tales From Your Favorite Players

Hockey Card Stories reveals what was really going on in your favourite old hockey cards through the eyes of the players depicted on them. Some of the cards are definitely worth a few bucks, some a few cents — but every story told here is priceless. Sportsnet’s Ken Reid presents the cards you loved and the airbrushed monstrosities that made you howl, the cards that have been packed away in boxes forever, and others you can’t believe ever existed. Whether it’s a case of mistaken identity or simply a great old photo, a fantastic 1970s haircut and ’stache, a wicked awesome goalie mask or a future Hall of Famer’s off-season fashion sense, a wide variety of players — from superstars like Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, and Phil Esposito to the likes of Bill Armstrong who played only one game in the NHL — chime in on one of their most famous cards.

Paperback: 272 pages

Publisher: ECW Press (October 14, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1770411976

ISBN-13: 978-1770411975

Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 6.2 x 8.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,027,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #54 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Sports Memorabilia & Cards > Sports Cards #405 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Hockey #965 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Winter Sports

I remember finding a unique hockey card when I was in high school – the Canadiens' Jacques Lemaire, wearing a brightly colored Buffalo Sabres jersey. As a Sabres fan, I wondered if I missed hearing about a trade that would bring a fantastic player into our fold. No – he was still with the Habs. I also wondered how they managed to get the player to pose in a different jersey. (At the time, I was unaware of airbrushing, the pre-laptop equivalent of Photoshop.)In “Hockey Card Stories”, Ken Reid looks at unusual situations like the one above (although that particular example is not brought up in the book). Each vignette begins with a photo of the card in question, then devotes 3 to 5 pages to discuss the card, how the player pictured on the front felt about it, and revealed a little about said player's career and post-playing activities as well.Some players were selected because their card caught the spirit of the era, others because the card contained an error – occasionally even a photo of the wrong player! Some of the players included were superstars (a term new to the 1970s) and future Hall-of-Famers, others because the player managed to sneak onto a card during a brief career.ALL of the stories are short, easy to read, and flat-out fun to read. As such, I gave this book my highest marks.Oh, that Lemaire card I mentioned earlier … the most believable story that I found online was that the Sabres had acquired a player named JACQUES Richard from Atlanta, and a little miscommunication resulted in the depiction of a trade that only happened on cardboard.RATING: 5 stars. I won't claim this is the Great Canadian Reference Volume, but I liked it and had fun reading it and will remember it long after I've moved on to other books.

If you watch Sportsnet Central sometimes or listen to Prime Time Sports you'll come across Ken Reid. He always struck me as different than the Taranna media mafia and this book reveals why. Well, that's not what the book is about. It's about Reid's love of hockey cards and the stories behind those cards and the players depicted on them. For that this is a great take on hockey and why no one thought of this ages ago is, well, good on Reid for being a pioneer really.The players (or cards to be more exact) he chooses are superb as Reid cherrypicks such totally cool semi-obscure players as Orest Kindrachuk, Mike Pelyk (as a Vancouver Blazer!), Norm Beaudin (the 1st player signed by the Winnipeg Jets was not Bobby Hull) or Merlin "the Magician" Malinowski. You can see there's a strong '70s and '80s slant to his choices. (Oddly, all the cards in the book are O-Pee-Chee and there's no real explanation why cards from Topps, Pinnacle, Score, Upper Deck, etc., weren't chosen.)Each card discussion starts with a full color page with the front and back of the card. He breaks his chapters up well grouping the tough guys, goalies, WHA (yes, anyone who has not forgotten the WHA wins big points in my own books), cup of coffee types as well as some Hall Of Fame players. One of the best sections were the odd rookie cards like Dave Reid who had a lengthy NHL career yet it took three seasons before he was on a card. The Larmer is Ludzik card fiasco is well worth the price of admission to the comedy club as for a few years Steve Larmer's picture ended up on Steve Ludzik's card and vice versa.All in all a great read for any hockey fan and, if you were wondering about Reid's background that I touched on, he's from Nova Scotia and grew up a Habs fan. He's written such a great book this lapsed B's fan will forgive him for including '80s Bruins killer Mike McPhee in this collection.

Really enjoyed this book. A nice mix of the stories behind the cards and a bit of "where are they now" with a wide range of former pro hockey players. Ken Reid clearly put a lot of thought and effort into a unique subject in the sports world.

Loved this book! The stories and characters were fantastic. I highly recommend to hockey enthusiast!

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