1970 O-Pee-Chee Gerry Shaw #87 Grey Cup Champion Calgary Stampeders VG-EX 4

Description

1970 O-Pee-Chee Gerry Shaw #87 Grey Cup Champion Calgary Stampeders VG-EX 4 Frozen mid-throw with his body coiled and the football just leaving his fingers, Gerry Shaw delivers the most dynamic action pose on this sheet, and this 1970 O-Pee-Chee Gerry Shaw #87 captures the Calgary Stampeders offensive end in full athletic flight against the backdrop of McMahon Stadium. The CKXL Boosters Club billboard visible on the stadium wall adds a wonderful period detail for collectors who love the texture of vintage Canadian football, because that sign places the photograph squarely in the civic booster culture of late 1960s Calgary. Searchers tracking a 1970 O-Pee-Chee Gerry Shaw #87 will find this copy a glossy, colorful example with the kind of honest wear that tells a fifty-year story without compromising the dramatic image. O-Pee-Chee of London, Ontario built the 1970 CFL series with black backs, lime green cartoon panels and bilingual English and French text, and this card carries a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, not a puzzle back. The cartoon box celebrates Shaw's 36 catches in 1967, a season that confirmed his status as what the card bio calls a proven CFL star with great moves and reliable blocking. Those hands and that versatility made him a valued piece of the Stampeders' offensive groups during the club's most successful stretch, the era that produced the 1968 Grey Cup, the narrow 1970 final loss to Montreal and the triumphant 1971 championship run, and Shaw's name appears on the roster of that 59th Grey Cup winning team. Shaw's career bridges the transition period when the CFL was absorbing an influx of talented American college players alongside homegrown Canadian stars, and his Washington State pedigree brought Pacific Northwest polish to the Calgary receiving corps. His 36-catch season in 1967 stood as a personal benchmark that the O-Pee-Chee cartoonists chose to immortalize, a reminder that these green cartoon panels functioned as the highlight reels of their day for kids who never saw a televised highlight. For team collectors, Shaw's throwing pose is a favorite because it breaks the monotony of static portraits and shows the stadium, the turf and the advertising signage of the era in a single frame, making the card as much a photograph of McMahon Stadium as a portrait of its player. the front retains strong gloss and saturated reds with only light corner blunting at the bottom right tip and a whisper of softness along the bottom border, while the image sits slightly high in the frame leaving a touch more white margin below than above. The reverse shows moderate edge chipping confined mostly to the two short borders with corners that are rough to the eye but fully intact, and the black background carries only light scuffing consistent with careful album storage. No creases, wrinkles, writing or stains are present in either scan, and the centering remains within acceptable vintage tolerance at approximately 55/45. The conservative grade below prices in the border chipping while crediting the excellent surfaces and the dramatic, well-preserved photo. Grade Estimate: VG-EX 4