1970 O-Pee-Chee Terry Swarn #57 Bilingual Back Edmonton Eskimos CFL VG-EX 4

Description

1970 O-Pee-Chee Terry Swarn #57 Bilingual Back Edmonton Eskimos CFL VG-EX 4 Speed sells, and few cards in the 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL set advertise it as loudly as this 1970 O-Pee-Chee Terry Swarn single, the Edmonton Eskimos flanker whose reverse cartoon boasts that Terry runs the 40 yards in 4.5 seconds. Captured mid-stride with the football cradled and one knee climbing, the photograph is pure kinetic vintage, and it anchors the Eskimos' receiving corps in a 115-card set that remains the go-to vintage issue for Canadian football collectors. Swarn's story is a classic CFL draft-heist narrative: a Colorado State product, he was a sixth round draft choice of San Diego in the 1969 draft but chose Edmonton instead, and he rewarded that decision with an impressive rookie year of six touchdowns. In a league where American imports with NFL options were always flight risks, a speedster who picked Canada and produced immediately made for one of the feel-good subplots of the 1969 Edmonton season, and this card is the primary vintage keepsake of that run. The back is the traditional Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back rather than a puzzle back, carrying the English and French biography pair, the green cartoon panel, and the PRINTED IN CANADA imprint, all consistent with an authentic first-generation example of the issue. this copy shows the honest wear of a card that was clearly handled and admired, with corner blunting at the top corners, edge chipping and whitening along the bottom border, a light surface scuff near the right edge, and centering that settles near 60/40 left to right, while the reverse displays matching border wear but stays free of creases, wrinkles, stains, or marks. We grade it conservatively at VG-EX 4, a fairly priced, display-worthy single of one of the fastest men ever to pull on the Eskimos' green and gold. The 4.5-second forty callout has also made this card a favourite among speed-themed collectors, who chase the fastest players in the set regardless of team allegiance. Combined with the Chargers draft footnote and the six-touchdown rookie season, the reverse packs more storytelling into one bilingual panel than almost any other card in the issue. In a sleeve or toploader the card displays its kinetic action photography beautifully, making it an ideal, affordable single for collectors who value movement and narrative in their vintage football cards. It is a card that captures the pure joy of the game, and one that any Eskimos collector will be proud to sleeve and display. Grade Estimate: VG-EX 4