SOLD 1971 O-Pee-Chee Steve Smear #116 Montreal Alouettes

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Steve Smear #116 Montreal Alouettes Defensive ends who dominated with both motor and sportsmanship are rare in any era, and the 1971 O-Pee-Chee Steve Smear #116 Montreal Alouettes card celebrates a former Penn State captain who brought Big Ten pedigree to the CFL trenches. Steve Smear was an All American at Penn State where he captained the Nittany Lions for two years, and as the back proudly states Steve Plays Baseball Basketball And Golf and Steve Joue Au Baseball Ballon Panier Et Golf, plus the remarkable note that Penn State never lost a game during Smear's three years of play, capturing the unmatched 1968 to 1969 perfect season run under Joe Paterno that made Penn State a national powerhouse. He won the Swede Nelson Award for best combining ability with sportsmanship, an honor that speaks to his character. Listed as Import 6 foot 1 and 230 pounds Defensive End and Americain 6 foot 1 and 230 pounds Ailier defensif from Penn State, Smear gave Montreal a relentless edge rusher who could also drop into coverage. The 1971 O-Pee-Chee design with its solid red frame and oval team logo at bottom makes for a striking display piece, and Canadian fans appreciate that OPC was the only major issue covering CFL stars in this period, with bilingual backs that preserve both languages on one card. Adding Smear to your collection adds an NCAA and CFL crossover piece with Ivy League academic excellence and athletic durability. this example shows attractive overall presentation with vivid green jersey against red border, upper left corner has a mild touch of white, lower corners are slightly soft but not badly chipped, edges retain most red ink with only micro chipping at the bottom, centering is about 55 to 45 side to side and 60 to 40 top to bottom with a slight tilt favoring the bottom, no creases or surface indentations visible through the sleeve, back is clean tan stock with crisp black printing. This is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with English and French career write up and pink cartoon and Printed In Canada footer. Grade remains in the excellent range despite light age because eye appeal is high. Grade Estimate: EX 5