1960-1969 Hockey Cards

The 1960s were another big decade for hockey cards. The 1960s hockey cards offered collectors the most mainstream choices compared to any other period to date. In addition to Topps and Parkhurst, O-Pee-Chee rejoined the ranks.

The 1960-1969 hockey sets include the rookie card for Bobby Orr, which is the most popular rookie from the decade. Other top rookie offerings include Stan Mikita, Dave Keon, Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, Bernie Parent, Jim Pappin, Phil Esposito, Gary Cheevers, Tony Esposito, and Serge Savard.

1968-69 Topps Hockey Trading Card Set

Flyers goaltending great Bernie Parent is the key rookie card in 1968-69 Topps Hockey. Notable for being the company’s last horizontal base set design, the checklist also has many Hall of Famers.

Product Details

Some changes occurred with the 1968-69 Topps Hockey set that would alter the landscape of hockey cards forever. For the first time since 1960, the cards would be printed in the United States. From this point forward, the sets would be differentiated between the two countries with two separate sets. O-Pee-Chee issued its own set in Canada, which would be larger and have more subset and specialty cards. On the other hand, the back text reverted to English-only as the bilingual translations would head north with OPC.

1968-69 Topps Hockey card fronts would retain a horizontal format for the final time. A player picture takes up one-third of the card, superimposed in front of an artist's rendition of a generic hockey play. A team logo would appear in the upper right corner. The bottom area contained a series of arrow-shaped boxes. The player's name appeared in the first box, his team city and position in the next, and then his picture was superimposed over the last one. Backs were broken up into two main sections. The player's name was included in a white stripe running along the top, with the card number included inside a puck-shaped icon in the upper left. A box on the left includes a cartoon about the player, and the one on the right gives his position and team city followed by a short biography and a single line of stats from the previous season.

All 12 teams were included in 1968-69 Topps Hockey, with each team getting its own section of consecutively-numbered cards. There was also one checklist card in the set.

Although one would think having six new teams would cause a set to feature a number of rookie cards, that doesn't happen here. The only rookie of consequence in 1968-69 Topps Hockey is Bernie Parent. While it's a significant card, the larger OPC set would end up getting more of the junior players in the future.

How We Grade:

Gem Mint (GMT): (10.0) A flawless card. To be in Gem Mint condition, a card’s borders must have a ratio of 50/50 side to side and top to bottom. 

Mint (MT): (9.0-9.5) A perfect card. Well-centered with parallel borders which appear equal to the naked eye. Four sharp, square corners. No creases, edge dents, surface scratches, paper flaws, loss of luster, yellowing or fading, regardless of age. No imperfectly printed cards – out of register, badly cut or ink flawed – or card stained by contact with gum, wax or other substances can be considered truly Mint, even if new out of the pack. Generally, to be considered in Mint condition, a card’s borders must exist in a ratio of 60/40 side to side and top to bottom. 

Near Mint/Mint (NM/MT): (8.0-8.5) A super high-end card that appears Mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may exhibit a very slight wax stain on reverse, slight fraying at one or two corners, or a minor printing imperfection. Centering must be app. 65/35 to 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. 

Near Mint (NM): (7.0-7.5) A nearly perfect card at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may have slight surface wear, slight fraying on some corners, slightly out-of-register picture focus, a minor printing blemish or slight wax stain on reverse. Centering must be 70/30 to 75/25 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

Excellent/Near Mint (EX/NM): (6.0-6.5) Card may have visible surface wear or a printing defect. A very light scratch. Corners may have slightly graduated fraying. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. Card may have minor wax stain on reverse, may have very slight nothing on edges. Centering must be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

Excellent (EX): (5.0-5.5) Corners are still fairly sharp with only moderate wear. Card borders may be off center as much as 85/15. No creases. May have very minor gum, wax or product stains, front or back. Surfaces may show slight loss of luster from rubbing across other cards. Dark bordered cards may have one or two small nicks.

Very Good/Excellent (VG/EX): (4.0-4.5) Shows obvious handling, but still looks nice. Corners may be rounded or have minor creases. No major creases, tape marks or extraneous markings or writing. Surfaces does exhibit loss of luster, but the printing is intact. May have paper wrinkles. May show major gum, wax or other packaging stains. All four borders visible, though the ratio may be as poor as 95/5. Exhibits honest wear. 

Very Good (VG): (3.0-3.5) A well-worn card, but exhibits no intentional damage or abuse. May be “Mis-cut or Off-Center” with no border visible. May have major or multiple creases, however, creases are not so deep as to show the underlying paper. This card is completely readable, has not been written on, and has no tape marks or holes. Corner rounding may extend well beyond the border. 

Good (GD) (2.0-2.5) Shows excessive wear, along with damage or abuse. Will show all the wear characteristics of a Very Good card, along with such damage as thumb tack holes in or near margins, evidence of having been taped or pasted, perhaps small tears around the edges or creases so heavily as to break the cardboard. Backs may show minor added pen or pencil writing or be missing small bits of paper. Still basically a complete card. 

Poor (P): (1.0-1.5) A card that has been tortured to death. Corners or other areas may be torn off. Card may have been trimmed, show holes from a paper punch or have been used for BB gun practice. Front may have extraneous pen or pencil writing, or other defacement. Major portions of front or back design may be missing. Not a pretty sight.