Introduction

[Clark]

So I would like to introduce myself because I am sure some of you are wondering who the hell is this Clark guy? He’s been here for a couple of weeks and posting all this crap on the hockey forum.

Well I am just another hockey loving Canadian male who happens to exchange real money for cardboard (Thanks ThoseBackPages). A guy who grew up about an hours drive from one the greatest landmarks in Canadian history. That’s right…......the O-Pee-Chee Gum factory in London, Ontario.

It all started at the ripe old age of 5 when I opened my first pack of O-Pee-Chee hockey cards. As I type this, I can remember the smell of freshly cut cardboard and rock hard stale gum like it was yesterday. I didn’t have a lot of money as a five year old, so I can thank my Mom for enabling my new found addiction. Thanks Mom!

Every year my friends and I eagerly awaited the latest release of OPC hockey. Every young boy in Canada collected hockey cards back then. School recess was like a ritual every fall as we stood around the school yard with a mit full of cards, while shuffling through and calling need him, got em, need em, got em until we completed our sets or ran out of money to buy more. Afterall we were kids!

This continued until 1985 for me. That is when I discovered new and more exciting things in life. Yup......music, beer (I am Canadian), and the fairer sex. The girls smelled much nicer than the stale, brittle gum from the O-Pee-Chee card packs.

In 1989 the great sports card collecting boom hit during my first year of college. Card stores were everywhere. The O-Pee-Chee factory was working overtime. Mark Messier rookie cards where selling for $200 bucks a pop and I had three!!! I thought, “I am going to be rich!!!” Maybe I should tuck away a few of those O-Pee-Chee factory sets and I won’t open them! $$$

Then OPC released their new “Premier” hockey cards with the latest rookie cards of the hottest young stars. Rookie cards the likes of Owen Nolan, Mike Ricci, and Bobby Holik! Plus O-Pee-Chee didn’t produce as many of the “Premier” cards as their flagship brand. I thought, “I am going to keep these Premier cards mint, store them in sheets and toploaders. No one else will, I am going to be rich”. Afterall these Premier cards are “rare”.

I will save you the details from then to now. Maybe for another time. The long story short, lets just say things didn’t go as planned.

So now that I am older, new music sucks, my liver is swollen from all the beer, and there are no women in my life, I woke up one morning and decided, “I think I am going to collect hockey cards again!”

And what a perfect time to start back up. Some rich guy paid 300 grand for a 1990’s Jordan card, Honus Wagner was trimmed, the Feds are handing out subpoenas, I gotta spend $500 on supplies to cover all the card sizes, learn about 15 parallels for every base card, and the grading companies “didn’t do nothing”.

So I’ll see you around the forums as we discuss this great hobby of ours. You know, the one that exchanges real money for cardboard.

[MossDC4L]

Hey Clark, welcome to the forum... I am in the Barrie area and grew up collecting as a kid in the 80's and 90's

For me, it was the Pro Set hocket cards that were the hot thing when I was buying packs, agreed times have changed and so many more Inserts and Parallels to figure out.

[Clark]

Originally Posted by MossDC4L

Hey Clark, welcome to the forum... I am in the Barrie area and grew up collecting as a kid in the 80's and 90's

For me, it was the Pro Set hocket cards that were the hot thing when I was buying packs, agreed times have changed and so many more Inserts and Parallels to figure out.

Thanks! I remember when the first Pro-set series came out in 1990-91 and have to admit I wasn't crazy about them. The design was so unique compared to what I used to.

Now...I like some of them. I have a few in the PC including the Jagr RC. Now they have a cool retro look to them. I see that one of the sets has a throwback card that honours them. Kind of glad I never donated them to the local Goodwill.

[UD HighGloss]

Welcome to the board and back to the hobby Clark. The hobby has become such an interesting place with everything that has gone on in the last decade and a half. Hopefully you have enjoyed your time back and continue to enjoy the hobby.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

[hairysasquatch]

I grew up in the London area. Had a friend whose Dad worked at OPC and I still have some 1970s OPC Hockey uncut sheets in my possession. Welcome to the boards!

[Clark]

Originally Posted by UD HighGloss

Welcome to the board and back to the hobby Clark. The hobby has become such an interesting place with everything that has gone on in the last decade and a half. Hopefully you have enjoyed your time back and continue to enjoy the hobby.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Thanks UD!! To be honest I never completely left the hobby, the intro was a poke at myself and the hobby. I couldn't stop laughing when I typed it. If you have not caught on from my posts, my humour tends to be a sarcastic tone. I mean no harm and try to keep things light. A hobby is meant to be fun.

My collecting habits over the last 10 years have been limited to young guns of the latest Leafs rookies. With the team finally moving in the right direction, my collecting interests have picked up.

Hopefully I can positively contribute to the forum. I also look forward to learning from others, especially the newer cards, and the latest trends in the hobby.

[Clark]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

I grew up in the London area. Had a friend whose Dad worked at OPC and I still have some 1970s OPC Hockey uncut sheets in my possession. Welcome to the boards!

Thanks! I had some sheets from the 89-90 season that were lost in flood unfortunately. Nothing rare obviously, and I could pick them up again relatively cheap. Mysteriously, sheets made their way out of the plant over the years.

Very cool to have the 70s sheets. I'll get around to getting one someday.

See ya around!

[creasecollector]

Welcome to the forums!

[mcwildcats]

Originally Posted by Clark

So I would like to introduce myself because I am sure some of you are wondering who the hell is this Clark guy? He’s been here for a couple of weeks and posting all this crap on the hockey forum.

Well I am just another hockey loving Canadian male who happens to exchange real money for cardboard (Thanks ThoseBackPages). A guy who grew up about an hours drive from one the greatest landmarks in Canadian history. That’s right…......the O-Pee-Chee Gum factory in London, Ontario.

It all started at the ripe old age of 5 when I opened my first pack of O-Pee-Chee hockey cards. As I type this, I can remember the smell of freshly cut cardboard and rock hard stale gum like it was yesterday. I didn’t have a lot of money as a five year old, so I can thank my Mom for enabling my new found addiction. Thanks Mom!

Every year my friends and I eagerly awaited the latest release of OPC hockey. Every young boy in Canada collected hockey cards back then. School recess was like a ritual every fall as we stood around the school yard with a mit full of cards, while shuffling through and calling need him, got em, need em, got em until we completed our sets or ran out of money to buy more. Afterall we were kids!

This continued until 1985 for me. That is when I discovered new and more exciting things in life. Yup......music, beer (I am Canadian), and the fairer sex. The girls smelled much nicer than the stale, brittle gum from the O-Pee-Chee card packs.

In 1989 the great sports card collecting boom hit during my first year of college. Card stores were everywhere. The O-Pee-Chee factory was working overtime. Mark Messier rookie cards where selling for $200 bucks a pop and I had three!!! I thought, “I am going to be rich!!!” Maybe I should tuck away a few of those O-Pee-Chee factory sets and I won’t open them! $$$

Then OPC released their new “Premier” hockey cards with the latest rookie cards of the hottest young stars. Rookie cards the likes of Owen Nolan, Mike Ricci, and Bobby Holik! Plus O-Pee-Chee didn’t produce as many of the “Premier” cards as their flagship brand. I thought, “I am going to keep these Premier cards mint, store them in sheets and toploaders. No one else will, I am going to be rich”. Afterall these Premier cards are “rare”.

I will save you the details from then to now. Maybe for another time. The long story short, lets just say things didn’t go as planned.

So now that I am older, new music sucks, my liver is swollen from all the beer, and there are no women in my life, I woke up one morning and decided, “I think I am going to collect hockey cards again!”

And what a perfect time to start back up. Some rich guy paid 300 grand for a 1990’s Jordan card, Honus Wagner was trimmed, the Feds are handing out citations, I gotta spend $500 on supplies to cover all the card sizes, learn about 15 parallels for every base card, and the grading companies “didn’t do nothing”.

So I’ll see you around the forums as we discuss this great hobby of ours. You know, the one that exchanges real money for cardboard (Thanks TBP).

Great post man! I will just add, if TBP has taught you anything, you can save money on all the supplies and just go the unopened box/case way of collecting. Come join the dark side! Haha