1971 O-Pee-Chee Greg Findlay #42 BC Lions CFL All-Star Vintage Football Card

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Greg Findlay #42 BC Lions CFL All-Star Vintage Football Card This vintage 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL card features Greg Findlay, the hard-hitting centre linebacker who anchored the BC Lions defense for twelve seasons. Card number 42 in the classic 1971 O-Pee-Chee 132-card set, it celebrates a player whose career bridged the Grey Cup championship era of the early 1960s and the star-studded Lions squads of the 1970s. Findlay joined the Lions in 1962 out of Wenatchee Junior College and became a fixture in the middle of the BC defense through the 1973 season, appearing in 176 games. He was a member of the Lions' 1964 Grey Cup championship team and blossomed into one of the league's premier linebackers by the end of the decade. Findlay earned Western Conference All-Star honors in 1968 and 1970 and was named a CFL All-Star in 1970, the same season he was selected to the All-Canadian Team and co-captained the West in the CFL All-Star Game, achievements highlighted on the back of this very card. Beyond his on-field exploits, Findlay made history off the field when he became the third president of the Canadian Football League Players' Association in 1971 while still an active player, serving in that role through 1972. His leadership in the CFLPA helped shape player rights and labor relations in the league during a pivotal era. Listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 235 pounds, the Canadian linebacker was an imposing presence in the centre of the Lions defense for over a decade. The card front features the instantly recognizable red border design of the 1971 O-Pee-Chee set, with the Lions mascot logo and his position printed as Centre Linebacker in the Canadian style. The back is an authentic O-Pee-Chee bilingual card printed in both English and French, noting his All-Canadian selection and All-Star Game co-captaincy in both languages. It carries the O-Pee-Chee copyright and Printed in Canada attribution and is not a puzzle back. The cartoon on the back shows Findlay holding a sign that reads Pres, a playful reference to his CFLPA presidency. The card shows visible corner wear with rounding most pronounced at the bottom left and bottom right corners, along with some light edge chipping along the bottom and left borders. The red ink has retained good density but the surface handling is more apparent on this card than on some of its sheet mates. The photo area remains unblemished with no creases, indentations, or stains, and the centering is slightly shifted toward the top. The reverse is clean with no writing, paper loss, or creasing, and the bilingual text and illustration are fully legible. A conservative raw grade estimate of VG-EX 4 is warranted given the rounded corners and edge wear, though the structural integrity of the card remains solid with no folds or wrinkles. Grade Estimate: VG-EX 4