1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Rene Robert #2 French Connection Buffalo Sabres

Description

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Rene Robert #2 French Connection Buffalo Sabres Card number 2 in the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee set introduces Rene Robert, the blazing-fast right wing whose blistering wrist shot and speed made him the third piece of Buffalo's immortal "French Connection" line, joining Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin as one of hockey's most explosive scoring units in the early 1970s. Photographed here in his blue Sabres jersey, Robert had arrived in Buffalo after brief stops with Pittsburgh and Toronto, and the card back makes an early prediction that would prove prophetic, noting "speed is what Rene has plenty of and he's one of the fastest men to catch on the wing." That speed, paired with a powerful shot, would help Robert become one of the most dangerous power-play weapons in the league throughout the decade. He is perhaps most famous in hockey history for scoring the legendary triple-overtime winning goal in the so-called "Fog Game" of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals against Philadelphia, a contest so thick with condensation fog inside Buffalo Memorial Auditorium that players could barely see the puck. That moment, still one of the most talked-about in Stanley Cup Finals lore, only adds to the historical significance of any Rene Robert card from this pivotal stretch of his career. The reverse of the card, printed in the standard Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual English/French format, includes full career totals through the 1971-72 season along with a small hand-drawn cartoon panel, a signature stylistic touch of early-70s OPC design. this card is confirmed as a genuine bilingual O-Pee-Chee back, not a puzzle-back issue. Physical inspection reveals crisp, well-preserved corners with only the faintest wear visible under magnification, clean uninterrupted edges with no chipping, and centering that is notably better than many of its sheet-mates, sitting close to 60/40 on both axes. The blue jersey photography shows rich, unfaded color and the surface is free of visible print lines, scuffing, or creasing. Given the overall strong presentation, this card grades toward the higher end for a raw example of this challenging set, though we remain conservative in the absence of in-hand verification. An essential pickup for French Connection and Buffalo Sabres collectors alike. Grade Estimate: EX 5