1971 O-Pee-Chee Alan Ford #97 Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL Football Card

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Alan Ford #97 Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL Football Card Halfbacks of the early 1970s were expected to do a little of everything, running the ball, catching passes, and lining up on special teams, and Alan Ford was the prototype of that all purpose back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Number 21 on his green jersey in this 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL portrait, Ford is shown in a crouched, ready stance, set to take the handoff. His compact, balanced pose suits the role perfectly and gives the card a sense of motion even at rest. This card comes from the 132 card 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL set, organized by club across the nine teams in the league, with the Saskatchewan block running through the 90s and 100s. The red bordered front with its clean white framed photograph is the look that made the issue recognizable, and the reverse is the classic Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, with Ford's biography in English and French beneath the O-Pee-Chee trademark and the printed in Canada line. The back is not a puzzle back, because this is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee issue, and the bilingual layout is what collectors look for when authenticating the set. According to the card back, Ford was born in Regina, where he played football at Central Collegiate before earning an athletic scholarship to the University of the Pacific. Listed at 6 foot 1 and 195 pounds, he came back to Saskatchewan as a regular at either offensive halfback or end for the Roughriders, and the back notes that he had been a mainstay in that role for the past four seasons. The cartoon panel mentions that Ford lives and teaches in Regina, a detail that roots him firmly in the community the team represented. Halfbacks of his mould were the glue of the Saskatchewan attack, the players who made the big plays look routine. the photos show light rounding at the corners, a small pale scuff at the lower left corner, and minor edge wear along the bottom edge, with no chipping, no creases, no repair, and no writing on either side. The portrait is centred acceptably, estimated around 50/50, and the colours of the green jersey and the red border remain strong. Sleeve glare in the images is not a surface defect. With the corner rounding and the light scuff factored in, a conservative raw estimate is VG-EX 4, with the card sitting at the strong end of that range. Buyers searching for the 1971 O-Pee-Chee Alan Ford #97 Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL Football Card get a clean, honest example for completing the Riders block. Grade Estimate: VG-EX 4